Serbian Cuisine

Serbian cuisine is hearty, generous and unabashedly meat-loving, a Balkan feast shaped by Ottoman, Hungarian and Mediterranean influences and served with warm, abundant hospitality. Its stars are the grilled meats: cevapi, little skinless sausages, pljeskavica, a spiced meat patty, and the vast mixed grill. Alongside come rich stews, stuffed peppers and cabbage, the roasted pepper relish ajvar, hearty bean dishes, and the ever-present fruit brandy rakia, all best enjoyed in a lively kafana tavern.

What to look for

• Cevapi - the grilled skinless minced-meat sausages.
• Pljeskavica - the large spiced grilled meat patty.
• Ajvar and the mezze - the roasted pepper relish and starters.
• Rakia and the kafana - the fruit brandy and the lively tavern.

When to go

Year-round; a lively kafana tavern, often with live music, is the place for a long, convivial meal, and the grilled meats are best from a busy grill. The rakia is the traditional welcome, and hospitality is famously generous, so come hungry.

What to expect

Serbian food is very meat-heavy and hearty, a real challenge for vegetarians, though the salads, ajvar, cheeses and bean dishes offer some options. Portions are enormous and the hospitality relentless. The rakia is potent. It is honest, generous, good-value comfort food rather than refined cuisine, best enjoyed in the sociable atmosphere of a kafana.

Nearby

Every region has its specialities; the kafanas of Belgrade are the classic setting.