Since, until recently, traditional Ljubljana dishes were not a regular feature on the menus of the local restaurants and some of them were completely unknown. The mission of the Taste Ljubljana project is to ensure that a larger share of traditional Ljubljana dishes prepared using modern cooking methods should be included in the culinary offerings of the Slovenian capital. You can also explore the flavours of Ljubljana by joining a guided city tour called Taste Ljubljana food tour, which includes tasting sessions of traditional Ljubljana dishes and getting to know the city's culinary offerings and their historical tradition.
Ljubljana has a very long tradition of brewing, proof of which is 3,900-year-old beer barrels excavated at the Ljubljana Marshes. The earliest known brewery in Ljubljana dates back at least to 1592, and by 1796, the city had six breweries. Recent years have seen rapid growth in the popularity of craft beers made by different microbreweries in Ljubljana and its surrounding area. Guided culinary tour A Beer's Lovers Experience of Ljubljana gives you an opportunity to taste various local beers while learning about the rich history of brewing in Ljubljana.
During the tour, you will visit five different drink outlets, including a pub, where you will taste eight different beers made by five different breweries, two based in Ljubljana and three in other parts of the Central Slovenia region. You will also visit the Brewery Museum, set up by the Pivovarna Union brewery, where the popular Union beer has been brewed since 1864, and round off your experience at the Pivnica Union pub.
Slovenian wine tasting city tour is another way to experience the culinary tradition of Ljubljana. Slovenia is a land of superior quality wines, and Ljubljana is the "City of Vine and Wine" (title awarded by the Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin, an international wine association based in Paris). Taste the selected wines of three Slovenian wine regions and fall in love with the capital city of Ljubljana, where the Mediterranean, Karst, Alps, and Pannonian basin meet. The tour provides carefully selected wine stops where participants taste 9 varieties of wines from three Slovenian wine regions (Podravje, Posavje and Primorska) and snacks while the expert comments of the guide provide a complete picture of Slovenian wine and viticulture, at the same time explaining why Ljubljana is a city of wine.
On Fridays, you can spoil yourself at Open Kitchen, which is a unique food market that brings food lovers and culinary adventurers to the stands of Pogačarjev trg every Friday from March until October from 8 AM to 8 PM (in summer to 9 PM). The picturesque Pogačarjev trg on the Central Ljubljana market is a perfect frame for a casual Friday get-together with great traditional Slovenian as well as international food and drinks, prepared by the selected restaurants from all over Slovenia.
Whether it’s a family culinary trip, casual hanging out with friends or just a quick lunch – Open Kitchen has become a synonym for a Friday well spent and another reason to visit the Ljubljana’s central market. Each sunny Friday between March and October, Ljubljana’s Central market on Pogačarjev trg transforms into a colourful market of stalls that host carefully selected restaurants, inns and tourist farms from all over the country which are inviting the guests on a tasty trip through Slovenia’s regions as well as through diverse international cuisine.