Drinks

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Taste Ljubljana does not end on the plate. You can also find it in a glass, in a cup and, when it comes to water, straight from the tap.

Among Ljubljana’s characteristic drinks are high-quality drinking water, beers with a long urban tradition, wine from the vineyard on Castle Hill, gin and whisky from a Ljubljana distillery, and drinks connected with the city’s green rural surroundings. Some are made in the heart of Ljubljana, others in the orchards on its eastern edge or at the top of Šmarna gora. All of them, however, say something about a city that knows how to make the most of its natural gifts and pour them into a glass.

Water

In Ljubljana, we drink high-quality tap water that flows fresh from the tap, with a pleasant taste and no prior technological treatment. Its quality is defined by microbiological purity, a constant temperature, and a suitable content of calcium and magnesium.

In the warmer months, you can also refill your bottle for free at public drinking fountains around the city. This makes a reusable bottle one of the most useful things to take with you when exploring Ljubljana. Here, water is a drink, a local speciality and a very sensible answer to the question of what to drink after a long walk.

Beer

Ljubljana has a strong brewing tradition. Union Brewery has been operating since 1864, while today its story is also continued by Mestna pivovarna Union, with smaller batches and more contemporary beer styles.

An important part of the city’s brewing story is also the family-run Kratochwill Brewery, which was among the first in Slovenia to introduce the microbrewery concept in 1992 and began offering fresh, house-brewed beer. In recent years, it has been joined by Ljubljana craft breweries, including Tektonik and LOO-BLAH-NAH, which add new styles, flavours and just enough reasons for another glass to the city’s beer scene.

A sign reading “Rdecegrajec” on a row of red grapes in the vineyard.

Wine

Ljubljana has more than wine bars and wine shops. It also has its own vineyard.

On the sunny southern slope of Castle Hill grow 1,050 vines, planted in 2016. Among them are 500 vines of the white variety Belpin, the Slovenian name for Chardonnay, and 550 vines of Rdečegrajc, a Zweigelt variety. Every autumn, the grapes are harvested, pressed and made into castle wine.

Belpin and Rdečegrajc are therefore quite literally a taste of Ljubljana Castle. The vines grow above the city, the wine matures below the castle, and visitors can discover it at the Castle Wine Bar and in the hospitality venues at Ljubljana Castle. It would be hard to accuse it of lacking local character.

A bottle of gin stands beside a row of small glass test tubes filled with various spices and botanical additions.

Spirits

In the small family-run Broken Bones Distillery in Ljubljana, gins and whiskies of distinctive, complex flavour are crafted. The distillery grew out of a family tradition of making beer, wine and spirits, and is today considered one of Slovenia’s first craft distilleries.

Among its products is Broken Bones Ljubljana Dragon Gin, whose name and character pay tribute to the city’s most recognisable symbol. In addition to tasting their spirits, visitors to the distillery can also learn about how they are made. This time, the dragon is in the bottle, but it still deserves a little respect.

A bottle and a glass of juice are placed on a wooden table, surrounded by fresh fruit like apples, pears, and berries. The scenic background features rolling green hills under a clear sky, creating a soothing atmosphere.

Janče Juice

When we talk about juice from Janče, we usually mean natural apple juice from the local orchards.

Janče and the surrounding villages lie on the hilly eastern edge of Ljubljana and are known for fruit growing. The area is connected by the Fruit Road between Javor and Janče, where farms from thirteen settlements grow apples, strawberries, pears, plums, cherries, other fruit and chestnuts.

Part of the harvest is sold fresh, while part is processed into juices, jams and other homemade products. Apple juice from Janče therefore brings a very tangible piece of the city’s green rural surroundings to the Taste Ljubljana offer. It is a simple and recognisable taste of Ljubljana’s countryside, coming straight from the orchard into the bottle.

A steaming cup of tea sits on a rustic wooden table, surrounded by fresh herbs and flowers, with a scenic view of a green landscape in the background.

Tea

Šmarna Gora Tea is a herbal drink connected with the excursion tradition of Šmarna gora, Ljubljana’s most popular hiking destination. It is served at Gostilna Ledinek at the top, where hikers have been stopping for decades to enjoy traditional Slovenian dishes as well.

The tea is made from a blend of herbs associated with Šmarna gora and its surroundings. The exact composition of the house blend has not been publicly revealed, so the recipe remains where the tea feels most at home.

You do not simply come across it by chance. First comes the walk to the top, then the view over the Ljubljana Basin and the surrounding hills, and only then the cup of tea. That is why it is more than just a warm herbal drink. It is part of the whole Šmarna gora ritual.