One of the many joys of moving to Zagreb last year has been the chance to be able to explore Zagreb County in greater detail. It is a county which is often ignored, but as I quickly realised, one full of several surprises. Who would have thought, for example, that you do not have to go all the way to Istria to hunt for truffles – they are right there in the forests of Turopolje close to Velika Gorica and the airport, and they can be best experienced in the excellent Mon Ami restaurant in Velika Gorica. Want to see what a Zagreb truffle hunting experience is like? Check out our trip in Move Over Istria: the Rise of Zagreb Truffle Hunt Tourism.
The region’s wines are also a surprise, most notably the Plesivica region, with its unique micro climate, the spakling wine capital of Croatia. These wines were best showcased in the recent promo video, Taste above All, which has been winning awards from Zagreb to Lisbon. You can see it above.
And the publication earlier this year of the Gault&Millau guide to the restauants of Zagreb and surroundings put the spotlight on some of the excellent restaurants in the county for the first time in a guide in English. Check out the best restaurants in Zagreb County in Around Zagreb: Meet the Top 12 Gault & Millau Restaurants in Zagreb County.
November is an excellent month to explore, as it coincides with the annual Dani Okusa (Days of Flavour) event, which brings restauants from all over Croatia together into a project offering their specialities at promotional prices with fixed menus. The Zagreb County offering, which runs until November 28, was presented this week at the Zagreb County Tourist Board office in Zagreb to the media.
The Zagreb County Tourist Board has presented the program of the third National Taste of Croatian Tradition Days, which will be held from November 18 to 28, 2022.
Angemahtec, wild boar risotto, dumplings, boiled buncek and stewed greens, baked štrukli, young roasted boar, garlic, venison stew, cream cheese, porcini soup, strudel, vineyard soup, Turopolska pig’s cheeks are only a small part of the menu in nine restaurants from the area of Zagreb County, holder of the Tastes of Traditions of the Zagreb Region standard, where the National Days of Tastes of Croatian Traditions are held from November 18 to 28 this year.
At reasonable prices, visitors will be able to enjoy two different menus of three courses at prices of HRK 115.00 (€15.26), HRK 125.00 (€16.59), HRK 155.00 (€20.57) and HRK 195.00 (€25.88).
The standard bearers of the Tastes of tradition in the Zagreb area are hospitality establishments: Vinogradarska kuća Braje (Jastrebarsko), Restaurant Samoborska klet (Samobor), Kos-Jurišić Wine Excursion (Sveti Ivan Zelina), Farmhouse Stara preša (Šenkovec), Restaurant Mon Ami (Velika Gorica). and Bistro Babriga (Velika Gorica), and this year Restaurant Ivančić (Jastrebarsko), Krčma “Gabreku 1929” (Samobor) and Izletište Suhina (Sveta Nedelja) joined this year, also holders of the Tastes of Tradition of Zagreb area standard.
“Considering that food and drink in the global tourism market is one of the main motives for travel, a great potential for exploiting synergies and planned development has been identified. Tourists want to get to know the local gastronomy and offer, and thus experience the destination,” said Ivana Alilović, director of the Zagreb County Tourist Board, adding that “the Zagreb County Tourist Board is strengthening precisely through the synergy of all stakeholders in the tourism value chain through the third national project Days of Taste of Croatian Tradition developing the concept of food and drink, that is, the strategic approach adopted in the Sustainable Tourism Strategy 2030.”
By the way, the national Tastes of Croatian Tradition Days are jointly organized by the county tourism boards in cooperation with local restaurateurs, holders of the Tastes of Croatian Tradition standard, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. More than one hundred catering establishments from twelve different areas are included in the project.
