The capital of Slovenia is a busy centre teeming with life, as well as a hub for the best local produce which is brought here to be transformed into fine cuisine and traditional dishes. Below, we explore three very different restaurants that nonetheless share a desire to showcase their region and its superb ingredients via modern cuisine with strong traditional roots.
Altrokè
The cuisine served at Altrokè, a restaurant run by Matjaž Čok, is inspired by Istrian traditions. The family’s story began in Plavje, a village on a small hill overlooking the Gulf of Trieste in Koper near the Italian border, where they produce olive oil and wine as a part of one family traditional businesses. Čok and his staff serve dishes that evoke this region which produces olives, grapes, figs, different types of fruit and various herbs, all of which feature in the recipes served at Altrokè and are also sold on the premises.
The restaurant is situated in the old medieval part of Ljubljana and its name means “certainly” in Istrian dialect – a way of expressing appreciation and confirmation. And this is certainly the sentiment expressed by Altrokè’s guests, who come here to enjoy regional cuisine from the Istrian coast prepared from fresh, seasonal ingredients – dishes which include fish from the Adriatic Sea and boškarin beef. A love for Istrian territory , as well as for food in general, is what drives Matjaž Čok, whose grandmother came from Bologna and whose family have always been involved in agriculture in past times primarily oriented to sell homemade products to Trieste. Having studied economics, Čok opened Altrokè in 2015, along with a second restaurant (in the same month) called Vino&Ribe, which is dedicated to fish dishes and wine.
This decision to work in the restaurant sector was influenced by his family, and especially his grandmother who, together with her husband, ran an Italian trattoria in Koper in the 1960s which became renowned for its Bolognese cuisine, including iconic specialties such as tortellini and lasagne. And although Čok’s work in Ljubljana focuses mostly on the management of his restaurants, he is ably assisted in the kitchen by young chef Tadej Dolinar, while the strictly Italian desserts are the responsibility of Roman pastry chef Carlo Panico. The menu at Altrokè changes with the seasons, following a Mediterranean philosophy influenced by Dolinar’s past experiences – when working as a graphic designer, he became fascinated by the restaurant world. The meat and fish served here are the best that Slovenia has to offer and are mainly sourced from the region of Istria and Carst.
The restaurant’s signature dish is venison tartare served with pears, lovage mayonnaise and a salad of wild woodland plants, while other dishes such as fresh scallop carpaccio served with oysters, mayonnaise, kiwi, shallots and crispy shallots are also popular. The pasta (including the stuffed pasta) is homemade and includes agnolotti (a type of ravioli) with ricotta and truffles, and sweet-chestnut gnocchi served with a velouté of roasted seasonal mushrooms. Meanwhile, fish courses include a delicious fillet of white fish from the Adriatic served with barley pasta, pumpkin cream, marinated fennel and anchovy mayonnaise.
Peti 181
The name of this restaurant, chosen by its owner-chef Petra Kapetanović Orlić, refers to the date it was opened (18th January 2018). Now 38 years of age, Orlić studied design and architecture in Milan and Barcelona, where she developed a passion for food that was also encouraged from an early age thanks to her parents who took her to some of the best restaurants. Peti is an elegant and welcoming restaurant with an informal feel and subtle lighting, which offers seating for around 50 guests and a large outdoor space overlooking Ljubljana’s castle. It stands just a stone’s throw from the River Ljubljanica which runs through the capital, adding its own rhythm and essence to the city’s atmosphere. The restaurant is open six days a week, when it delights guests with warm bread baked in its wood-fired oven, which is served in the evening with creamy butter produced by local suppliers.
Although influenced by France, where the chef trained on Cordon Bleu courses in haute cuisine, the dishes served at Peti 181 represent a mix of experiences from various countries with a focus on top-quality Slovenian ingredients. Nothing is left to chance here, as demonstrated by the unique, handmade plates created by the chef during the pandemic. The restaurant’s main concept is that of offering hospitality – making guests feel at home thanks to attentive service, a welcoming ambience, and food that is always deeply satisfying. Guests come here to enjoy dishes such as ravioli made with Slovenian cheese, eggs, truffle cream and trout roe, tuna tartare, and typical Mediterranean seafood that is sometimes served raw in order to bring out its natural flavours and sometimes cooked in simple recipes.
Other highlights include sea bass with buttery mashed potatoes, and turnip with black pudding, greengage plums and fried pork skin. Soup is one of the house specialities, with different kinds served every day – the soups change depending on the season and can be made from pumpkin, chestnuts or broccoli, as well as the famous scampi. Foie gras is available in season, always as an accompaniment, while the restaurant’s fried dishes feature meat or fish, including squid, mushrooms, asparagus, cuttlefish and mullet. Finally, Peti 181 follows a strict “zero waste” policy, only cooking small quantities (the amount that is strictly necessary) at a time – when a dish is finished, they simply serve something else.
Cubo
The soul of this 140-seat restaurant and the undisputed reason for its success is self-taught restaurateur Boštjan Trstenjak, one of the leading figures in the local gastronomic scene. Situated just a few minutes’ drive from the centre of Ljubljana, Cubo was opened around twenty years ago. This is a modern restaurant perfect for a host of different occasions thanks to its large dining rooms and more intimate spaces – it counts celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment among its clients, as well as loyal foodies. Its attraction lies in its location and its ability to guarantee privacy and quiet, as well as its fine cuisine which showcases the best ingredients from Slovenia and surrounding countries.
Other qualities that come to mind are friendship, complicity, esteem, positive energy, purity and sharing. Although Boštjan Trstenjak is the man in charge of the operation, it is his relationship with the people who work with him that adds extra appeal and makes Cubo one of the most interesting restaurants in the area. One of Trstenjak’s clients Kmet has, over the years, become a good friend and with whom Trstenjak discusses his menus, travels, and compares and tastes new ingredients. Guests who become family, a loyal and creative team that is respected and given just the right amount of freedom, an extraordinary passion that is obvious in every dish and every decision made, and new options that enhance the menu thanks to a team of chefs working together, are just some of Cubo’s attributes. Others include dreams that become reality, such as the restaurant becoming the first in Slovenia to publish its own cookery book (they actually published two with the third one being prepared) and the first restaurant to create its own gin.
Forty people work with Boštjan Trstenjak (whose mother and grandmother were both chefs), creating a small ecosystem in which personal connections are an integral part of the restaurant’s history and soul. Here, the best-quality fresh fish arrives every day from the Slovenian and Croatian coasts, to be used in special dishes such as the restaurant’s signature pasta with lobster, as well as more classic options. The relationship with local suppliers is of utmost importance: this is why typical local pasta is sourced from Branko Lukšić (Croatia), the meat from Brda (Slovenian side of Collio), and the vegetables from small-scale Slovenian growers such as Klemen Dovč. The choice of ingredients is the result of work going back twenty years, confirming the solid and reliable character of the restaurant and its cuisine. In addition, the restaurant fully reflects the personality of Boštjan Trstenjak who closely follows everything that happens at Cubo: from the ways guests are welcomed in the car park to the preparation of the dishes on the menu. His contagious energy affects everything – the cuisine, the preparation of dishes, the way staff work together and their interaction with guests. Cubo is first and foremost a family – one which succeeds in showcasing the best that Slovenia has to offer. This is why recipes once prepared by Trstenjak’s mother and grandmother are still served here, such as the famous minestrone soups (from beef broth with tagliatelle to the chef’s soup of the day) and symbolic dishes such as roast leg of lamb with mashed potato and carrots, and tuna fillet in a maize crust with curry and broccoli. The restaurant also has a passion for risotto and pasta (including fresh home-made pasta) and for Italian cuisine as a whole – hence the Sicilian risotto with eggplants, mozzarella, tomatoes and chilli pepper, and pasta with a Neapolitan ragù, crispy pancetta and burrata that feature on the menu.
However, Slovenian specialities also feature here, such as Istrian fuži with a truffle sauce, and Pljukanci (also from Istria) with beef fillet and sun-dried tomatoes, as well as their own version with prawns, truffles, and porcini mushrooms. The first restaurant in Slovenia to make a variety of home-made ice creams and sorbets from the scratch and serve them throughout the year, Cubo is also famous for its desserts – the restaurant has even dedicated a cookery book to them and won the “Best Desserts Cookbook in the World” award by Courmand Cookbooks with it. Its most popular desserts include pavlova with custard and forest berries, chocolate cake with prunes in Armagnac, tarragon ice cream, and peach tarte Tatin.
Hero image: Altrokè - PETER IRMAN
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