Why we do not name restaurants
Restaurant guides go out of date quickly. Owners change, kitchens close, and a place that was good last season can be mediocre this one. We cannot check every kitchen, and we will not list ratings or prices we cannot verify.
What lasts is the shape of the town and the types of place in it. This page covers both. For the dishes themselves, start with our Bosnian food guide.
The areas
Around the Old Bridge
The Old Town sits on both banks of the Neretva, around the Old Bridge. The riverside terraces next to the bridge are the best-known place to eat, because you get the view. You pay for it. Prices are usually higher here than elsewhere, and the menu leans toward visitors.
It is a good choice for a drink or a long dinner with the bridge lit up. It is a weaker choice for a quick cheap lunch.
The lanes off Kujundžiluk
Kujundžiluk is the old bazaar street, named after goldsmiths who once worked there. The lanes leading off it hold small grills, bakeries and cafés, many with just a few tables. These are where you will see the quick lunches: ćevapi, a slice of pita, a coffee.
The rule of thumb is simple. One or two streets away from the bridge, things get cheaper and plainer. Read our Old Town guide to see how the lanes connect.
The newer west side
Outside the Old Town, the modern part of Mostar has everyday restaurants, bakeries and cafés that serve residents rather than day trippers. We have not verified specific streets or places, so we do not point you at any. If you want to see a more ordinary side of the city, walk a little way from the bridge, look for a place with local customers and read the menu on the door.
The types of place
The Bosnian word tells you what to expect. Names ending in -džinica mean a place that makes one thing.
- Ćevabdžinica: a grill for ćevapi. Short menu, fast service, flatbread, onions, often kajmak (a salty dairy cream). Good for lunch.
- Buregdžinica: a bakery-café for burek and other pita such as sirnica (cheese) and zeljanica (spinach). Good for breakfast and cheap snacks.
- Pekara: a general bakery selling bread and pastries, often with pita. Good for a picnic or an early start.
- Slastičarna: a sweet shop for baklava, tufahija and other syrupy puddings. Good with coffee.
- Kafana: a traditional café-tavern for coffee, drinks and simple food. The word is used loosely, so it is best treated as a place to sit rather than a type of menu.
- Restaurant with a view: the terraces near the Old Bridge, with fuller menus. Good for dinner, stews, grilled meat and wine.
The dishes are described on our food and drink page. For the coffee, see Bosnian coffee, and for wine see Herzegovina wine.
How to choose
- Look at who is eating there. A grill full of locals at lunchtime is a safer bet than an empty one with a long menu in six languages.
- Match the place to the meal. Buregdžinica for breakfast, ćevabdžinica for lunch, a terrace for dinner.
- Read the whole menu first. Check prices and portion sizes before you sit down. Ask what is included, such as bread, onion or a side.
- Go a street back. The best-value food is rarely on the corner with the best view.
- Ask for the daily dish. Stews and stuffed vegetables such as sarma and sogan-dolma are often the cook’s choice of the day.
- Say what you do not eat. Pita and stews may contain meat. Vegetarians should ask for sirnica, zeljanica, tikvenjača or krompiruša, and check.
Paying in KM
The currency is the convertible mark, written KM. Carry some cash, particularly for bakeries and small grills. Money and currency covers cash, cards and exchange.
We have not verified whether every restaurant takes cards, or whether service is included, so check the menu and ask before ordering. If a menu lists prices in euros as well, confirm which currency you are paying in.
Timing your meal
A sensible plan: eat lunch a little before or after the busiest tour-bus time, which is the middle of the day, and book or arrive early for a table with a bridge view. If a place looks closed, it may open later. Hours differ place by place.
A simple way to plan
Decide first what kind of meal you want, then choose the area. A fast, cheap meal points you to the lanes and the grills. A slow evening with a view points you to the riverside terraces. A coffee and a sweet points you to a slastičarna or a café. Do not try to do all three in one place, because few places do all three well.
If you are on a day trip, you will probably have time for one proper meal. Lunch at a grill and a coffee afterwards is the most efficient use of that time. If you are staying the night, save the terrace for the evening, when the bridge is lit and the day trippers have gone.
Signs of a good place
None of these is a guarantee, but they help:
- The menu is short, and the dishes on it are ones the kitchen clearly makes often.
- Prices are shown on the menu and match what the table next to you is paying.
- There is a queue or a full counter at the busiest time, and the food is cooked in front of you.
- Bakeries have trays that are nearly empty by the middle of the day, which suggests turnover.
- The staff will explain a dish when you ask.
Fitting meals into a day
If you have a day in the city, our Mostar itinerary shows where lunch and coffee fall. If you are staying overnight, where to stay helps you pick an area that is near the places you want to eat. Day trippers can plan a meal around the Old Town walk and the return transport.
