Discover the best restaurants in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Klobasarna is located on the premises of a once-famous watchmaker’s shop with over 70 years of watchmaking history. Today it is a fast food restaurant offering the best-known traditional Slovenian dish – the high-quality Carniolan sausage. The owner, Logar Stanislav, opened Klobasarna in the year 2013, armed with the 19th-century recipe for making Carniolan Sausage. The sausage was named after the Austro-Hungarian province of Carniola, which comprised a large part of present-day Slovenia.

The restaurant is a small shop near the central district of the city. The menu is simple and includes the Carniola sausage recognized as a product with Protected Geographical Indication, served with a fresh Kaiser roll, fine mustard, and fresh horseradish. Other traditional dishes at Klobasarna are Kranjska Klobasa – pork and bacon sausage, Struklji – sweet cottage cheese rolled dumpling, and Ricet – barley stew with smoked pork. You have to visit Klobasarna restaurant for an authentic and traditional Slovenian meal at an affordable price.

Fari’s restaurant is the only Persian and falafel fast food place in the center of Ljubljana. Opened in October 2015, it adds a bit of variety to the city’s most common fast food options with its delicious vegan dishes, such as Turkish doner kebab, Balkan burek, and Italian pizza. With its simple decor, mostly for takeaway meals, the place also has some indoor and outdoor seating along the street.

It offers its customers breaded chicken filet, falafel burger and wrap, chicken salad, toasted ham sandwich, vegan burger, a beyond meat burger, vegetarian falafel wrap, and Persian desserts. Two of its specialties that cannot be found anywhere else in the city are kuku sabzi – a vegetarian dish made of parsley, coriander, shallot, and other spices and kebab koobideh – spiced grilled minced meat kofta similar to a Turkish kofta, both of which are excellent in taste. With its welcoming ambiance and friendly Iranian owner, this place must be visited at least once to enjoy the most mouthwatering comforting food.

Sato Bento is an authentic Japanese restaurant located in the Ledina Center complex in Ljubljana. It opened its doors to the public in September 2016 and has been serving consistently delicious homely Japanese dishes for the past 6 years. Their head chef, Shin Sato, is originally from Shizuoka but has been calling Ljubljana his home for the past decade. Painting is a hobby of the chef which transcends into his cooking – hence the piece of art on every plate.

Based on popular reviews of loyal customers, Sato Bento is one of the best sushi and ramen restaurants in the city. They change their menu every week to include new dishes and specials. Some of their customer’s favorites would be the restaurant’s take on chirashi sushi, in-house ramen made from scratch, salmon teriyaki donburi rice bowl, and Shin Sato’s omakase dinner menu. With its international team of chefs and service staff, you are sure to have a lovely time when visiting this restaurant.

Discover Wine Bar Suklje in a beautifully restored old bourgeois villa building along the Breg promenade in Ljubljana. This lovely place exudes charm and sophistication while offering professional service that caters to everyone from novices to connoisseurs. Take a seat under their white vaulted ceilings or enjoy their summer terrace and choose from over 300 different labels representing some of the best wines from Slovenia and abroad. They also offer a special monthly menu of around 30 selected wines and a regular tasting wine workshop for those customers who want to know more about wine culture.

A curious twist that you can experience during the wine service is the so-called “Vino Music Mood”: the wine recommendation based on your music taste. In addition to wine, they also offer a selection of boutique spirits and a wide variety of charcuterie platters, cheese platters, and cold snacks from the Bela Krajina region of Slovenia. You can also purchase wines from their shop to take back home with you from your vacation.

Strelec Restaurant is a fine dining establishment occupying the archer’s tower of Ljubljana Castle. It offers an experience of historical ambiance coupled with top-quality Slovenian cuisine that combines the best of past and present. The restaurant’s menu has been created by the renowned chef Igor Jagodic who holds a Michelin star. With the experiences of the world’s culinary giants such as chef Rene Redzepi (Noma Copenhagen, two Michelin stars holder), chef Nils Henkel (three Michelin stars holder), and the knowledge gained from the famous school of Alain Ducasse in Paris, chef Igor creates an extraordinary experience at the most iconic landmark of Ljubljana.

Arrive by a funicular railway, meander up an old spiral staircase in the castle turret and settle down either in the grand circular dining room or the outdoor terrace overlooking the city. It makes no sense to talk about individual dishes because chef Igor and his team always come up with new ideas and combinations of flavors, textures, and colors with a focus on seasonal dishes and fresh ingredients. Be sure to make a reservation in advance to enjoy a spectacular meal at Strelec restaurant.

Atelje Restaurant is a fine dining establishment located in the city center of Ljubljana. It maintains a relaxed, informal atmosphere without sacrificing its professional attitude. At Atelje, you will enjoy an amazing gastronomic experience created by a team of chefs, waiters, and sommeliers, led by the driving force of the award-winning head chef, Jorg Zupan. The excellent creative cuisine of this restaurant has been awarded a Michelin star, which should tell you this is not a place to miss out.

The menu consists of Slovenian and international dishes, which have all been prepared with top-quality seasonal ingredients. This eatery’s special feature is that they bake their own bread, ripen cheese, make yogurt, and preserve vegetables. The slogan “Simple but refined” is reflected in the restaurant's interiors and culinary creations. But don't be fooled by appearances – though the dish may look simple, it is actually sophisticated and skillfully thought out. The fermented products help add a touch of acidity to the foods, while ingredients like kombucha and miso bear show the chef’s experiences acquired from around the world. So make sure to visit this fine establishment for a lovely culinary experience on your visit to Slovenia.

Monstera Bistro is a restaurant that offers the author’s cuisine in an unpretentious atmosphere near the river in the center of Ljubljana. It is one of the most interesting gastronomic locations in the city, where the innovative menu has been designed by an acclaimed chef, Bine Volcic. He is one of the first Slovenian chefs to establish the concept of “zero waste cuisine”. The chefs at Monstera bistro tastefully serve you even those edible parts of plants and meat, which are usually thrown away. Potato peels become tasty chips, and the lesser-known parts of beef, such as marrow, discover new forms of use. Monstera has become famous for its creative and innovative dishes, and it is predicted by many customers that it would soon be rewarded with the prestigious Michelin star.

The lunch menu is characterized by a constant search for new flavors with seasonal ingredients of the highest quality, and a nightly tasting menu is where the head chef exercises his artistic freedom with a 7-course meal. The drinks menu offers a specially brewed craft beer Monstera, the wine list is full of ecologically produced wines and natural drinking water served in unique water bottles. Be sure to make a reservation before visiting Monstera Bistro, as they are mostly always pre-booked.

Ljubljana is a lively green city combining the charm of a small capital and the self-confidence of large European cities. It was also named the greenest city in Europe in 2016. This beautiful eastern European travel destination is full of history, culture, and medieval architecture. The locals are very hospitable. Here, you will experience everything a metropolis can offer while diving into small-town friendliness. Ljubljana is a city where people often wish to return, be it for work or because of the pleasant memories from their previous travels. Its unique charm, welcoming atmosphere, and beautiful architecture make Ljubljana worth visiting once in your lifetime.

Have you been to Slovenia already? Share your experience in trying local food with other foodies in the comment section below.