Where to Try Vegetarian Serbian Food in Belgrade
Belgrade–the former capital of Yugoslavia and current capital of Serbia–is a gritty yet beautiful city located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. It’s a city where the layers of history are visible in the architecture, from the ancient ruins of the original fortress at the foot of Kalemegdan, to the blocky communist-era buildings.
As much as I love traveling in Serbia, it is not the most vegetarian-friendly place. I’ve definitely had some challenges finding decent options, even in Belgrade.
What is Serbian cuisine?
Serbia is part of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Along with the rest of the countries from former Yugoslavia, it has historically been a region of collision between eastern and western powers. As such, the cuisine is a mix of Slavic Eastern European, Central European (with dishes like goulash and paprikash), and Greek/Turkish (general Mediterranean, really–though I find Serbian cuisine the least Mediterranean of the Balkans).
Serbian cuisine is very meat-oriented: grilled meat, stewed meat, and cevapi (or “meatfingers”, little ground meat sausage/meatball type things served in bread) are all staples.
That leaves vegetarian travelers to Belgrade wondering: with the cuisine being so meat-heavy, what Serbian food can I actually try?
Well, I’ve got some experience here! I’ve had some food in Belgrade that was…uh, not great…so I’ve picked out a few of the best spots in Belgrade for vegetarian Serbian food to help out my fellow veggie travelers.
Foreground: Pepper cheese spread. Background: Ajvar, an eggplant and red pepper condiment common in the Balkans.
Grmeč (ГРМЕЧ)
This is a true, unpretentious, old-school Serbian restaurant. As is likely to be the case at any traditional Serbian restaurant, vegetarians will want to go straight to the “Appetizers” and “Sides” sections of the menu.
What makes Grmeč stand out from other spots is the quality of their food–including the sides! Some places really neglect their sides, which is not great when that’s all you’re ordering.
I highly recommend the cheese spread (which is a little bit spicy) and the ajvar (eggplant/red pepper spread–Grmeč’s version is a little smoky and absolutely delicious!).
There are also a few vegetarian-friendly appetizers, like peppers stuffed with cheese and roasted mushrooms.
Cheese starters at Iva New Balkan Cuisine.
Iva New Balkan Cuisine
Iva is a wildly different dining experience from Grmeč: as the name suggests, it’s a modern spot all about updating and expanding the possibilities of traditional Serbian cuisine. Luckily, that includes several vegetarian and vegan options: polenta and homemade noodles were two of the four or five choices when we visited.
However, we probably liked our cheese starters the best: baked cheese with blueberries and dough stuffed with cheese and thyme, both topped with walnuts.
Iva is a very popular restaurant, so reservations are a must! It’s also more upscale than the other restaurants on this list, so the prices are higher than most other places you will go in Belgrade. Starters, mains, and a bottle of wine for two people will set you back around €50-60.
Mayka
Finally, we have a fully vegetarian restaurant (with many vegan dishes) where you can actually try vegetarian cevapi! So why am I putting this place here a little reluctantly? Well, honestly…I wasn’t that impressed. I found the food to be quite salty, but lacking in any other seasoning.
However, it IS a place you can try vegetarian and vegan versions of Serbian dishes that you will not be able to find anywhere else. Maybe others will have better luck here than I did!
This list is not as long as I would like it to be, but I hope veggie travelers to Belgrade find it helpful!
Have you been to Belgrade? What did you think of the food?
