Gostilna Ivan
A Slovenian inn from the Alps to the Adriatic
- Tuesday - Saturday 12.00 - 22.00
- Sunday - Monday closed
- T: +386 40 383 387
- E: anze@popina.si
Anže Skvarč
We are all Ivans
Father and grandfather were Ivans, and now, because of the son, we are all Ivans … Curious tourists stroll through the old town centre of Kranj, who were in the sea in the morning and will be in a spa in the afternoon, so at the intermediate all-Slovenian stopping place of Kranj, Gostilna Ivan offers them Piran mackerel, Halože onion, Dolenjska grapes, Posavje apples, Bohinj caviar and a chef from Kranj, who skillfully combines all this into Gorenjska-style pickled mackerel. The locals are amazed at what is happening, and on the main tourist street of the old town centre, in an old building that was a pizzeria for too long, they cautiously try sweet Kranj curd cheese štruklji with tarragon and ice-cream in a coffee cup, and then quickly ask what’s on the menu for Sunday lunch.
Gostilna Ivan is different. And that’s why it’s a restaurant cum tavern! Everyone else tries to be something different, so they cook new things and charge crazy prices, but Gostilna Ivan has a short menu that features everything we all love. Hence, the welcome consists of only bread and salt while the farewell offers a wallet-friendly bill and a fond goodbye.
Recommendation
The ”seafood” stew but made from freshwater fish – lake trout, pike perch and crayfish – is Ivan’s hit dish, which makes tourists envy the people of Kranj who can get it whenever they want! In other words, we are all Ivans because of the freshwater fish stew. Every good Slovenian restaurant should offer such a dish, which is not only better than anywhere else but also has no competition!
Menu
5 courses
39 €
Wine list
The arrival of Gostilna Ivan means Kranj has not only gained a good restaurant cum tavern, but also a place to meet for wine, where on the street or at a table by the bar you can taste the best Slovenian sustainable wines with Gorenjska cheese.
Ambience
Simple tables, but with cloth napkins, there is also room for locals at the bar, and in the upper dining room also for chef’s tasting sessions. Once there was a pizzeria here, but now it is again a Slovenian restaurant cum tavern, as it was in the past and as it is today.
