Discovering affordable restaurants, local cuisine and a couple of sweet treats – if you’re on a budget or just want to tuck into some delicious dishes, check out where to eat in Bratislava, Slovakia…
Unlike some countries I’ve been to (New York, I’m lookin’ at you), finding cheap food in Bratislava was actually very easy. There are plenty of restaurants where you can very easily get a meal and drink for under a tenner, with local beer and wine especially being very affordable.
Pretty much all the food I had in Bratislava was very good – in fact, I’d say the food and drink side of the city was a real highlight of my trip. These are some of the places we ate at, from breakfast and brunch through to dinner and dessert…
Traditional Slovakian Cuisine: Slovak Pub
From the moment we stepped off the plane, getting to some FOOD was the primary objective as first thing to do in Bratislava. I’d saved some good places to eat onto Google Maps, and Slovak Pub was the closest. With it’s interesting rooms and long history, it was the perfect place to get a feel for the atmosphere of a traditional Slovak inn.
To get a taste of local cuisine, we ordered a Slovak sharing platter for two (€13.50), which featured three dishes. My favourite was the halusky (dumplings) with cabbage and bacon, which had a sharp, pickled taste; and I also really liked the halusky in sheeps’ cheese dish – rich, filling and plenty cheesy. The pirogi dumplings, also with sheeps’ cheese, weren’t quite to my taste but my travel buddy Leanne liked them!
Slovak Pub
62 613, Obchodná, 811 06 Bratislava, Slovakia
Website
Best burgers in Bratislava: Roxor
Would you believe the third best rated restaurant in Bratislava on TripAdvisor is a burger joint?
Our first attempt at seeing if Roxor lived up to the online reviews hype failed, as we arrived at 8pm to discover they were out of burgers. Lame. Undeterred though, we came back for lunch the next day and got to fill our faces some seriously brilliant burgers.
I ordered the El Gringo Burger (€8.50), and I can tell you it’s one spicy (not so) little beast. The medium-rare patty was wonderfully juicy, topped with cheese, bacon, jalapenos and a chipotle mayo that made my face go all tingly in the most wonderful way. The addition of crushed tortilla chips gave every mouthful a satisfying crunch too. Bloody amazing burger, easily hitting my all-time-so-far burger top five.
Sadly there aren’t any veggie or vegan burgers on the menu, which kinda sucks. But if you’re a meat-eater looking for one of the best restaurants in Bratislava, I recommend, nay, DEMAND, you go to Roxor.
Roxor
Šancová 19, 811 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Website
Modern brunch in Bratislava: Urban House
Possibly one of my favourite meals of the weekend, Urban House offers food, coffee and cocktails in a cooler-than-cool city setting. Surrounded by hip young people (dress code: beards and beanies) tapping away on MacBooks, I ordered the Bean Shakshuka (€6.90), which was rich and warming with a slightly spicy kick.
My egg was cooked to perfection, the yolk splitting and oozing onto the tomato, bean and njuda mix. My only complaint was that it could have been bigger, but that might just be my mega-appetite talking…
Urban House
Laurinská 213/14, ground floor, 811 01 Bratislava, Slovakia
Website
Indulgent cheesecake: Pollito
It was the window displays that drew us to Pollito as we were walking by – I’m a sucker for a cheesecake, and it’s what Pollito specialise in.
As it was nearing the end of the day, there were only two cheesecakes available at the counter – I went for the chocolate and raspberry one, and ohhh boy. Seriously, it was perfect. Rich and creamy as all good cheesecakes should be, the base was quite small so the focus was ALL on the filling. The tart touches of raspberry throughout were a perfect compliment to the sweet chocolatey cream cheese. Delightful, amazing, wonderful.
Pollito
Bratislava I, Staré Mesto, Slovakia
Perfect pancakes: Rannô Ptáča
Looking for somewhere to eat breakfast in Bratislava? Rannô Ptáča was conveniently located about a minute’s walk from our apartment, so it’d have been rude not to go, right?
The thick, American-style pancakes (€3.60) were perfectly light and fluffy. I had mine with bananas, grapes and blueberries, finished off with a sizeable dollop of sweet whipped cream on the side. The best way to fill up for a day’s exploring!
Rannô Ptáča
Štefanovičova 6, 811 04 Bratislava, Slovakia
Website
Traditional Slovakian eats: Prašná Bašta
For a tucked-away dining spot that’s popular with the locals, Prašná Bašta has a long history as a great foodie spot, in a building that dates back to the 16th century.
Sure, the décor might feel like you’ve gone back a couple of decades, but good food can’t be argued with. My pork chop in potato dough (€9.50) might not be the most aesthetically pleasing plate, but it was stodgy and filling and just what I needed on a cold European night. You could also try the Creamy Chicken Pörkölt, a traditional Hungarian slow-simmered stew that’s popular across Eastern Europe. And if you’re in the market for something light, Prašná Bašta offers a range of traditional beef stock with liver dumpling soup for the bargain price of €3.90.
Prašná Bašta
Zámočnícka 399/11, 811 03 Bratislava, Slovakia
Website
Insta-worthy cupcakes: Pink Garden
Okay, this is a bit of a wild card. Quite honestly, this isn’t on my ‘best places to eat’ list for the food. The cupcake I had here was distinctly average, and at €4 it was pretty pricey compared to other dessert cafes in Bratislava.
What this place does have though? Serious Instagram vibes. Y’know that ‘flower wall’ trend all the pretty London ‘grammers are splashing their feeds with. That’s basically what Pink Garden is. There’s even a bench with a ring light in front of the pink, floral wall. It might seem ridiculous (it IS ridiculous, really), but there’s clearly a market for this kinda place.
If you want to snap a photo, it’s worth popping in for the novelty vibe (it IS cute), but if you’re not bothered, head somewhere else for better quality and cheaper sweet treats.
Pink Garden
Laurinská 2, 811 01 Bratislava, Slovakia
More Bratislava: How to spend one day in Bratislava | Free walking tour of Bratislava Old Town
Got any top tips on where to eat in Bratislava? Leave them in the comments below!
