Cevapi are small grilled beef-and-lamb sausages served in fluffy somun flatbread with raw onion and ajvar. They are the heart of St. Louis's large Bosnian food scene around Bevo Mill.

Cevapi arrived with the tens of thousands of Bosnian refugees who settled St. Louis in the 1990s, building the largest Bosnian community outside Bosnia. Centred on Bevo Mill and Gravois Avenue, Bosnian kitchens and bakeries made cevapi, burek and somun everyday local food. Balkan Treat Box in Webster Groves later earned national attention baking wood-fired somun for its cevapi, bringing the dish to a wider audience.

Where to eat Cevapi in St. Louis

1 editor pick for Cevapi in St. Louis, ranked by editorial score. All St. Louis signature dishes · Cevapi across every city.

  • Balkan Treat Box

    Order Wood-fired somun bread with cevapi and a lahmacun flatbread.

    Loryn and Edo Nalic bake somun in a wood-fired oven and turn out cevapi and lahmacun, a James Beard-recognised take on Bosnian and Turkish street food.

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Make it at home

Serves 42 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g ground beef
  • 250g ground lamb
  • 3 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Somun or pita flatbread, warmed
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • Ajvar (red pepper relish) to serve

Method

  1. Mix the beef, lamb, garlic, baking soda, salt and pepper, then knead well and chill for at least 2 hours.
  2. Shape the mixture into small finger-length sausages.
  3. Grill over high charcoal heat for 3 to 4 minutes a side until charred and cooked through.
  4. Warm the somun and open it into a pocket.
  5. Stuff with several cevapi, raw chopped onion and a spoon of ajvar, and serve hot.

Editor tip. A little baking soda in the mix gives cevapi their characteristic springy, juicy texture.

Common allergens: Gluten.