traditional dessert shops in belgrade

This article was developed within the program Venture an Idea funded by the USAID.

 

With great care and love, Belgrade keeps alive the tradition of dessert shops where cakes and other sweet treats are made after hundred-year-old recipes – with no artificial additives or modern preservatives. Ok, that is about everything that you need to know – in Belgrade you can eat high-quality desserts (without artificial additives) belonging to oriental, Hungarian, or Viennese traditions. Each and every one of these traditional dessert shops is representative of the city’s spirit – being a mixture of different traditions, a combination of the East and West, including an enormous amount of hedonism (i.e. unconditional love of food). Never forget that modern vegan, raw and gluten-free sweets actually originated in places like these. One thing’s for certain – whichever of these traditional dessert shops that you choose, you won’t leave without trying superior-quality sweet delicacies. Here are some suggestions. 

DJ

This is a dessert shop that offers a selection of cakes belonging to the Viennese court tradition. With its retro interior, located in the vicinity of Cvetni Trg (the Flowers’ Square), among many other things, you can try ice cream made of entirely natural ingredients, fantastic chestnut puree, and each Friday, fresh rolls with homemade whipped cream.  

Milica

A famous dessert shop in Dorćol, located at the very bottom of Skadarlija. Here you can find all traditional sweet treats, with especially delicious žito (a dessert made of ground wheat and walnuts) with whipped cream and vegan chocolate ice cream. 

Orijent

A dessert shop in Balkanska Street where you can try one-of-a-kind tahini halva! Their dessert chefs recommend white halva that they make in wintertime. Make sure you try sutlijaš (oriental rice pudding) here, as well as baklava.  

Bombaj

Take a walk to the Bombaj dessert shop in Kralja Aleksandra Boulevard, because they make phenomenal, aromatic, colorful, sweet and always fresh mignons. In the summer, their cabinet is full of smooth ice cream, where Malaga (rum and resins) is a flavor to remember.  

Zlata

Zlata is located in the vicinity of Slavija square, in Srpskih Vladara Street. The dessert shop is over 70 years old, and it was made famous by their Diplomat cake. Their mousse au chocolate and Argentina cake are also worth trying. 

 

This is but a short list, and we recommend that you continue to explore on your own. Don’t forget to try boza (a refreshing fermented beverage) along the way, and make sure you order a couple of tulumbas wherever you go. 

 

This article was made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this article are the responsibility of Nova Iskra / SEE ICT and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.