Must try food in Bosnia and Hercegovina

We ate such good food in Bosnia-Hercegovina. Traditional food is often prepared with meat, and meals are plentiful and delicious. The food is usually made from scratch with local and seasonal ingredients, and by definition organic. The cuisine is similar to that of Turkey, Greece, and other Mediterranean countries. Salads are usually made up of a few tomatoes, cucumber and a generous helping of raw cabbage. Nearly everyone drinks in Bosnia, so you will find plenty of choice for local beers and rakija (the local spirit). There’s so many great dishes to try in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we tried to make a list of the must try foods and where to eat them.

1. Cevapi

The land of Cevapi – it’s a must when visiting Bosnia! Usually served in bread with raw onion. But some places serve with Ajvar or yoghurt-creme cheese sauce. Best one – Travnik at Haris – even people in Sarajevo said this! And we agree – after 31 days in Bosnia and god knows how many Cevapi, the best one was definitely there.

2. Muckalica

Muckalica, a meat stew in tomato base. The best one we had was at one of the only non-smoking restaurants in Sarajevo (perhaps in all of Bosnia) The tiny kitchen in the back is humming with activity as the ladies prepare food. It gets busy so book a table. Don’t be afraid to call as the staff speak perfect English. The home baked bread ‘crown’ is beautiful and the steaks here are also pretty damn good.

3. Lonac

Lonac became Livia’s favourite dish in Bosnia, a pot with meat, carrots, cabbage, onion etc. cooked for a long time. The absolute best one we had was in Jajce at Kod Asima. This place sits above the entrance to old town. It’s interior is a bit dated and dark, but you can also sit outside on the roof terrace. The Lonac is amazing here, it’s thick and rich, not the watery cabbage stuff you get in Sarajevo. Note: we only found this dish in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not in Republica Srpska.

4. Biftek

Biftek, a steak, can be found everywhere in Bosnia-Hercegovina. They know their meat here! We had it a few times, but not too many as it’s more expensive than other dishes. One of the best ones was in Trebinje, at restaurant MGs.

5. Mix grill!

Grilled food is typically Bosnian, and you will find it everywhere. We had mix grill many times during our trip through Bosnia, and they were all great. One of the best plates of this we found in Mostar at Irma in Old Town. They cook everything over a fire grill and the cheff pulls the meat from the flames with her bare hands and piles it high on platters. We ordered the mix grill for 2 people (30KM) and we were almost scared with the amount of food (with grilled vegetables, ajvar, bread and cream cheese with of course the obligatory raw onions) that arrived. It was a mountain of joy. Head there late afternoon and we promise you that you won’t want to eat anything else that day.

6. Burek

Burek is a kind of pastry with various fillings, our favourite was the meat one. You can find burek everywhere. All bakeries (Pekara) will sell them. They’re also open late, so you can always get a Burek! The best place we had Burek was in Travnik, but I don’t think we ever had a bad tasting burek.