SARAJEVO - In Your Pocket

Bosnia, with its beautiful, favourable climate, has a
fantastic selection of natural produce, in particular fruit
and vegetables. The city’s three main markets in Ciglane,
the city centre and Grbavica are well worth a visit, if for no
other reason than to see the massive seasonal displays
of cherries, apricots, nectarines, artichokes, avocados,
raspberries, walnuts, celeriac, new potatoes and almost
anything else you can think of. Many are just grown in
kitchen gardens, all are non-GM, and a lot have never seen
pesticides. The meat is excellent.
However, this wide variety of raw ingredients does not
always translate into good food being served in restaurants.
Much of Bosnian cuisine is traditional, salty, meaty
and fatty food. Tradition and societal expectation often
stand in the way of culinary innovation, and too often the
best one can say about Bosnian food is that it is OK. Most
people eat at home, and restaurants are reserved for very
special occasions: below is a selection of those places
that do better than most.
Symbol key
P Air conditioning A Credit cards accepted
E Live music S Take away
T Child friendly U Facilities for the disabled
R Internet L Guarded parking
O Casino J Old Town location
6 Animal friendly W Wi-Fi
B Outside seating V Home delivery
Asian
Hot Wok B-2; B-3, Titova 12, tel. (+387) 33 20 33
22/(+387) 61 17 17 60, info@hotwokcaffe.com. Eat
mango chicken with fried noodles and sip a large freshly
squeezed orange juice as you watch the cooks wok up sizzling,
only mildly-improvised Thai food with inventive names like Hollywood
Chicks. You’ll sit at high stools and be surrounded by a
cluster of Bosnian businessmen, international diplomats and
bureaucrats, or a foursome of Bosnian women on a night out.
QOpen 10:00 - 23:00. Closed Sun. (KM 8-22). JAXS
Kineski Restoran B-3, Ismeta Mujezinovića 14, tel.
(+387) 33 66 41 17, kineski.restoran.sarajevo@gmail.
com. Opened this past summer to fill the MSG-flavoured void
left by the closing of the city’s only other Chinese restaurant,
this imaginatively named place (‘Chinese Restaurant’ in English)
was still sorting out some of the subtle differences between
Chinese and Bosnian cuisine when we visited during its first
week. Aside from that small wrinkle the service is impeccable
- it always helps to poach experienced professional staff from
other establishments - and the selection of dishes quite varied:
Coca Cola chicken anyone? The selection of wine is also impressive.
QOpen 09:00 - 23:00. (KM10-60). ALXS
Bosnian
ASDŽ B-4, Mali Čurčiluk 3, tel. (+387) 33 238 500. This
modern canteen-style place in Baščaršija is great if you want to
sample a variety of Bosnian dishes without the hassle of sitting
down for a proper meal in a restaurant. Just point to what looks
good and specify if you want a small or large portion of it - no need
to master the menu beforehand or worry about pronunciation.
QOpen 08:00 - 19:00. (KM 1.50-10). PJBS
sarajevo.inyourpocket.com
restaurants
The wine collection at charming Noovi
Avlija C-3, Sumbula Avde 2, tel. (+387) 33 44 44 83,
fax (+387) 33 44 42 60, fkarkin@bih.net.ba, www.
avlija.ba. Meaning ‘courtyard’ in Bosnian, the inside of this
eclectic, noisy Bosnian restaurant is like a walled garden. To
start choose fried mushrooms in breadcrumbs or ustipce,
small deep-fried doughballs served with kajmak, soft
white cream cheese. Then follow on with fantastic pepper
steaks with perfect roast potatoes, or muckalicka, spiced
beef stew with peppers served in a clay pot. QOpen 08:00
- 23:00. Closed Sun. (KM 4-22). TAX
Buregdžinica Bosna B-4, Bravadžiluk 9. We’ve heard
this no-nonsense Burek place recommended as far away as
Slovenia, and based solely on the constant queue waiting
to get a plate of the piping-hot savoury pastry it’s not
without good reason. Vegetarians have the option of sirnica
(cheese), zeljanica (spinach and cheese) or krompiruša
(potato), and there’s even an air-conditioned dining room
up the dangerously steep stairs in back. When coming
from the direction of the Sebilj look for the red basketball
logo on your left. QOpen 07:00 - 22:00. (8-12 KM per kilo).
PJNBS
Dveri B-4, Prote Bacovica 12, tel. (+387) 33 53 70 20,
info@dveri.co.ba, www.dveri.co.ba. Beef goulash with
plums, fabulous home-made bread, vegetable soup served
with a poached egg, a garden to sit in summer, a toasty
interior in which to sip rakiya in winter and hospitable Bosnian
staff speaking perfect English make this small restaurant
set in a pretty, flower-filled courtyard in Sarajevo’s Old Town
one of the best choices to eat at for any occasion. QOpen
09:00 - 23:00. (KM6-18). AX
Inat Kuća B-5, Veliki Alifakovac 1, tel. (+387) 33 447
867/(+387) 61 338 177, fax (+387) 33 560 319. Dishes
are limited but the location is good and the tale of how this
restaurant came to be where it is, is pure Sarajevo - prevent
the waiter whisking your menu away and read how the House
of Spite got its name and position. Specializing in local soups
and mains, the House rambles upwards with three floors of
group settings, or tables for two for more intimate dining.
Factor in the outdoor riverside tables and you have a pleasant
setting for a traditional Bosnian experience, both culinary and
cultural. QOpen 07:00 - 23:00. (KM 10-20). AU
Autumn 2009
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