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Ljubljana

Shambala

Behind a humble, discreet entrance at Križevniška street next to the Križanke theatre, Shambala is a place of harmony.
The interior merges the old thick-walled Ljubljana house with a stylish modern interior design, which shows some eastern mystique. The same goes for their garden. The food follows this composition in reverse: It's essentially Asian, incorporating modern trends and a glimpse of what we are traditionally used to. The tastes - both familiar and mysterious - blend in a memorable harmony.
The menu offers the essential delicacies including coconut soups, soba noodles, oysters or Crabs. The menu changes seasonally and is updated with new inventions from the chef. As far the freshness is concerned, there are no exceptions: fresh ingredients - essential to Asian food - freshly prepared.
The wine list is generous as well, with at least a decent representative from anywhere around the globe where a good vine grows - from Portugal to New Zealand. Shambala offers a la carte and a special set of daily specials, where you are free to combine three courses from a few different dishes in each round. The place also makes a perfect venue for the groups of up to fifty, in which case the food which can be served buffet style. A trusted restaurant critic described Shambala as one of last most pleasant surprises of the last few years.

Summer offer

Oyster / Vietnamese salad rolls
Scallop with thai basil pesto
Lemongrass grilled beefsteak
Passion fruit ice cream with almond cream and coconut foam
Tofu, snow peas and cashew nuts salad
Thai curry

Shambala, Križevniška 12, 1000 Ljubljana, T: +386 (0)31 843 833, info@shambala.si, www.shambala.si, Open: 11am-11pm, Sundays closed, Price range: 3-course daily menu for EUR 14.90, A-la carte 5-course menu EUR 35-55, Food type: Asian-fusion, Reservation: recommended

 

 

Bled

Promenada Gourmet

The Promenada Gourmet restaurant in Bled is small in size but great in what it offers: masters of both cooking and service, where no detail is overlooked, who are ready to take you to undiscovered culinary worlds.
The restaurant looks forward to receiving guests who like to discover unique flavour combinations, enjoy excellent wines and appreciate the efforts put into careful food preparation.
The man behind the culinary masterpieces is chef Bine Volčič, who has previously served with the Protocol of the Republic of Slovenia, and then continued his professional training in France at the renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris. His mentors were top Parisian chefs in best rated restaurants.
Bine Volčič's only rule is the exclusive use of the best and freshest ingredients to craft original and unique combinations of flavours. His work is based upon established culinary tradition, which he then supplements with modern gastronomic trends and an abundance of his own inspiration and imagination.
The best business deals are made while enjoying good food! A special room suitable for groups of up to 12 people is available. The entire restaurant, which accommodates up to 40 people, may also be booked for any special occasion, including weddings.

Summer tasting menu

Gazpacho jelly with shrimp tails and basil
Clear chicken soup with a spicy roll and fresh coriander
Ravioli with smoked trout and fresh goat cheese, wasabi sauce, beet coulis
Sea bass fillet on fregula, salted anchovy sauce
Grilled lamb backstrap with a herb croquette, aubergine caviar, tomato confit or Layered pigeon breast and duck liver cake with fresh herbs and young spinach, vinaigrette with black truffles
Pear sorbet, fruit bread
Coconut panna cotta with mango ice cream and chocolate mousse

Promenada Gourmet Restaurant, Cesta svobode 15, 4260 Bled, T: +386 (0)4 579 18 39, restavracija.promenada@hotelibled.com, www.sava-hotels-resorts.com, Open: Tue - Sun: 12pm-10pm, Price range: Tasting menu: EUR 25-65, Food type: continental, Reservations: highly recommended

 

 

Ljubljana

Sputnik Worldly café

Sputnik is an ode to travellers. To those on their way from the city to the sea. To those on the way from the countryside to a meeting. To those escaping from asphalt to the woods. To guests from far-away countries and adventurers from a neighbouring block.
On their behalf, Sputnik mixes recipes, delicacies and approaches into a fine blend of the good, the beautiful and the friendly. The music, of course, is an important dimension. It charmingly hums golden fifties and sixties' melodies, echoes of grand voices and thus fires your imagination, memories and emotions. It draws the streets of big cities, invites you to Rio, Fifth Avenue, between Jupiter and Mars, and - naturally - to the Shoemakers' Bridge.
Sputnik is a space station, dressed up as a living room. This is where you can circle between tasty bites, excellent coffee and music laced with optimism. This is where you can get out of the rat race and give yourself up to beautiful melodies, a comfortable lifestyle and exciting experiences. Sputnik knows no boundaries between now and another time as it diligently blends everything into the backdrop of your film. The offer is fresh every day and always a tiny bit different from what's gone before, naturally except for the vital goodies that are always available.

Every day fresh and always different

breakfasts from the frying-pan
home-made pasta
soups of the day and fruit beverages
pita pancakes, salad bowls
good coffee and a glass of Goriška Brda wine

Summer offer

Pork medallion wrapped in bacon, noodles with truffles,
Parmigiano and asparagus
Cream cake with coconut

Sputnik Worldly café, Tržaška cesta 128, 1000 Ljubljana, T: +386 (0)1 423 23 72, www.sputnik.si, Open: Mon - Thu: 6am - midnight, Fridays: 6am - 2am, Saturdays: 7am - 2 am, Sundays: 8am - 10pm

 

 

Ljubljana

Slon Restaurant & Lounge

The Slon Restaurant & Lounge offers a relaxed and convenient way to enjoy Ljubljana's top-ranked food at affordable prices. Here, the essence of modern Slovene regional cuisine is complemented with seasonal and daily menus.
Slon's prestigious location in Ljubljana centre is a traditional meeting place for the locals. The restaurant is proud to offer seasonal modern Slovenian food, lunch menus and excellent seasonal salads and pasta. The experienced crew of waiters and chefs is ready to fulfil any gourmet request of most demanding guests.
The seasonal menu rotates throughout the seasons, focusing on fresh, seasonal ingredients available in the farmers' markets, and paying particular attention to unusual and locally grown items.
Every day Restaurant offers mouthwatering three course set lunches. Guests can choose between three different options, one of them is always vegetarian.
To round up this gastronomic experience, guests are invited to choose from diverse and varied selection of fine Slovene wine, selected to compliment regional flavours of Restaurants cuisine.
On Friday and Saturday evenings between 8 and 11pm Lounge Slon becomes a place for a WARM UP DJ PARTY, appreciated by anyone who loves Ljubljana's nightlife. Good music, fine drinks and good vibrations!

Summer offer
8 types of salads made of lettuce base and sorts of addons, from meat and seafood to a variety of cheeses.

8 pasta specialties

• Penne Sorentino
• Noodles with squid
• Penne alla Siciliana
• Butterfly pasta with marinated chicken
• Whole wheat pasta with pesto
• Pasta Putanesca
• Trofie pasta with bacon and vegetable
• Spaghetti Carbonara and Spaghetti Aglio e olio

Best Western Premier Hotel Slon, Slovenska cesta 34, 1000 Ljubljana, T: +386 (0)1 470 11 00, www.hotelslon.com, Open: Mon - Sat: 8am-12pm; Sundays and public holidays: 11.30am-12pm; 11-12pm - special night menu

 

 

Ljubljana

Gostilna Na gradu

Once upon a time, only aristocrats were able to indulge their taste buds inside the castle walls. Now there is a restaurant for everyone, a restaurant offering traditional Slovenian dishes.
The smell you remember from your grandmother's bread oven and fireplace is now coming from our kitchen: the Kras jota soup, the Istra bobiči soup, the Prekmurje bograč stew, fried wings, Idrija žlikrofi dumplings, Primorje squid, roasted sardines ... Slovenian cuisine is very region-specific and it is the same in our restaurant. Three major European cultures - Alpine, Pannonian and Mediterranean - meet in our kitchen.
We swear by fair ingredients and organically grown, healthy food. The preparation of traditional dishes takes a lot of skill and knowledge. The young chefs in the castle have learnt everything from the three masters, whose creativity has altered the view of food in Slovenia and convinced the worldwide gastronomy public: Ana Roš and Valter Kramar from Hiše Franko and Svetozar Raspopović from the Gostilna As.
Afford yourself a break in the surrounding of castle walls and taste Slovenia! Our rich experience and extensive knowledge contribute to a perfect event such as weddings, celebrations, business events etc.

Summer tasting menu

• Slices of rye bread with candided tomato, goat cheese, eggplants and fresh spices
• Slowly cooked beef tongue with green beans and pumpkin mayonaise
• Curd gnocchi with Istrian salsa and smoked Curd
• Idria žlikrofs (dumplings) with lamb
• Crisp and soft slices of piglet with roasted potatoes and spicy sauce
• Kobarid dumpling
• Ice cream with fruit

Gostilna Na gradu, Grajska planota 1, 1000 Ljubljana, T: +386 (0)8 205 19 30, www.nagradu.si, Open: Mon-Sat: 10am - midnight (kitchen: 12pm - 9pm), Sun: 10am - midnight, Price range: EUR 30 (2 persons min.)

 

 

Ljubljana

JB Restaurant

JB Restaurant, one of Slovenia's best loved eateries, is the creation of an impressive husband and wife team.
To dine at family Bratovž's establishment is to play your part in an ongoing celebration of seasonal delights and regional treasures. In the smart, art filled dining room you can either stop in to sample some great local wines paired with a two course lunch menu or settle in for a long night of excellent food and wine.
Integrity and charm are lent to the cooking of Janez Bratovž by a combination of the Mediterranean with global influences from other places, however at the same time in plain view, tradition is maintained - high French and nostalgic Slovene - an exceptional respect for ingredients and seasons, a choice of specific culinary techniques, traditional but also newer, and always, even when it seems complicated, an intuitive maintenance of simplicity, originality of flavours, bringing out their clarity, purity and brilliance. The presentation on the plates is always elegant and even though it surprises with its creativity, it is never provocative. Chef Bratovž is inspired by ingredients. They are at the heart of his cooking and he spends much time sourcing the finest.
JB Restaurant has been named one of the world's 100 best restaurants on the prestigious S.Pellegrino list.

Summer tasting menu

• Terrine of goose liver and smoked eel with a cream of green apples
• Snails in Vipava bacon with poison ivy sauce and herbal butter
• Oysters with summer vegetables, tapioca pearls and sweet anise
• Deer back in juniper berries sauce with chives dumpling and roasted pear
• Hazelnut soufflé with apricots and black tea cream

JB Restaurant, Miklošičeva 17, 1000 Ljubljana, T: +386 (0)1 433 13 58, restavracija.jb@siol.net, www.jb-slo.com, Open: Mon-Sun, 11am - 11pm, Sat, 5pm - 11pm, Price range: 4-course menu from EUR 38,50, Food type: Slovenian fusion, Reservations: highly recommended