Pod Zidom Bistro & Wine Bar is located at the absolute centre of the city of Zagreb, half way between the main, Ban Jelačić square and the Zagreb Cathedral. The name comes from the name of the street it’s in, and literally means “Under the wall”, because, well, there was a large wall in the past going through there, protecting Kaptol from various invaders.
These days it’s a busy street, right next to the main Zagreb farmer’s market (and we are mentioning that for a reason!), in which a wine bar was open in 2014. Wonderfully designed, with attention to so much detail, so looking into the menu or the wine list does not surprise you a lot – since they are also brought together with the same amount of attention to detail. The owner and manager Borna Janeš has brought together a respectable team, and Chef Nikola Bilandžija creates wonderful meals there made almost exclusively with the ingredients found on the Dolac market we mentioned before, so it’s seasonal, fresh and changes almost daily.
The wine list was originally created by Hrvoje Petrić, a known Croatian wine connoisseur, and it lists over 80 mostly Croatian wines. Most varieties are represented on that wine list with the best representatives Croatia has to offer, and most wines on the list are also served by the glass. The house wines are by a well known Croatian winemaker, Krauthaker, who created two cuvees exclusively for this wine bar. The wine list also contains some foreign surprises, so it’s possible you’ll stumble upon Col De’ Salici Valdobbiadene Brut, probably the best prosecco on the Croatian market, or sparkling wine Catalonian Segura Vidas.
People running this wine bar appreciate the wonderful location and the fact that their bar is a pleasant place to spend the time, so they organize live music concerts there (mostly light jazz) on Saturday evenings, and those are a perfect opportunity for a glass or two of wine with a light meal. They also organize theme evenings and promotions, such as the promotion of the wines by the Terzolo winery from Poreč, or a more recent five course steak tartare dinner, accompanied by 5 wines made in Petrač winery.
