Sač (pronounced satch) is a metal or clay vessel put in hot ashes in order to bake food. You can load almost anything inside, but it is commonly considered that sač has the best effects on meat or potatoes, endowing them with delicious properties while baked in their own juices. Thus all food labeled as pod sačom (“under sač”) in Serbian menus is considered a great delicacy. Rightfully, I might add.

The place to try this kind of cooking in its full splendor is restaurant “Sač” in Zemun. There are other items of Serbian cuisine on the menu but the veal and lamb baked pod sačom are in the spotlight. Try them for some grand meat and potatoes virtually melting in your mouth, while releasing all those flavors absorbed during their preparation, and your parameters of “tasty” will never be the same. I tried it ages ago but still find it very special (and addictive!).

The location of the restaurant is – to say the least – curious. The interior decoration is standard for Serbian cuisine restaurants but what makes it unusual is that the whole place is only one large hall. This is due to the fact that Sač is located on the premises of a former synagogue, emptied of its worshipers during Nazi occupation in World War Two and then later on sold to the city council that now rents it out.

An additional booster for the visit is excellent live music playing Serbian tunes Wednesdays to Saturdays evening.