Dušan Lopušina (1981)

What Belgrade lacks for sure are true bars and pubs, and perhaps that’s what founders of O.U.R. bar had in mind. Located near Tasmajdan park, O.U.R. bar is simply a great place to hang out, day and night.

Tasty coffee & domestic croissants are just what one might need in cold autumn/winter  mornings. The bar is spacey and warm, with wooden furniture and walls filled with photographs depicting the history of Yugoslav film.

All the details are somehow discrete and arranged finely. Cozy atmosphere is enriched with jazzy vibes, that turn into either live jazz in the evening or more danceable sounds, mostly based on nu jazz, bossanova or disco. The piano is not a mere esthetic detail, it’s actually played on during unplugged jazz sets.

During the evening, lively atmosphere resembles more of a night club. Drinks and food offer is a vast and quality one. From good local, French and Italian wines, to marvelous cocktails with fresh ingredients. Try Varljivo leto or Dolly Bell!

Food is served all night long – the list is tasty and international, from Chinese noodles to tortillas, hummus with vegetables, grilled beet (beet, not beef!) sandwiches, to beef stakes, American burgers, falafel, curry dishes…

What makes O.U.R. bar stand out is that it retains a classy, but not overtly fancy vibe, prices are a bit higher, but reasonably so.

Great for going out before going further to night clubs, and if you stay there, you won’t regret it. And then again, great for the morning coffee & brunch recovery.

Eating out in Belgrade is a wide term – choices are many, but nothing compares to visiting a green market. Besides obvious reasons like getting best, fresh food and saving some money that you would spend in a restaurant, it’s a nice way to feel the atmosphere of busy Belgrade morning (but not the one in traffic jams). Belgrade has many cool green markets, but perhaps Zeleni venac (Zeh-lenny when-atz) is the easiest to drop by, because it’s near the very center of the city.

If you happen to rent an apartment or are staying at a hostel in the center, you cannot go wrong with going to Zeleni venac and meeting the locals who sell their greens, cheeses, or actually anything that might occur to your mind.

So, instead of starting a day with breakfast from a bakery, I love strolling through the green market, getting some nice and fresh arugula, mint, spinach, tomato, olives and almonds, and making a perfect salad in 10 minutes. There are also nice choices of goat cheese and other dairies, and meat of course.

A perfect spring/summer day may start also with a big glass of raspberries (they sell them in big plastic glasses). You can just buy a cup and go straight to the nearest park and enjoy it.

Besides a typical array of fruits and veggies, you can also browse through stands with various obscure watches, tapes, memorabilia, household items, clothes, and basically everything that one may find on any flea market.

Looking for a live ‘rock’ club? In Belgrade it’s called Gun Club.

Situated in the wider center area, it opened a bit more than a year ago. Their programme is packed, both with indie / pop / rock / punk / reggae / metal / jazz / hip hop etc. gigs and DJ sets.

It’s an unavoidable place for best local bands to play, and also alternative greats like Handsome furs, Grant Hart, Chris Eckman, who’ve played recently.

The club looks mostly like any other decent place, but it’s the atmosphere, people and concerts that make it special. It can hold some 400 people. So, when in Belgrade and in a need of a place to check out the local (and non-local) bands, see what’s going on in the Gun Club, check out their FB page.

As of recently, Sunday evenings are reserved for jam sessions of famous Belgrade musicians.

“Beirut” restaurant is all about being small, cute and tasty, whether you’re talking about the premises or the food. Tucked in small Vrachar streets, it’s situated in a small house with a nice garden, just like any other in the neighborhood. And when it comes to food, don’t let the word ‘small’ discourage you. Most of the menu, like any other Lebanese food, is consisted of meze.

For those who don’t know, meze is a small dish or collection of those, usually served before the main meal, also well known in Turkish, Greek or Balkans’ cuisines. Something like tapas or dim sum.

I love ordering couple of meze plates instead of the main meal – five or six plates per person would suite mostly anybody. You can start with wonderful halloumi, grilled goat cheese with just a bit of olive oil, makali kusa, which is probably the best way to prepare zucchini (with yoghurt sauce), take some malfouf selek, a great sarma with veggies, and of course, humuss and falafel. There’s also a special offer of 7 mezes, and that can really be enough for two persons.

They have also a decent choice of domestic rakija to bring some sparkle to aromatic, fresh Lebanese tastes. Main dishes are mostly based on grilled chicken and lamb meat, in various sauces.

Leave some space for special treatment in the end, delicious mouhalabieh, dreamy like spiced pudding which will take you to heaven. Arabic coffee goes perfect with that, including cardamom for the perfect taste.

As of recently, bowling just boomed and became very popular in Belgrade. From all the alleys that opened, “First Bowling” in Zemun is probably the best for its price and value. It’s situated in “Pinki” sports hall, which was considered a modern architectural gem in the late socialist era, when it was built. Now it’s shabby, but kinda quirky and interesting among nice old 19th century buildings in Zemun Park.

“First Bowling” is quite new and shiny, with all you need for bowling – drinks, disco music and guides for beginners. All kinds of beer, ciders, coffee and other drinks come at regular Belgrade bar prices. For some reason, this is one of the rare places in Belgrade where you can often hear music mash-ups, creative ways of mixing Metallica and Lady Gaga, for e.g.

It’s a nice place to go and warm up before going further to town (or further to bed, perhaps). For all you bowlers, if you ever feel like bowling while in Belgrade – this is the place. Lately, the place has been crowded often, so you would probably like to call and book first.