That Will Have You Asking for Second Helpings
I was recently reading one of my favorites travel blogger’s posts on the decline in quality of Lonely Planet guidebooks over at Nomadic Matt and I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly. As a vegetarian of over two decades I find their food sections the most disappointing of all. Now, it’s not that I expect Lonely Planet to only cater to vegetarians, but you have to question if their writers have even physically stepped foot in some of their destinations since 1995.
While planning my trip to Central/Eastern Europe and The Balkans I read ominous warnings about how scary travel would be for vegetarians over there. I was sure to be crumpled in a corner, gnawing on a piece of stale bread while everyone danced around with me, waving oversized turkey legs and racks of lamb, praising the meat gods above. Don’t believe everything you read.
Not only did I encounter vegetarian dishes aplenty, but I discovered a thriving vegetarian/vegan food scene with passionate people making exciting dishes that far surpassed what I could find back home in New York. Here are 10 vegetarian restaurants worth visiting (even if you are a meat-eater too!):
1. Слънце Луна (Sun Moon)- Sofia, Bulgaria
Sun Moon is not only a completely vegetarian/vegan restaurant, but also a bakery next door. The restaurant gets very busy during lunch and dinner; a late-afternoon lunch will be your best to get a table right away. I had their vegan “beefsteak,” which was amazing, as well as a slice of their coconut banana cake.
2. Restobar Štrudla- Podgorica, Montenegro
I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent staring at this photo and wishing I could teleport back to Restobar Štrudla to order these zucchini boats again. The menu has a few meat dishes on it, but everything is very clearly marked as vegetarian, vegan or contains meat. LP sleeves adorn the entrance wall and the music selection matched the interesting food pairings. My waiter caught me eyeing the dessert menu and told me I had to try the strudel- it is the name of the restaurant after all! I ordered the cherry strudel and it took the next photo with my phone in one hand a fork in the other…
3. Karuzo- Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Karuzo is a very special restaurant that will give you a completely unique experience. It is the only completely vegetarian/vegan restaurant in all of Sarajevo and it only has one employee: Chef Saša Obućina. He greets you, serves you and prepares every meal himself as you order it. Because of this you MUST make a reservation or be prepared to be turned away at the door. Chef Saša has a really passion for bringing healthy and vegetarian food to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he grew up before studying the culinary arts in England and Germany. He offered fascinating conversation and his Budha Bowl was one of the most flavorful meals I had on me trip.
4. Radost Fina Kuhinjica- Belgrade, Serbia
I often joked to myself that there must be a law stating that all vegetarian restaurants be hidden down back alleys with absolutely no signage; this is clearly an attempt to keep the Lonely Planet fooled into thinking these restaurants don’t exist! Radost is easily the hardest restaurant to find on my list. I must have walked past it five times before I realized where it was. The address is Pariska 3, which is an apartment building that appears to be entirely residential from the outside. Although there’s no sign, just walk inside the front door and turn right. Knock on the first door and you’ll find the restaurant. There is outside seating through a basement courtyard; most seating is at communal tables, which is a nice way to meet some local Serbs. They have two types of veggie burgers and the waiter suggested they could make me slider-sized patties so I could sample both.
5. Gluten Freaks- Bratislava, Slovakia
Gluten Freaks has both meat and vegetarian options, but as the name suggests, everything is gluten free. There was a little food truck encampment in front of the Old Market building in Bratislava while I was there, but follow Gluten Freaks on social media to find out where they’ll be each day. I tried their tofu burger, which was a perfect on-the-go meal that still filled me up
6. Aubergine- Bucharest, Romania
Aubergine is a little “healthy foods” restaurant in Bucharest’s Old Town. A wide selection of fresh pressed fruit and vegetable juices and a Mediterranean-inspired menu provided the perfect balance I needed to offset all the pastries I had been gorging on at the criminally dangerous Georgiana bakery a few blocks from my hostel. Aubergine has a three color falafel plate with beet, spinach and sweet potato varieties.
7. Zaživ Vegan Bistro- Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana has several strong vegetarian/vegan restaurants, but Zaživ was my favorite. Their speciality is a pita-like veggie burger sandwich; you can select different patties, breads and sauces. There’s a wall of books and you’re welcome to come in and grab something to read while you enjoy your meal. I could help but come back here twice.
8. Zrno bio bistro- Zagreb, Croatia
Zrno bio bistro really blew me away. Everything both 100% vegan and 100% scrumptious. Zagreb is a fantastic city, but I would have been happy just camping out in this restaurant my entire there. Dinner service gets busy so getting there early is advised. The photo above is their seitan “cordon bleu” which was so popular that I overheard several other diners denied the option when they ran out.
I tried the veggie burger on another trip back to Zrno; the bistro easily had the nicest presentation of their food during my trip.
And let’s not forget about dessert! Raspberry torte to die for!
9. Shopska Salad- Everywhere
Ok, so this can be found at every restaurant in The Balkans, but I felt like it needed to make the list as that one dish you can always count on to find, even if you end up at a carnivore’s delight restaurant in town. Shopska salad is simple, but extremely tasty. It’s chopped up cucumbers and tomatoes, covered with feta cheese and sprinkled with parsley. I had the two best shopska salads in Skopje, Macedonia, but there’s not a kitchen that can’t whip one of these up for you.
10. Dit’ e Nat’- Priština, Kosovo
Save the best for last they say, and so I give you Dit’ e Nat’ as the grand finale to this vegetarian restaurant tour. This charming and unassuming restaurant in Priština has excellent food and the nicest staff around. They really are such a welcoming presence and make you feel right at home in their city. The food is light, yet filling and it all goes down of so well with a large mug of Kosovo’s own Peja beer.
I ate every meal I could here and my two favorite were the Tex-Mex wrap pictured above and the egg sandwich below
The potato wedge fries are so good you might find yourself ordering another round!
These restaurants are just the tip of the iceberg on vegetarian/vegan or vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the region. Check out happycow.com for listings and reviews of vegetarian spots worldwide and never let a dietary restriction scare you from traveling to a different corner of the globe.
