ljubljana-foodie-guide

INTERVIEWS
bly the best display of Slovenian cuisine,
along with a show their flamboyant chef
Slavko Žagar jr. puts on. For a higher,
classical culinary experience book a table
at Strelec, and for those who prefer
a bolder, more youthful high-end
specialties visit Grič, Tabar, Atelje or
Monstera. For meat lovers, your place
is Čompa.
For burger and beer it has to be Pop’s
Place, and wine-lovers should stop by
Movia Bar, Tozd, Tabar or Wine bar
Šuklje. Another option is to grab some
sourdough bread at the bakery Osem,
some quality Italian delicacies at Dobrote.si,
and then find a space by the
Ljubljanica river for a picnic.
On Friday, it’s time for Open Kitchen
which is a nice display of the culinary
and wine Ljubljana has to offer.
Boštjan
Napotnik,
food blogger & critic
Photo: Uroš Abram
Boštjan Napotnik, for friends also
Napo, is a legend among food bloggers
and critics. He complements his
day job as a creative director of the
advertising company Futura with writing
restaurants’ reviews for the weekly
magazine Mladina, running the morning
programme at Radio Študent every
now and then and creating his food
blog kruhinvino.com (Bread & wine) already
since 2006. He is the author of
two bestselling cookbooks: Kuhinja za
prave moške (Cooking For Real Men)
and Orodjarna (Toolbox).
How would you rate the development of
our gastronomy scene in the last 5-10
years?
It seems to me that Ljubljana is in perpetual
transition or in development. It’s
a lot of momentum and ideas but they
all somehow disappear. It looks like Slovenian
restaurants are based on the assumption
that you will be visiting them
only once and never again, that’s why
they are not trying to adapt their menus
to the seasons and cherish that.
How does Ljubljana culinary scene compare
with the rest of the world?
I think quite well, for me Ljubljana is
better than much bigger Croatian capital
Zagreb. Regardless of how little residents
our town has, I think the choice
and variety of offers are enviably good.
Where are you favorite places to hang
out?
I like going to the cult “hodok”or hot
dog event every Wednesday in Lepa
žoga bar, about five times a years. I like
Žmoht food truck in Moste district, for
the beer I step into Sir William’s pub,
across the street from it is the delikatessed
Dobrote.si where I go for some
salami and cheese. Japanese hole in
the wall Sato Bento is remarkable,
38 www.ljubljananjam.si #ljubljananjam