Coffee & tea

I generally believe that the content of a product is more important than the packaging. Applied to bars, restaurants, shops etc, that would mean that I care more about what they have to offer than the looks of the place itself – I’ve found the greatest things in places that were neither glamorous nor well decorated. But why choose between quality and nice ambient if you can have both? That’s the first thing that came to mind when I stumbled upon Amélie, a charming cake shop situated near Jelačić square.

This lovely shop offers a range of homemade cakes and other sweets, such as brownie cake, cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake, various fruit pies and macaroons – the last one being a nice surprise, as it’s not easy to find in Zagreb. There are also different types of quiche, if you’d rather skip the sugar and have a solid snack.

I promised you an attractive ambient along with delicious cakes – the interior of Amélie has been carefully thought out; the place resembles a tastefully decorated doll house. The colours are pastel and calming, the furniture is romantic and charming, and the music is soothing; the intention of the owner was to create a place you’ll enjoy while you’re there and feel relaxed and revived when you leave, and that’s exactly what she managed to achieve.

When it comes to bars in Zagreb, great interior design doesn’t always mean good things on the menu. However, in Flores, a fancy café situated a couple of steps away from the Jelačić square, you can get both.

For me it means the best chocolate pie I’ve had in this city, plus pretty good coffee. What more could you ask from life? Well, Flores will also give you good background music (a little bit of lounge, a little bit of funky – nothing so loud that you can’t hear yourself talk), decoration that’s posh but not overly pretentious and polite staff that will serve you right away and won’t be troubled to recommend a dessert you’ll surely like. They also offer a wide range of both non-alcoholic drinks and fine spirits.

Of course, quality comes with a price: the pastries and drinks in Flores will cost you a bit more than in some other bars. Also, Flores is one of rare bars in Zagreb where smoking is forbidden, so if you’re a non-smoker, that’s one more reason to check it out.

Coming from the German word “shpitze” meaning “tip”, the Zagreb “špica” is a peculiar social phenomenon that doesn’t happen that often in other European cities, at least based on the feedback from my international friends.

It happens on Saturday mornings, more precisely between 10:00 a.m. and 14:00. It makes sense to get around to doing everything you didn’t have time throughout the week on Saturday morning – going to the market, doing some shopping around town, meeting friends for a coffee and catching up etc. But what is specific about “špica” is that everyone tends to do that in the range of a couple of streets downtown, looking their best.

So, if you take a walk around Bogovićeva, “Cvjetni trg” area, Tkalčićeva and the main square, you’ll see women in their fur coats looking as if they just came out of the hairdressers, pushing their strollers around in the highest imaginable heels just being their everyday fabulous selves. And the men don’t lack behind much.

Although for this one Saturday mornings are reserved for sleeping; sunny weather, a friend or some choir may get me up and about downtown where I end up amazed once again by the ingenuity and pure energy put into getting your amazing self there to the “tip”. So, if you want to see the best of the best in Zagreb, meet celebrities and celebrity wannabes, witness the latest trends, or bump into almost everyone you know in Zagreb, špica is the place to go.

ZPC – the Zagreb Dance Centre opened its doors in October 2009, much to pleasure of all of us who are dancers, professional of recreational or simply in love with the art of dance. After a long period of waiting (somehow it seems that in Croatia the proverb “Good things come to those who wait” is beyond truth, it’s an universal fact) dancers, choreographers and common folk who wanted to inform themselves about anything connected to dance have gotten their spot.

ZPC is envisaged as a place where choreographers and dancers can perform, take classes and practice, with open doors for everyone who wants to learn. Apart for physical acts of dancing, film projections connected to dance take place here (after all, this used to be a cinema, one of the oldest in Zagreb which had to close its doors after the birth of big corporations called multiplex cinemas), discussions and seminars – in other words, anything and everything connected to dance.

Choreographers from most dance studios in Zagreb and beyond hold open classes in the Dance Centre to which you can simply walk in and test your strength, endurance and knowledge.

The building itself was voted one of the best architectural solutions lately in Zagreb, designed by the Zagreb based studio 3LHD. Therefore, ZPC is truly a place to visit, either to dance or simply look around and have a coffee on its terrace which provides a peaceful, artistic vibe in the very centre of Zagreb.

Opened a year ago, Divas is a refreshment on the Zagreb cafe scene. It has all a cozy, warm  and unique cafe needs to have – great coffee, good service, a great imaginative interior and a smoking section with awesome ventilation where you don’t feel like a quarantine disease patient secluded from the rest of the world. Oh, and not to forget the cake selection, which depending on the day can range from awesome to good . 

It is quite a small place that can feel cramped at times, due to its popularity, so seating might be hard to find but when you manage to grab that chair of yours, you will feel welcome to spend as much time as you need there. I’ve spent many a day working there since they have fast reliable wifi. 

But one of the tings that always keeps me interested is the decor – ever changing and interesting, there will always be a new detail you can inspect for a while and it doesn’t get boring as there’s so many details there it’s hard to notice them all in a few visits. Definitely a place to recommend for a coffee and chill.