Where and What to Eat in Zlatibor

Zlatibor is a good place to eat well without trying very hard. The region is known for mountain food: smoked meat, sheep and cow cheese, grilled dishes and heavy, honest breakfasts. You will not go hungry, and prices are fair compared with Belgrade.

What to try first

If you eat one thing here, make it komplet lepinja. It is a soft flatbread baked with kajmak, egg and the fatty juices from roasting meat, all soaked together. People eat it for breakfast, often standing at a bakery counter. It is simple and rich and completely local. Beyond that, the star products are Zlatibor prosciutto (prsut) and young cheese, usually served together as a cold plate.

A few things worth ordering:

• Komplet lepinja, best in the morning when it is fresh.
• Prsut and cheese plate, ideally with kajmak and some bread.
• Grilled meat: cevapi, pljeskavica, or a mixed platter if you are hungry.
• Local lamb or veal cooked under the sac (a metal bell), if a place offers it that day.
• Homemade pastry and gibanica for something between meals.

Where to go

There are three kinds of places, and each has its use. Kafanas are the old-style taverns, good for grilled meat, rakija and a relaxed evening. Restaurants around the center and the lake cover the same food with a bit more comfort and larger menus. Bakeries are where you grab lepinja, burek and pastry cheaply and fast, which is perfect on a travel day or before a hike.

I will not hand you a list of names, because places change and taste is personal. Walk around, see where locals sit, and pick that one. If a kafana is full of Serbian families on a Sunday, you have found a good one.

One more honest tip: eating out every meal adds up. Our apartment has a full kitchen with an espresso machine, so many guests buy cheese, prsut and fruit at the market and keep breakfast at home, then go out for one proper meal a day.