We were staying in Zlatibor, in central Serbia, and spending the day sightseeing when rain loomed. We were near the lake, so dropped into one of the large lakeside eateries, “Restoran Bajka”:http://www.restoranbajka.com/zlatibor/index_zlatibor.html for a drink and to shelter. We were enjoying a large beer and raspberry juice, when the heavens opened, but the café’s large electrically operated awning swung into action and kept us dry whilst still allowing us to enjoy the lake views.
The rain continued and having decided on another drink, I was idly checking the menu when I noticed a local dish, komplet lepinja, in the breakfast section. This had been enthusiastically recommended by our guide and described as a flat bread bun with kajmak (salty cream cheese) and fat from a roasting joint (no meat, just the fat and juices). At £2, it had to be tried. The baked bread bun was a little like a giant vol au vent with a hollowed out middle and the lid put back on. It was moist, salty and delicious although probably not very healthy.
The service had been good, and we returned to watch the sunset later that evening as the weather had improved via a grand viewing of a rainbow. Unfortunately, there was no tonic for the gin, so we settled on small beers. The lake surrounded by the dark pines and cloudy skies was atmospheric. The croaking frogs were so loud, we had wondered if it was a recorded noise, until we spotted a frog floating on a piece of plastic.
As it became colder, we ventured indoors to eat, although as the door was open we sat in our fleeces. It was nicely decorated with lots of artefacts around the walls. We shared a 300g burger (many of the meat dishes came in two sizes 300g and 150g) and a sopska salata (chopped tomato, onion and cucumber topped with grated Serbian cheese). We said we didn’t want bread, thinking the burger would come in a bun, but didn’t realise they meant the bun. However, this wasn’t a problem as the salad was huge, and the ‘burger’ was a large piece of grilled meat sat on a reasonable sized portion of potato wedges. All in all, it was a good choice, and we had another beer (this time large), sparkling water and finished with two coffee and plum rakija (a type of brandy). Our bill came to 2550 Dinar or just under £20 which was exceptionally good value as we were so full.
