As you might have noticed from a visit to Dolac market, Zagrebers love dairy products. We put our typical Zagreber cheese – a white, fresh cheese similar to cottage cheese –  in both salty and sweet dishes. “Zagorski štrukli” is a traditional dish made in Zagreb and the Zagorje region, which in its simplest version is made of soft dough filled with said cream cheese. Although not many things can compare to the joy of eating them in heated mountain huts on Sljeme after a morning of hiking (let’s be honest – if it wasn’t for the food in the huts I might not have spent that many Sunday mornings climbing up our landmark mountain) – a spontaneous lunch out at La štruk after a lazy walk through the old town comes very close. 

La štruk was the first to dedicate an entire bistro to them, and what caught everyone’s attention was their creative twists and unusual fillings of the štrukli: besides the salty and sweet versions of cooked štrukli, there are gratinated štrukli with additional toppings: walnuts and honey, apple and cinnamon, blueberry, truffles, roasted pepper, pumpkin seed pesto and a weekly special surprise version. Štrukli are the Croatian comfort food par excellence – they’re creamy, cheesy and remind you of visits to relatives from the north.