Zagreb is beautiful. An enchanting meeting point between classic and contemporary. Still very old, yet very new. Its people are warm and friendly, and its history deep and complex. There’s plenty to explore and experience there – including its cuisine. Our local guide Vlatka led us through a wonderful culinary tour in the city, introducing us to a few unique tastes and flavours that I have documented below.

The first treat that we were introduced to was the Makovnjača Strudla – or poppy seed strudel, in this case, with zucchini. It had a rather unique texture that came from the grainy ground poppy seeds and the soft slivers of zucchini, and wasn’t all that sweet. Raisins are a typical addition and, while what we enjoyed was more of a pastry form, the roll form of it seems to be more common. Rather unexpectedly, I liked it! Apparently, these strudels are popular at Christmas and Easter time.

Next, we tried Punjene Paprike – peppers stuffed with minced pork – at Stari Fijaker, a restaurant that serves authentic Croatian food. These were delicious. Juicy and full of flavour, and in an equally delicious sauce, they had been cooked until the pepper shell was soft and came apart rather easily. They were served with mashed potato.

Here, we also tried what we were told was a popular choice of beverage – Gemist, which is a spritzer, a concoction of white wine and sparkling water. It was refreshing, to say the least, and obviously works well for individuals like myself who sit at the lowest end of the alcohol spectrum!

We then moved on to Restoran Uspinjača for a platter of local cold cuts. Situated right next to the world’s shortest funicular ride, the interior of this place was rather homely, with its brick ceiling and wood-heavy décor. The platter comprised of locally prepared kulen (paprika sausage), prosciutto, salami, prga (cow milk cheese with paprika), paški sir (sheep milk cheese from the island of Pag) and regular local cow milk cheese. We also tried some local green and black olives, and sundried local mini red bell peppers – which I loved for their sweet spice and bite. I also quite like the kulen and paški sir. The platter was served with a side of homemade bread.

It was then time for some spirits and truffles, and Vlatka’s choice of Crošara was the perfect spot to leave one spoilt for choice. Rakija is essentially the traditional drink of Croatia – a liqueur that’s distilled from fruits, nuts, herbs and the likes, and has an average ABV of 40%. We tried two types out of the countless varieties on offer – teranino, a red wine liqueur, and šljivovica, a very popular choice made from plum. Strong is an understatement to describe them, but – of course – one must try to know!

Croatian truffles are a popular affair. We tried their black and white varieties and tartufata, a savoury truffle paste used in the preparation of sauces and dishes. We also tasted a few truffle spreads with interesting flavour combinations – including a chocolate truffle paste, which tasted surprisingly good!

Our final stop for the night was at La Štruk, where we tasted the famed Štrukli, a gooey baked (or sometimes boiled) preparation of dough and cottage cheese that feels like an every-so-slightly indulgent, warm hug. The bustling restaurant offers an interesting array of savoury and sweet options, and we went with salty cheese and blueberry. Very nice. The salty cheese one, which is more like a conventional štrukli, was great. But we loved the blueberry one. The ‘odd’ combination of molten cheese and blueberry worked so well together. I realise that I’ve already described a few things as ‘unexpectedly’ good in this post, but I’m going to have to use it again for the blueberry štrukli. It was delish.

And that was pretty much our general sentiment towards the city of Zagreb and everything it offered – unexpectedly good, unexpectedly wonderful.