Serbian Cuisine

About Serbian Cuisine

By the ULTIMATE Belgrade Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Are you planning a trip to Belgrade, looking for an authentic Serbian restaurant, or hoping to cook a Serbian dish at home? This is our guide to the Serbian table, from the charcoal grill to the winter pot.

The Serbian table

Serbian food is generous, hearty and made for sharing. It grew up between empires: the Ottomans left the charcoal grill, stuffed vegetables, filo pastry and strong coffee; Central Europe brought schnitzels, cakes and the kafana culture of long lunches. Add a farming country’s love of pork, peppers, beans and dairy, and you have a cuisine built for cold winters, big families and celebrations. Meals begin with a small glass of rakija and a plate of cheese, kajmak and cured meats, and end, usually much later, with coffee.

From the grill

The roštilj, the charcoal grill, is the heart of Serbian eating. Ćevapi (also called ćevapčići) are small, skinless sausages of minced meat, served with raw onion, warm bread and kajmak. Pljeskavica is their big sister, a wide, juicy patty; the most celebrated is the Leskovac style from southern Serbia, spiced with hot pepper. Grills also turn out skewers, sausages and pork neck, and on weekends roadside restaurants outside the city roast whole lambs and pigs on the spit, pečenje, sold by weight.

Serbian cooking is generous, smoky and made for sharing: start with kajmak and a basket of bread, and don’t plan to hurry.

Slow-cooked classics

Winter food is slow food. Sarma, cabbage leaves fermented whole and rolled around minced meat and rice, simmers for hours and is at its best on feast days. Pasulj, a thick bean soup with smoked ribs or sausage and a hint of paprika, is the dish of cold weekdays. And for something grand, Karađorđeva šnicla, a rolled veal or pork steak filled with kajmak, breadcrumbed and fried, served with tartar sauce; in Belgrade it is affectionately called “devojački san”, the girl’s dream.

Pies, breads and spreads

Gibanica, a layered filo pie with white cheese and eggs, is the taste of a Serbian family breakfast or holiday. Proja is a rustic cornbread, often baked with cheese. On every table you’ll find kajmak, a rich, slightly tangy cream skimmed from boiled milk, and in autumn, ajvar, the roasted red pepper relish that families still make in great batches on balconies and in gardens across the country.

Ten dishes to try

Ćevapi: small grilled sausages of minced meat, with raw onion, bread and kajmak.

Karađorđeva šnicla: a rolled, breadcrumbed steak filled with kajmak; the “girl’s dream”.

Sarma: fermented cabbage leaves rolled around minced meat and rice, slow-cooked.

Pljeskavica: the great grilled patty; look for the spicy Leskovac style.

Pečenje: lamb or pork roasted on the spit, sold by weight at roadside restaurants.

Gibanica: layered filo pie with cheese and eggs.

Pasulj: thick bean soup with smoked meat, a winter staple.

Ajvar: roasted red pepper relish, at its best home-made in autumn.

Kajmak: the rich dairy cream that goes with almost everything from the grill.

Proja: cornbread, often baked with cheese.

Where to taste it

For classic Serbian cooking in Belgrade, try a traditional kafana such as Klub Književnika in the Old Town or Bela Reka in New Belgrade; for modern takes on Balkan dishes, Iva New Balkan Cuisine, Salon 1905 or Na Ćošku. In Zemun, Balkan Ekspres serves Serbian food by the Danube. For the ingredients themselves, go to a green market such as Kalenić in the morning.

Our advice: start with kajmak, ajvar and a basket of bread, order ćevapi or pljeskavica from the grill at least once, try sarma in winter, and leave room for coffee. Portions are big; share.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Serbian Cuisine before you go.