Image by jost derlink

As I said in the article Smetumet, I decided to write thematically related articles. In this one I’m going to present you Gostilna dela (the working bistro/ bistro of work). It is one of the results of project Tovarna dela (factory of work) and gives another chance to the young and unemployed without proper education. With this job they get social security and experiences for further job opportunities, so it’s like a job and a learning workshop.

Their daily menu is based on balanced diet with less sugar and fat, full of vitamins, fiber and minerals. Yummy! They have breakfast, snacks and lunch, for which they prepare every day soup, meat or a vegetarian main course, salad and dessert.

The interior is also in spirit of sustainable development! They have reused old furniture. They also received an award for the perspective interior at the Month of design in Ljubljana. So those were the reasons why you must love places like this one, and when you finish your meal in Gostilna dela, just walk a few meters on Poljanska stret, where you’ll find bistro’s cousing – Oblačilnica dela.

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Gostilna dela | Snacks, Restaurants
Poljanska 7 | Center
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 18:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Jost Derlink

When it comes to fast food, Ljubljana fails at the diversity test. You can divide almost all places into 3 categories: burek, kebab and McDonald’s (the only fast food chain from the West). On Trubarjeva Street you can find a small but important exception: falafel.

I’m not a fan of kebab, definitely not a fan of overpriced fast food chains and I’m not in the mood every day (or night) for burek (although I love it), so falafel can be quite handy.

This falafel place is also somewhere in the middle between Prešeren square and Metelkova and Rog (check the Metelkova article), so it’s a good place to stop.

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Falafel | Snacks | Falafel € 3.50
Trubarjeva 40 | Center
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 00:00, Sat 12:00 – 00:00, Sun 13:00 – 22:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Jost Derlink

A few years ago I went to France for 2 weeks, I nearly always bought my lunch or snack in bakeries – boulangeries. When I left the country I knew I would miss those bakeries, but then I remembered that we also have one of those in Ljubljana!

Bakery Žak (Jaques) is located near Slovenska street in a bulding called Metalka and there you can buy some of those French pleasures. Early in the morning you can get different kinds of croissants, pain au chocolat etc and also great baguettes and sandwiches…

It’s best to go here before noon because later you may find 2 leftover croissants and one sandwich, because it’s quite a popular spot among locals.

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Pekarna Žak | Snacks
Dalmatinova ulica 2 | Center
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 17:00, Sat 07:00 – 13:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Jost Derlink

What do you get if you combine location in the undiscovered part of old town, cool furniture, tables made of timber, a library with books in Serbo-Croatian and lots of cocktails with absinth? You get one of the greatest places to hang out in Ljubljana – a cozy living-room feeling café at daytime and a great party place at nighttime! You are going to worship their cocktails based on absinth.

Don’t get scared when you come to the bar and see their doors. They make you think the bar has been closed since the last millennium. Just open it and order a Supreme tonic .

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Pri Zelenem zajcu | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Supreme tonic € 4.00
Rožna ulica 3 | Center
Mon – Wed 09:00 – 00:00, Thu – Sat 09:00 – 01:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Jost Derlink

Sax pub is located on Eipprova Street. It was the first pub in the street. After that, a lot of other cafes and restaurants opened their doors but despite others you can’t really miss Sax pub. It’s a small house covered with graffiti.

You could call it the second jazz club in Ljubljana as it has a stage smaller than a normal toilet. It’s well known for great atmosphere, especially during the summer, when they have concerts on a stage near Gradascica River, which was made by Slovenian architect Joze Plecnik.

The place is perfect for a break from the center if you don’t have enough time to go somewhere further away. You will find Eipprova Street south of the center in the city part called Trnovo. It is also possible to walk there from Preseren’s square, if you just walk along Ljubljanica River.

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Sax pub | Bars, Music, Snacks | Beer € 2.50
Eipprova ulica 7 | Vic
Mon 12:00 – 01:00, Tue – Sat 10:00 – 01:00, Sun 16:00 – 21:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Tjasa Janovljak

This ethno club has brought freshness into Ljubljana when it opened a couple of years ago. One could easily say it is the first ethno club around here. Its name Zlati Zob or Golden Tooth always made me think that this refers to the often seen golden teeth in Gypsy grins. Well, I recently found out it is meant as golden smile, good people, feeling cosy, snacks… A nice environment in short!

The carefully selected decorations are from all over the world and also world ethno music is played here. There is always something going on: dancing performances, concerts, DJ programs, traveler lectures… Dancing lectures of Balkan ‘kolo’ (round dance) are also organized every Tuesday. You should definitely try that, it is unforgettable, believe me.

Another positive thing about that place is that they serve very good Czech draft beer called Bernard and a proper Rakija drink, very well known hard liqueur to any traveler on the Balkans. Quite interesting is also the building itself, which is part of Selo, an 18th century mansion used for different purposes during the history.

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Zlati Zob | Bars, Music, Snacks | Beer € 2.70
Zaloka cesta 69 | Moste | +38659139552
Mon – Thu 19:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 19:00 – 03:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Eva Taucar

Burek is food, a very good one. Fast food actually, fat and salty and totally unhealthy but it feels like sent from above when you need some energy refill in the middle of the night…or in the early morning before you head towards your bed.

Nobel is a burek place in city centre and it is usually the last stop before going home after heavy night of partying. It is quite generally known that burek together with yogurt kills (or at least reduces) hangover the next day, that is why it is so popular. In my opinion it beats kebab and hamburger big time, and because of its “balkan” roots, it feels more authentic as well.

My advice is to stick with the traditional meat or cheese burek and please forget about diet because you will miss all the joy. You will find Nobel by following Miklosiceva street from Preseren square towards Central station; when you are stopped by a big kitschy green yellow sign and (especially during night hours) a bunch of people, you will know you’re there.

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Nobel Burek | Snacks | Burek € 2.00
Miklosiceva 30 | Center | +38612323392
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Eva Taucar

When you enter this place, close your eyes and breathe in once or twice. What you will smell is the smell of heaven. Pure chocolate – everywhere and in everything. The chocolate oriented sweetshop Rustika is the best when it comes to this brown gold. Cakes, pralines and ice creams – what a joy!

When you will start brainstorming what to bring home from holidays, don’t bother with kitschy T-shirt nobody wants to wear, but instead choose some dark chocolate truffles that are first: edible, and second: not just edible but damn good. You will definitely gain popularity among your friends and family!

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Rustika | Shopping, Snacks | Chocolate cake € 2.30
Trubarjeva cesta 44 | Center | +38659935730
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 21:00, Sat 09:00 – 14:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Eva Taucar

All meat lovers unite! You will love this place. The only vegetable they serve in this restaurant is onion (and yet only for the sake of better meat digestion), so it is not really vegetarian friendly. Also don’t expect fancy wine card or French desserts – here the only drink is beer and as a desert you get strong traditionally cooked Turkish coffee together with ‘old school’ Drina cigarette, stuffed with nicotine, and ratluk (traditional candy). Healthy food is for pussies anyway.

The menu is simple: grilled meat (cevapcici and/or sudzukice – a kind of sausage), home made bread, also a bit grilled, onion and kajmak – a special sort of cream cheese that you melt over meat.

And that’s it – that’s the whole magic. If you will try & eat everything you will successfully passed the basic introduction course of traditional Balkan food. Congratulations!

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Harambasa | Snacks, Restaurants (Balkan) | Cevapcici (10 pieces & bread) € 6.50
Vrtna ulica 8 | Vic | +38641843106
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 22:00, Sat 12:00 – 22:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana

Image by Eva Taucar

This deli on the basement floor of Maximarket is quite a sight; I was positively surprised when I set foot inside for the first time after the reincarnation from just an ordinary food market, crowded in the weekends with youngsters buying alcohol for parties, to definitely no.1 gourmet place in Ljubljana.

They have a huge range of Slovenian wines, oils and meat products proudly promoting our culinary culture. Yeah, we surely know how to eat good; it is not just Italians and French who kick ass. What you definitely won’t find in these two countries is great pumpkin oil, gorgeous on green salads and beans, that comes from our North East flat region. An almost black thick liquid, known just in some parts of Austria and Hungary, is tradition in our little country; a bowl of salad can hardly manage without it. Small “fancy dessert” recipe, a bit hard to believe but with other words “don’t judge just try”, is to sprinkle few drops of pumpkin oil on vanilla ice cream – it tastes fantastic!

When it comes to top five things to bring home, you have to include this oil, Karst prosciutto, Karst sheep cheese, Teran liqueur and few bottles of Slovenian wines.

When hunger unexpectedly strikes and you are looking for something fast and cheap, it is also worth to stop here. Fresh pizza slices, sandwiches, pastries, cakes and fruits can help you to survive on a very low budget.

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Delikatesa Maximarket | Shopping, Snacks | Slice of pizza € 1.00
Trg republike 1 | Center | +386614766800
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 21:00, Sat 08:00 – 17:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Ljubljana