Olimpija Burek ★ 3.8
Olimpija's window runs phyllo burek 18 hours a day, the slightly more proper alternative to Nobel for a midnight stop. A TableJourney editor pick.
Try: Phyllo burek with meat or cheese
History
Burek arrived in Slovenia from Bosnia and the Ottoman Balkans, and after Yugoslav-era migration to Ljubljana from the 1960s onward became a defining Ljubljana street food. Olimpija on Miklosiceva and Nobel near the train station have served burek 24 hours since the 1990s, with the apple version (jabolcni) a Slovenian-specific touch.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1 packet (400g) yufka or filo pastry, thawed and kept under a damp cloth
- 200ml neutral oil, plus more for brushing
- For cheese filling (sirov burek): 500g brined feta or skuta (Slovenian curd cheese), 200g full-fat cottage cheese, 3 eggs, 1 tbsp finely chopped dill, salt and pepper
- For meat filling (mesni burek): 600g ground beef and lamb mix, 1 large onion finely diced, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, salt and pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten, for finishing
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds, for the top
- Plain yogurt or kefir, to serve
Method
- Heat oven to 200C. Lightly oil a 30cm round baking tin.
- For cheese filling: mash feta with cottage cheese, eggs, dill, and pepper.
- For meat filling: sauté onion in 2 tbsp oil 8 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, cumin, then ground meat. Brown 8 minutes, season, cool slightly.
- Lay one yufka sheet flat. Brush all over with oil.
- Place a thick line of filling along one long edge.
- Roll into a long thin sausage 4cm thick. Take care not to tear the pastry.
- Coil the sausage into a tight spiral and place in the centre of the oiled tin.
- Repeat with remaining pastry and filling, continuing the spiral outward from the centre until the tin is filled.
- Brush the top with beaten egg, scatter sesame seeds.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Cool 10 minutes in the tin, then cut into 6 wedges. Serve hot with cold plain yogurt or kefir alongside.
Tip from the editors. The coiled-spiral form is the Slovenian-Bosnian style; the Turkish version is folded flat. Yufka is sold at Balkan and Middle Eastern grocers; if you cannot find it, two sheets of overlapping filo per layer is the closest substitute.
Where to eat burek
Burek in Ljubljana
Nobel Burek ★ 3.9
Nobel's 24-hour burek window opposite Triple Bridge has been Ljubljana's after-club hunger cure since the 1990s. Two euros gets you a meat burek at 04:00.
Try: Meat, cheese or spinach burek
Ljubljana Central Market ★ 4.7
The main Ljubljana market, designed by Joze Plecnik between 1931 and 1944. Outdoor stalls on Vodnikov trg and Pogacarjev trg, plus the riverside covered.
Pekarna Osem ★ 4.4
Pekarna Osem is andrej gerzelj's stari trg sourdough bakery is small enough to miss, fronting onto a quiet cobbled square. the city's best country loaf.
Why locals love it: Andrej Gerzelj's Stari trg sourdough bakery is small enough to miss, fronting onto a quiet cobbled square. The city's best country loaf.
Tip: Saturday morning sells through the daily loaves quickly. Get there before 11:00.
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