What to eat Serbia? culinary specialties and gastronomy

A meal in a fast food restaurant, of local cuisine, costs on average 600 RSD (4 €). A more sophisticated meal costs around 1 300 RSD (10 €). A good table from 2 500 RSD (15 €). Count on an average of 200 € per person for a week in a restaurant.

Serbs do not tip in the usual restaurants and cafes. In the more upscale restaurants, with dedicated service, a tip is customary, between 5 and 10% of the total bill. There is a charge for water and some restaurants charge for service on a per-cover basis.

Burekdžinica Small restaurant where you eat the famous burek, a kind of pita with corn leaves, stuffed with cheese, meat or spinach, which is usually accompanied by a glass of fermented milk called yogurt. Bureks are sold mostly in small stores for eating in or taking away. Generally, they can be eaten fresh from 6 am to 4 pm, before stocks run out! They are sold by weight: one portion, 250 g, for about 60 to 80 RSD. A good burek can make a meal for the day, at a lower cost.

Ćevabdžinica. Small typical restaurants where you eat ćevapčiči, beef and pork rolls served with garlic and goat cheese cream, a pure delight! Count from 150 RSD for a dish of ten rolls

Kafana Kafana (taverns) are popular restaurants where people come to eat as well as to drink. They are often the cheapest restaurants. Although they serve classic Serbian cuisine, some kafana have a real reputation and are very popular.

The kiosks. There are small stalls everywhere, street-food stands and tiny restaurants with terraces, often open late at night, some even 24 hours a day. Locate them quickly, they will be useful! In all styles, they serve viršle (hot dogs) and pljeskavice from 200 RSD, and local hamburgers from 300 RSD (beef with garlic). And don't forget the many pizza kiosks or stalls; often cooked on a wood fire in front of you, they are cut into large slices to take away and sold for 100 RSD. A real delight.

Poslastičarnica . Small tables selling sweet delicacies dating from the Ottoman era. First order a boza, a very fresh corn juice. Then have two or three cakes, one would be rather cheap. The trifecta is baklava, krempita (mille-feuille with fresh cream) and tulumba (wheat roll sprinkled with sugar)

Popcorn trailer. Everywhere in the cities you can find salty popcorn.

Facilities may still offer a smoking area, provided it is separate from a non-smoking area and ventilated. In practice, many rooms are still smoky with cigarettes, while newer facilities prohibit them.

There are not too many hours to drink alcohol in the country. Don't be surprised if you have a little rakija at lunchtime (or as early as 10am).

Alcohol is much cheaper in Serbia than in the rest of Europe. A beer will cost you on average less than 1,50 €, a coffee break and sweets less than 4 €. In the big cities, most establishments accept credit cards, but this is less the case in the countryside.

The legal drinking age in Serbia is 18. In practice, Serbs are not very strict, especially in a family setting, and you will not be checked.

Most bars and cafes are smoking, with a matching non-smoking area. Some of the more modern places do not allow smoking.