Restaurants & dining – All our local tips

Whether you just want to have a nice glass of beer or need a warm-up before going to some club, a beer hall Mali medo (meaning “little bear”) is a spot you don’t want to miss. It is in the city centre, in middle of the Tkalčićeva street, so it won’t be hard to find.

The beer that you’re going to drink there is a high quality home made beer, very good and well priced. Beer hall Mali medo is on of the Medvedgrad beer halls, and the first in Zagreb to produce their own beer.

If you get hungry you can order something from the menu with traditional croatian meals.

But besides a great beer and traditional dishes, cosy interior is also a reason to visit this place. Mali medo is covered with old pictures of Zagreb on the walls. And best of all, the atmosphere is always great; the more people, the merrier it gets!

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Beer hall Mali medo | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Croatian) | Beer Kn 10.00
Tkalčićeva 36 | Upper town | +38514929613
10:00 – 00:00 daily

At this place they don’t serve meat – they serve happiness! (Providing that you’re a hard-core carnivore like me, of course.)

A big cloud of irresistible mouth-watering scent floats around this place which makes it hard to miss – you just need to follow your animal instinct once you get close to it. Although it looks very modest from the outside (well, to be frank, from the inside also) it compensates with the quality of dishes available.

The interior is more often than not full of smoke from the grill, so do not wear your best clothes there First thing that you’ll see when you enter is pictures of the dishes hanging on the walls (which can help you decide what to order), a dozen of wooden tables with white linen tablecloths, and probably me, sitting at one of them, choking on uštipci, curd and onion.

If you decide to come on Friday and/or weekend around lunch/dinner time, you can find yourself standing in a half an hour line, waiting for a table so you might consider making a phone reservation a couple of hours before.

Some of the specialities are:
Mazalice (Minced meat spread on bread and grilled – hot!)
Gurmanska pljeskavica (Minced meat steak stuffed with cheese)
Dimljena vješalica (Smoked tenderloin – salty!)
Jetrica sa špekom (Chicken liver coated in bacon)
Uštipci (Meat balls stuffed with hot pepper, bacon & cheese – my favourite – hot!)
Punjena vješalica (Tenderloin stuffed with cheese and bacon)
Kajmak (Curd – all of the aforementioned aren’t as half as tasty as when savoured with curd)

Important notice: Mazalice, gurmanska pljeskavica and baklava (sweet pastry with minced walnuts) are not on the menu so you will gain respect in the eyes of the waiter if you order them because only regulars know of them. This significantly shortens the waiting time

Unfortunately, vegetarians should basically steer clear of this place, ’cause there’s animal protein even in the air.

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Bistro MZ | Restaurants (Grill) | Dishes from Kn 30.00
Aleja Antuna Augustinčića 8 | Maksimir | +38512319179
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 22:00, Sun 10:00 – 16:00

Being one of many Chinese restaurants opened in the last half a dozen years, the offer in Dinastija restaurant does not differ much from the lot. However, what is different, is the taste. It’s better!

Situated on the main street in Zagreb (Ilica) this pleasant oasis of Far East offers great food for more than decent prices. My favourite dish there is definitely spring rolls, which are perfectly crispy and never too greasy. Besides them, the vegetables there are never overcooked so you can actually try what they taste like and see for yourself that they are fresh and not frozen.

The interior is not impressive, a couple of generic vases and some ornaments with rosewood panels and lampoons. The soft background music sometimes gives me the creeps, because it is too squeaky for my taste (though it just might be culturally determined That’s why I mostly order takeaway! The portions are abundant and the working hours are decent. All in all, if you find yourself in the vicinity, stop by to fill the tummy with tasty Chinese food – otherwise, just call the delivery. (Note: Minimum delivery is 100kn).

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Restoran Dinastija | Restaurants (Chinese) | Spring rolls Kn 14.00
Ilica 113 | Lower town | +38513731418
12:00 – 00:00 daily

Zlatni medo (golden bear in English) is a restaurant, as well as the biggest beer hall in Zagreb. As a restaurant it offers a good menu with lots of typical Croatian food, so it’s a good recommendation if you’re looking for a place to eat. But even though the food here is nice, I like Zlatni medo much more as a beer hall.

This place is great to go to when you don’t feel like going out the entire night, but you just want to spend a good time with your friends and a lots of great home made beer. The place itself is really big so the best thing is to come here with lots of friends. One other good thing about Zlatni medo is its furniture. Massive dark brown chairs and tables just make you enjoy your beer even more.

Zlatni medo is a place where you can have a good time, no matter if you just want to get a good meal or a good drink, so try not to miss it.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Zlatni medo | Bars, Restaurants (Croatian) | Beer Kn 12.00
Savska 56 | Lower town | +38516177119
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 12:00 – 00:00