I live in Ljubljana and eat out every day. So I’m always on the lookout for places where you can eat well, quickly and cheaply. Here is my selection of seven good restaurants in Ljubljana where you can eat for around €10.
The plates of Abi Falafel
At the end of my favourite street, Trubarjeva, where I rented my first flat in Ljubljana from 2004 to 2006, there is a small restaurant serving delicious falafel. Several plates are served at the counter. The hearty falafel kroznik pictured above contains vegetables, potatoes and humus. It costs €12 in 2024. Enjoy it inside the restaurant, decorated in oriental style, or at one of the four tables set out in the pedestrianised Trubarjeva street. You can also order a hearty falafel sandwich for €8. This is an address that is becoming increasingly popular every month for its good value for money.
Its neighbour, the small Asian bistro Osha, is also a good address (unfortunately, it only has two tables on its terrace, so you can eat on the street in the evening, a bit like in Asia).
Abi Falafel – Trubarjeva cesta 40
The cevapcicics of Das ist Valter
Next door to Metelkova is an authentic Slovenian capital address, Das ist Valter. A cevapcici restaurant. Many locals say that this is the place to find the best cevapcici in the Slovenian capital. Cevapcicis are a must-try Balkan speciality to discover during your stay in Ljubljana (for your general culinary culture).
A culinary trip to Sarajevo without leaving Ljubljana!
It’s a grilled meat dish. So fans of light, fine, airy, refined or vegan dishes will have to pass. Order Kajmak as a side dish and anything else you like from the menu (a sopska solata salad, for example). Nothing is expensive in this restaurant. And to complete your culinary knowledge of this geographical area, the very next day you can go for a burek.
Das ist valter – Njegoševa cesta 10
Govinda’s vegetarian dishes
In this all-day vegetarian self-service restaurant run by Krishna devotees, you can enjoy delicious vegetarian dishes to the accompaniment of Krishna music and paintings. You can fill your own soup plate for €2 per 100g. This is more than enough to keep you from going hungry. This restaurant is very busy, and that’s a good thing, because although it’s a self-service restaurant, the food is always freshly cooked. I go there every week.
Good, fast, healthy and not too expensive, what more could you ask for?
The place is ideally located if you’re heading off to the mountains by car (Lakes Bled and Bohinj, Velika Planina…), this restaurant will be on your route. If you want to eat quickly and healthily before setting off on your getaway, this is the place to stop! You’ll always find a parking space not far from the restaurant. You can sit inside or on the terrace under the glass roof (except in summer, when it gets too hot). From the old centre of Ljubljana, you can reach the restaurant by walking through the huge Tivoli park along the jakopicev drevored alley, a much more pleasant walk than along the main avenue Celovska.
Govindas – Zilbertova ulica 23
In 2019, Govinda opened a new restaurant in the city centre, albeit in a semi-basement. It’s clean, modern, very convenient, very fast, cheap, healthy but not really charming in my opinion. Closer to the centre.
Govindas – Podhod Ajdovščina 4
Halo Leskovac’s Pleskavica, the Balkan burger
Take a trip to the southern Balkans for a meal and try a Pleskavica. For €6.50 you can enjoy what looks like a large hamburger with a delicious Serbian bun. The meat is grilled in front of you. A graillon atmosphere and 0% Instagram! Service that may seem rather unpleasant: you probably won’t get a smile when you order, but you will if you chat for longer. It’s all part of the folklore and that’s why we love restaurants that serve these traditional Balkan dishes.
Take a trip to Sarajevo, Belgrade or Skopje
There are wooden tables in front of the stall, not the most beautiful terrace in Ljubljana, but for a modest price, you can eat seated. If you walk 50 metres, you can also sit on a bench overlooking the river (a good idea to remember). This restaurant offers almost unbeatable value for money in Ljubljana. It’s a good idea to accompany your pleskavica with a pint of Serbian or Montenegrin beer for €3.
Hallo Leskovac – 8 Levstikov trg
Pink Elephant Thai dishes
Roza Slon is a Thai restaurant opposite the station. You order your dish at the counter (Pad Thai, Pad kee mao, red curry…) and you are served very quickly in a large cardboard tray to eat on the spot or on the train for example if you take it.
A good address known to employees of local businesses
It’s very busy at lunchtime, as the Slovenians who work in the station area know all about this excellent exotic restaurant. Price of a dish and a trip to Bangkok: €8.50. Service is always fast. Perfect place to eat fast and hot.
Note: the house music is often a little loud, which may not be to everyone’s taste, but I find it very bearable.
Rosa slon – Trg Osvobodilne fronte 14
Dvor and Trta’s pizzas
Dvor and Trta are two pizzerias in the centre of Ljubljana. In fine weather, you’ll have a great time on their terraces. In Slovenia, the pizzas are large and Slovenians often ask to split them in two. This is common practice, and means you can eat for less than 6 euros.
If the weather is cool and you want to eat indoors, you’ll want to avoid the Dvor pizzeria, which has an unpleasant, noisy dining room, in stark contrast to its beautiful, central, sunny terrace.
Dvor also serves pizza slices for €3. At this price, you are seated on beautiful wooden tables. It’s a great place to eat cheap in Ljubljana in the evening.
Dvor – Dvorni trg 5
Trta – Grudnovo nabrezje