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 to eat it: 9 restaurants across 3 cities.
Cevapi entered Bosnian cooking through Ottoman Turkish kebab tradition during the empire's 500-year presence in the Balkans. The Sarajevo standard separated from the Yugoslav-wide cevapi (which mixes beef, lamb and pork) by requiring beef-only and the four-finger length, an EU geographical-indication claim filed in the 2010s. Cevabdzinica Mrkva opened on Bravadziluk in 1963; Petica Ferhatovic opened for the 1984 Olympics; Zeljo and Hodzic anchor the same row.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. If you cannot get kajmak, use thick clotted cream mixed with a pinch of salt as a substitute.
Walter Sarajevski Cevap on Bulevar Mihajla Pupina anchors Novi Beograd's Sarajevski cevapi chain. Grilled minced beef-lamb, lepinja bread, kajmak side.
Try: Sarajevski cevapi grilled minced beef-lamb
Walter Sarajevski Cevap on Vojislava Ilica is the eastern Belgrade location for Sarajevski cevapi. Same grill standard, lepinja and kajmak service.
Try: Sarajevski cevapi grilled minced beef-lamb
Manufaktura on Kralja Petra plates traditional Serbian with regional cheeses, Mangalica meats and cherry iced tea in Belgrade. Large garden seating.
Signature: Cevapcici, Mangalica platter, Homemade cherry iced tea
Tri Sesira (Three Hats) opened on Skadarska in 1864 in a building whose previous workshop had three pleated hats for trademark. Skadarlija anchor.
Signature drink: Sljivovica, Tamjanika
Food: Cevapi, sarma, gibanica, mixed grill
Cevabdzinica Zeljo on Kundurdziluk is the Sarajevo budget anchor at 10 KM for a desetka of cevapi, fresh somun and a side of onions, cash only.
Try: 10 cevapi in somun with onion
Tip: Cash only; the 11:00-13:00 sit is the easiest before the lunch crowd lands.
Petica Ferhatovic on Bravadziluk runs the Sarajevo Olympic-era cevapi sit at 10 KM for 10 sausages with kajmak, the canonical budget lunch in Bascarsija.
Try: Desetka cevapi with kajmak
Tip: Add a yogurt for 2 KM; the corner terrace is the spot to claim.
Cevabdzinica Hodzic on Bravadziluk is the Sarajevo 12-KM cevapi sit, three Golden Dining Crown awards and a quiet morning sitting from 07:00.
Try: 10 cevapi with kajmak and onion
Tip: Cash only; the 07:00 morning sitting is the quietest sit in Bascarsija.
Cevabdzinica Mrkva opened on Bravadziluk in 1963 and the Sarajevo 10-KM cevapi is the standing line; multiple branches at the same standard.
Try: Desetka cevapi with kajmak
Tip: Dobrinja branch is the local sit if Bravadziluk is full; same recipe.
Balkan Treat Box on Big Bend Blvd in Webster Groves is the Bosnian wood-fired counter from Loryn and Edo Nalic, known for somun and cevapi platters.
Why locals love it: A suburban Webster Groves counter rather than a downtown name, Balkan Treat Box bakes wood-fired somun and cevapi worthy of a James Beard nod.
Tip: The wood-fired somun-based plates are the way in; lines build at lunch. A short drive from the city centre.
More cities are in research. Want cevapi covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.