Where Ottoman Bascarsija meets Habsburg promenades over a coal-grilled cevap.
Sarajevo eats at the intersection of Ottoman, Slavic and Austro-Hungarian tables. Bascarsija still grills cevapi over coals on Bravadziluk and pulls burek under sac on Mali Bravadziluk; Marshal Tito Street and Ferhadija carry the Habsburg sit-down coffee culture and the patisserie that came with it. Bosnian coffee, slow-brewed in a dzezva and served with rahat lokum, anchors every conversation; the practice is on the UNESCO intangible heritage path. Sarajevska Pivara on Franjevacka, founded 1864, is the country's oldest industrial plant and still pours unfiltered Sarajevsko Pivo through Pivnica HS in the same building. The 1992 to 1995 siege did not break the city's food culture; if anything, it sharpened the discipline of the cevabdzinice and buregdzinice that reopened on Bravadziluk the moment the shells stopped.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Sarajevo, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
The plates that define eating in Sarajevo.
Sarajevo-style cevapi are beef-only finger sausages, traditionally four-fingers long (6 to 10 cm), grilled over coals and served in a fresh somun flatbread with raw onion and kajmak cream.
Where: Cevabdzinica Zeljo, Petica Ferhatovic, Cevabdzinica Hodzic, Cevabdzinica Mrkva
Sarajevo burek is the spiral or rolled phyllo pie filled with minced beef and onions, baked under a coal-heated sac metal lid for the canonical version.
Where: Buregdzinica Sac, Buregdzinica Bosna
Bosanski lonac is the Bosnian layer stew, building beef or lamb with cabbage, potato, carrot, peppers, garlic and Vegeta seasoning into an earthenware pot, then slow-baking in the oven for 3 to 4 hours.
Where: Dveri, Inat Kuca, Nanina Kuhinja, Sedef
Begova corba (the Bey's soup) is the rich Ottoman-Bosnian soup of beef or lamb, okra, parsley, carrot and lemon, finished with a roux to thicken.
Where: Dveri, Inat Kuca, Kibe Mahala, Nanina Kuhinja
Klepe are Bosnian dumplings filled with minced beef and onion, boiled and served in garlic-yogurt sauce with walnut, the Sarajevo Ottoman heirloom of the manti family.
Where: Dveri, Nanina Kuhinja
Bosnian sarma is sour-cabbage leaves stuffed with minced beef, pork and rice, slow-braised with smoked meat. The Sarajevo version anchors winter cooking and family meals from December through February.
Where: Dveri, Inat Kuca, Nanina Kuhinja, Sedef
Tufahija is the Bosnian Ottoman dessert of an apple poached in sugar syrup, cored and stuffed with walnut paste, and served with whipped cream and a glass of cold water.
Where: Slasticarna Egipat, Slasticarna Ramis, Inat Kuca, Dveri
Bosnian coffee is slow-brewed in a dzezva copper pot, served unfiltered with the grounds settling at the bottom of a small cup, paired with rahat lokum on the saucer and a glass of cold water.
Where: Cajdzinica Dzirlo, Caffe Cardak, Ministry of Cejf, Caffe Tito
Sogan-dolma is the Bosnian stuffed onion, with whole onions cored and filled with minced beef and rice, then braised in a thin tomato-paprika sauce. A Sarajevo Ottoman-Bosnian summer classic.
Where: Dveri, Inat Kuca, Avlija
Bosnian baklava layers buttered phyllo with walnut filling, baked golden then soaked in honey-lemon syrup. The Sarajevo version is denser and less sweet than Turkish baklava, with walnut dominating over pistachio.
Where: Slasticarna Egipat, Slasticarna Ramis
Sarajevski sahan is the Bosnian sampler tray of five small dishes (cevapi, sogan-dolma, sarma, sarena pita, klepe) served on a copper-pressed plate. The canonical Sarajevo order for a first-time visitor.
Where: Inat Kuca, Sedef, Park Princeva, Kibe Mahala
Pita is the Bosnian umbrella term for filled phyllo pies, with sirnica (cheese), krompirusa (potato), zeljanica (spinach) and tikvenica (pumpkin). The Bosnian dialect reserves 'burek' for meat versions only.
Where: Buregdzinica Sac, Buregdzinica Bosna
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Sarajevo.
Inat Kuca in Sarajevo's Kovaci is the Spite House, an Ottoman house moved across the Miljacka in 1895 and now a Bosnian restaurant for sahan and lonac.
Signature: Sarajevski sahan, Bosanski lonac, Cevapi, Burek
Dveri off Saraci in Bascarsija is the family Bosnian room behind a wood-shuttered facade, with a flowered courtyard and hearty lonac on every table.
Signature: Bosanski lonac, Klepe, Sogan-dolma, Grilled lamb
4 Sobe Gospodje Safije is the four-room villa on Cekalusa where modern Bosnian Sarajevo eats, across restored 1910 rooms and a flower garden.
Signature: Beef tartare, Bosnian tasting plates, Pasta
Kibe Mahala sits on a Vratnik hillside above Bascarsija, where spit-roasted lamb, sahan platters and Herzegovinian wine come with a panoramic view.
Signature: Spit-roasted lamb, Bosnian sahan, Veal jagnjetina
Park Princeva is the panoramic Sarajevo restaurant above Bascarsija that hosted Bono and Bill Clinton, working an elegant Bosnian menu with the best view.
Signature: Veal under sac, Bosnian sahan, Grilled trout
Pivnica HS in Sarajevo is the Sarajevska Pivara taproom inside the 1864 brewery on Franjevacka, the only room pouring the brewery's unfiltered draught.
Signature: Unfiltered Sarajevsko Pivo, Veal platters, Roast pork knuckle
The Ottoman bazaar quarter and Sarajevo's anchor. The Sebilj fountain, copper artisans on Kazandziluk and the cevapi row on Bravadziluk are within five minutes' walk.
Best for: Cevapi, Burek, Bosnian coffee, Pita
The Ottoman fortified neighbourhood above Bascarsija. Stepped lanes climb to Yellow Bastion viewpoint and Kibe Mahala's hillside table.
Best for: Traditional Bosnian, Sunday lunch, Sunset views
The Habsburg pedestrian spine from Bascarsija to Skenderija. Coffee houses, patisserie, modern Bosnian rooms and the city's specialty coffee bars.
Best for: Cafes, Brunch, Modern Bosnian, Vegetarian
The residential hill streets north of Centar. Tree-lined Cekalusa runs past 4 Sobe Gospodje Safije and a string of quieter Bosnian rooms.
Best for: Modern Bosnian, Wine bars, Off-the-radar spots
The 1980s Olympic cultural centre by the Miljacka and the late-Habsburg quarter on its west. Caffe Tito, Sarajevska Pivara and Pivnica HS anchor the strip.
Best for: Brewery, Pub food, Cafes, Casual dining
The cobbled hill behind the City Hall, with Cajdzinica Dzirlo's tea house and Inat Kuca's institution looking back over the Miljacka.
Best for: Tea house, Traditional Bosnian, Sunset
Peak food season: May to early July and mid September to late October. July is Bascarsijske Noci with food vendors taking over the Old Town nightly; August is Sarajevo Film Festival and the city fills up. Winter is for slow Bosnian lonac, sarma and Bosnian coffee in tucked-away rooms.
Local dining hours: Lunch 12:00-15:00, dinner 19:00-23:00. Cevabdzinice open from 08:00-11:00 most days. Bosnian coffee is an all-day ritual, not a takeaway.
Tipping: Service is not included. Round up to the nearest convertible mark on a small bill; 10 percent on a sit-down meal is generous and welcome. Cash is still preferred in many cevabdzinice and Bascarsija counters.
Sarajevo's signature dishes include Cevapi, Burek, Bosanski Lonac, Begova Corba, Klepe. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Sarajevo by district. Bascarsija, Vratnik, Centar (Ferhadija and Marshal Tito), Mejtas and Cekalusa are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Sarajevo include 4 Sobe Gospodje Safije, Park Princeva, Kibe Mahala, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 5 editor-picked food tours in Sarajevo, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Sarajevo dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, halal venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.