Here are the seven best and most surprising restaurants in Ljubljana.
These are the restaurants that will surprise you the most and offer you an experience that is impossible or very difficult to find elsewhere. Most of them are linked to the history of Slovenia or the region.
Quirky doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re all really good! As I live in Ljubljana and have eaten at least ten times in each of these restaurants, I’ll tell you whether it’s really worth your while and what you’ll find on the menu. Follow my advice.
Amazing places I love to go to!
A huge Argentinian restaurant
This huge restaurant is located in the huge BTC shopping centre in Ljubljana. It’s surrounded by Zara and Ikea… so it’s not great for the area around the restaurant, but once you enter the large courtyard, you’re surrounded by large fences and you’re transported to Argentina! You then push open the door to a huge building that opens onto a two-storey room decorated with huge Fernando Botero-style paintings.
Large, beautiful solid wood tables await you.
You’ll feel right at home on these big tables, next to the fireplace in winter. It’s a real success and I was very impressed when the restaurant opened in 2005, just one year after my first arrival in Slovenia (I left and then came back).
So the first impression was excellent, but what followed was, in my opinion, less interesting. Flown in directly from Argentina, the beef cooked Asado style is delicious but overpriced! The side dishes are not delicious. In short, unless you have a big budget that allows you to access the best cuts of meat at this Argentinian steakhouse, I wouldn’t recommend going there.
Rainy day tip: On the other hand, on a rainy winter’s day you can go from the BTC restau Argentino shopping centre to the café next to the restau Argentino and it will be a very pleasant sequence (or replace the restau Argentino with another one not far away which is much better. See the rest of this article)
A piece of Slovenian history: This restaurant owes nothing to chance, as in my opinion it originated in the Argentinian Slovenes. Three waves of migration to Argentina in the early 20th century. Brina Svit has even published a book on the subject with Gallimard. The title is Visages slovènes.
Argentino: Šmartinska cesta 152
A Yugoslav pizzeria
This pizzeria is very well hidden at the entrance to one of the passageways in the huge Cankarjev dom cultural centre. It’s almost impossible to find unless you’re told where it is. Set in a recessed, concrete courtyard, the decor is not very Instagrammable, and the pizzas seem small at first glance… With all that, there’s little reason for tourists to go there, which is why you should.
It was the first pizzeria in Ljubljana, opened in 1974!
Pizzeria Parma is an institution in Ljubljana. Many Slovenians still go there. It won’t be the best pizza of your life, but I found the experience really interesting and a change of scenery. If the aim of your holiday is to mix with the locals, avoid the tourists and discover Slovenian culture, this is definitely a place where you should go for dinner.
Pizzeria Parma: Trg republike 2
A vegetarian restaurant run by a Krishna sect
There are actually two restaurants and one of them was my canteen for several years before the prices went up a little disproportionately. Nowadays, the restaurant in the centre is a popular meeting place for students, who come here to eat the good meals provided by the government (the famous studenski boni that all former Slovenian students are nostalgic for). If you want to eat well-cooked vegetables, this is the place to go ! The decor is clean and uncluttered, but it is in a semi-basement.
Tip: This restaurant is also very practical for eating quickly and healthily.
Restaurant Mandala – Podhod Ajdovščina 4, 1000 Ljubljana
A real Slovenian gostilna
A gostilna is a traditional Slovenian restaurant. For Slovenians, it’s nothing surprising or unusual, but for a tourist, it will be! My favourite gostilna in Ljubljana is only open for lunch on weekdays. It’s right next to the large BTC shopping centre. The restaurant is tucked away in a large house in a residential area. The food is delicious, well prepared and the prices are excellent for the quality of what you are served.
If you don’t like the food served here, you can safely say that you don’t like Slovenian cuisine.
It’s true that you have to make a bit of an effort to get there by bus, bike or taxi, but for me it’s really worth it because this restaurant is more interesting than any you’ll find in the centre of Ljubljana and you’ll discover Slovenian traditions.
Gostilna “Pri stričku” – Kodrova ulica 8, 1000 Ljubljana
Balkan cevapcicis
Now we’re off to the Balkans with cevapcicis, the little minced meat sausages that I recommend you try during your stay in Slovenia. Slovenians love them and if you’re invited to a barbecue at a Slovenian restaurant, cevapcicis will always be on the menu. You’ll find them in many of Ljubljana’s restaurants.
Cevapcicis are an excellent way to eat cheaply in Ljubljana.
They are served with ajvar sauce with peppers or kajmak, a kind of butter and cheese. The round bread served on the side is delicious.
Das ist Valter – Šmartinska c. 3, 1000 Ljubljana
A Serbian restaurant in the forest
In the immense forest on the edge of Parc Tivoli, you’ll find a fine establishment, Gostilna Cad. It serves good grilled meats. The interior of the restaurant is typical, but what I find interesting is the large terrace on the edge of the forest, with its beautiful white tablecloths and old, skilful waiters.
It’s like taking a trip back in time.
This kind of restaurant seems to me sufficiently atypical to feature in this article. I highly recommend a visit during your stay.
Gostilna Cad – Cesta na Rožnik 18, 1000 Ljubljana
The 3am Burek
In Slovenia, when you come out of a nightclub and you’ve had too much to drink, you’re not looking for a kebab but for a burek, this Balkan speciality to which I’ve devoted an entire article and which you absolutely must try during your stay in Slovenia. Bureks are available with cheese or meat. There’s also pizzaburek.
Noberl Burek – Cesta na Rožnik 18, 1000 Ljubljana