Gostilna Sestica ★ 4.2
Sestica has been a Ljubljana inn since 1776, the city's oldest restaurant, plating Slovenian classics, game and house-made pasta from the menu.
Signature: Game stew, Homemade pasta, Kranjska klobasa
The restaurants worth the trip in Ljubljana. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
Our picks in Ljubljana
Gostilna Sokol ★ 4.1
Sokol opened in 1870 in an old bourgeois house steps from the Town Hall. The kitchen sticks to indigenous Slovenian cooking, kranjska klobasa.
Signature: Carniolan sausage with sauerkraut, Mushroom soup in a bread cup, Game
Spajza ★ 4.4
Spajza on Gornji trg below the castle is one of Ljubljana's longer-running fine bistros, plating aged steaks and seafood in wood-and-vintage rooms.
Signature: Aged steak, Seafood pasta, Karst pršut
Druga Violina ★ 4.3
Druga Violina on Stari trg is a social-enterprise gostilna run by the CUDV Draga centre, employing adults with special needs. The kitchen sticks to Slovenian.
Signature: Beef soup, Kranjska klobasa, Veal stew, Struklji
Gostilnica Pri Skofu ★ 4.5
Pri Skofu is a tiny female-run gostilna on a quiet Krakovo lane south of the centre, serving a short seasonal menu that leans on the garden plots nearby.
Signature: Seasonal lunch menu, Garden produce dishes
Vodnikov Hram ★ 4.2
Vodnikov Hram on the market square has a kitchen that has continuously served Slovenian classics since the 19th century, with grilled meats.
Signature: Jota, Grilled meats, Gibanica
Gostilna As ★ 4.5
Gostilna As in the Knafljev passage pairs Karst seafood and handmade pasta with a 300-bottle Slovenian wine list, open since the late 1980s era.
Signature: Handmade seafood pasta, Karst pršut, Fish of the day
Slovenska hisa Figovec ★ 4.3
Figovec opened in 1879 as a coachman's inn and reopened as Slovenska hisa Figovec, plating the canonical Slovenian table from kranjska klobasa to prekmurska.
Signature: Beef tongue with onion and pumpkin seed oil, Kranjska klobasa, Prekmurska gibanica
Slovenska hisa ★ 4.2
The riverside sister of Figovec, Slovenska hisa serves breakfast, lunch and evening plates on Cankarjevo nabrezje. Protected Slovenian dishes from struklji.
Signature: Struklji, Regional eggs, Slovenian cheese platter
TaBar ★ 4.5
TaBar reopened in 2024 in the renovated Rog factory complex, where chef Jakob Pintar plates Slovenian tapas around foraged ingredients and a tight.
Signature: Foraged plates, Tuna crudo, Pickle board
Gostilna na Gradu ★ 4.4
Gostilna na Gradu shares the castle hill with Strelec but works in a folk register, pulling dishes from Slovenia's 24 gastronomic regions. Listed as Michelin.
Signature: Castle tasting menu, Game dishes, Regional cheese
Ribca ★ 4.1
Ribca sits below Plečnik's colonnaded arcade by the river fish market, sourcing all its seafood from the stalls upstairs at the basement counter.
Signature: Fried squid, Sardines, Cuttlefish risotto
Restavracija Allegria ★ 3.9
Allegria works in a rustic Mediterranean register a few blocks west of Preseren Square, pasta, seafood and a long list of Slovenian Istrian wines.
Compa ★ 4.0
Compa is a small Trubarjeva meat-lovers' bistro known for cuts cooked over wood, polished by a chalkboard of Slovenian wines. Reserve, the room seats around.
Aftr ★ 4.5
Chef Jorg Zupan rebranded his one-star Atelje into Aftr in 2021, swapping the tasting menu for a relaxed a la carte room with the same kitchen technique.
Signature: Tasting plates, Foie gras and brioche, Slovenian beef
Pen Klub ★ 4.4
Pen Klub on Tomsiceva is the Kaval Group's relaxed sibling to Strelec, where chef Mojmir Marko Siftar plates contemporary European cooking with Slovenian.
Signature: Daily tasting menu, Lake fish, Slovenian cheese course
Ja, pr' Lectar ★ 4.1
Lectar's Radovljica inn anchored Slovenian tradition since 1822 and the family opened Ja, pr' Lectar on Stari trg in 2025 to bring it to the capital.
Signature: Zganci, Carniolan sausage, Apple strudel
Le Bistro ★ 4.2
Manna's former Eipprova team relocated in November 2024 to a new room in Zupanciceva jama and renamed Le Bistro, keeping the same chefs and the seasonal.
Harfa ★ 4.3
Harfa is a Michelin Guide selected restaurant on Slovenska cesta, plating traditional Slovenian dishes with a modern hand and a tight pour list of Slovenian.
Pop's Place ★ 4.3
Pop's Place is the riverside burger bar run by the same family behind Gostilna As, plating gourmet burgers with local beef and a long craft-beer list a few.
Signature: Gourmet burger, BBQ ribs, House fries
Monstera Estate ★ 4.4
Chef Bine Volcic closed his Ljubljana bistro and moved Monstera to a Goricko hills estate in spring 2023, the closest thing to a Slovenian chef's table.
Lars & Sven Burgers ★ 4.0
Lars & Sven were among Ljubljana's first serious burger operators, grinding their own beef daily and serving a tight menu out of a small Kongresni trg.
Signature: Beef burger, Sweet potato fries, Veggie burger
Hood Burger Center ★ 4.0
Hood Burger opened in 2012 in a Vic shipping container and now runs three Ljubljana rooms; the Center counter near Preseren keeps gluten-free options.
Signature: Hood burger, Vegan burger, Sweet potato fries
Kucha ★ 4.1
Kucha runs an Asian-leaning vegan and vegetarian menu on Trubarjeva, including the city's most popular plant-based burger and a daily noodle bowl.
EK Bistro ★ 4.4
EK Bistro on Petkovskovo nabrezje is Ljubljana's anchor for all-day brunch, baking its own brioche and English muffins daily. Eggs benedict and French toast.
Signature: Eggs Benedict on house brioche, French toast, Cinnamon roll
Cantina Mexicana ★ 3.7
Cantina Mexicana has been Ljubljana's Tex-Mex anchor since the 1990s, kept on this list because it stays open past midnight when the rest of the centre has.
Klobasarna ★ 4.3
Klobasarna is the fast-counter shrine to kranjska klobasa, the protected Carniolan sausage served with Kaiser roll, mustard and fresh horseradish.
Signature: Kranjska klobasa, Struklji, Ricet
JAZ by Ana Ros ★ 4.7
Ana Ros's Ljubljana casual concept on Copova, opened 2023. Head chef Alex Iacoviello (ex-Hisa Franko) runs daily sharing plates off the Central Market.
Signature: Daily market plates, Slovenian-international fusion sharing
Landerik ★ 4.6
Landerik is chef Izidor Krzisnik's Stari trg tasting-only room. Ex-Mirazur pedigree, listed in the Michelin Guide for modern-Slovenian local-producer cooking.
Signature: Guided tasting menu, Local-producer Slovenian
Breg ★ 4.6
Breg is Jorg Zupan's neo-gostilna with partner Matjaz Ivanc, opened 2021 in the old Vitez rooms on the Ljubljanica. Fatty-and-delicious is the brief.
Signature: Slovenian comfort plates, Seasonal grills