Pri Žabarju

Visiting experience -Žabar’s classics and Gostilna Slovenija hospitality (2025)

For regular guests who every week have a serious conversation about the old days over a litre of the new vintage wine, there is veal stew or beef goulash. For lunch, because the former has already run out by then, which also says a lot, there is roast veal. For tradition, there are frogs’ legs, so freshly fried that one’s mouth quickly becomes hooked. And that’s not all! For thirst, there is a bar in the old homestead, which is decorated ethnographically, but in a homely way, and there is also accommodation above it. For the young, ice-creams are the house specialty at the old Gostilna pri Žabarju. And for you? Since Žabar is a Ljubljana institution, there is a large enough car park next to the old Vič fire station.

Reviewed by: Violeta & Uroš Mencinger, Šola okusov

Inn

There is a large table with a constant crowd by the bar, and its heated by a clay stove all year round. Behind it, a small room is always full, so on the other side there is a fine dining room on two levels.

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Door

For over a hundred years…

Gostilna Slovenija hospitality

Žabar has such careful place settings that he doesn’t even need to spread pate on his bread… In other words: simple dishes, but snow-white place settings, damask napkins, tall stemware, and beautiful plates.

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Homemade pate

Homemade chicken liver pate; butter, sliced ​​tomatoes, curly parsley, toasted toast. Žabar’s pate is recognizable and homemade!

Tongue

Beef tongue in salad; onion, pumpkin seed oil, pumpkin seeds, carrots, hard-boiled egg.

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Radicchio

Roasted Belgian chicory with parmesan and balsamic vinegar.

Mushroom soup

A traditional Slovenian inn is not complete without soup. But mushroom soup is not a pure classic, as it is thick with potatoes, so mushrooms – out of season – are actually an addition that only adds a familiar aroma to the meal.

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Frog legs

Fried frog legs and tartar sauce. They are still a house delicacy that you can only eat with your hands because you lick your fingers after each bite. The panada is always so hot when it arrives that you have to blow on it, and the legs are so thin that the meat is absolutely tender.

Beef

Boiled beef and beef tongue in soup, soup vegetables, apple horseradish and roasted potatoes.

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Piglet's knuckle

Roasted piglet’s knuckle. sauerkraut with sour cream and cracklings.

Cremmeschnitte

Homemade custard slice. “To cuddle,” the waiter explained not only its sweetness, but also its – small size. And since there is (also) enough rum in the cream, there is no need for anything else. Many custard slices are baked every day in Slovenia, but this from Žabar is not only among the freshest, but also among the best.

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Walnut cake

Across the courtyard at Žabar, there is also a pastry shop. They serve yogurt cake with raspberries, strawberry, chocolate (for 40 years), blueberry, walnut…

Wine

When the waiter brings the menu, he first places a jug of water on the table. When asked about wine preferences, he first says that regular guests prefer Žabar’s wine, which is from Aljaž Sirko from Višnjevik, and then invites you to see the wine cabinet, which has such a wide selection that Žabar’s wine list (50 labels) is exemplary for an inn!

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Pri Žabarju

Žabar’s classics and Gostilna Slovenija hospitality
Ado Jelečević
Chef
Dejan Hren
Chef