I was here in Zemun on my last day in Serbia. I planned on having lunch on the boulevard before driving off to the airport which is located nearby as well. It would be a nice change after leaving the busy city of the capital.
Arriving in town was easy. My old Nokia Mini GPS wasn’t working on street level but it brought me to the heart of the town. Parking was difficult to find so I had to drive a bit further down the road. When you are travelling in a strange city with a rental car, and especially on your last day in the country, the last thing you want is to have a rift with the local police. I do not want to miss my flight! So I made sure I find a safe place to park the car. I got lucky because I found a free parking space the minute I entered this block full of parked cars. The place wasn’t very far from the waterfront boulevard as well.
My initial plan was to have lunch at a restaurant along the boulevard. The pictures on the website of this particular restaurant looked good, but for some reason, I could not find it. But I did not want to waste my time searching for it.
However though, whilst walking on the boulevard, I spotted this blue and white boat which looked more like a recycled junk boat really, docked on the water halfway across the boulevard. It has a small bridge, and I saw people walking on it, getting inside the boat and going inside as well. I got intrigued naturally. I have to admit that I do not understand Serbian Cyrillic language but I guessed that it must be a restaurant.
Well, my hunch was indeed correct. It is a restaurant—And I now know where I will eat for lunch!
The name of the boat restaurant is Stari Slep (Restoran Stari šlep). I found out when I asked the waiter who barely spoke English if they have internet. You see everyone knows WIFI and it says Stari šlep Wifi =)
I was the only tourist and it is very obvious that the boat restaurant caters 99% to the locals and local tourists. They only have 1 menu in 1 language so I had to do some guessing game. But I gave up and asked the waiter for some help. He was not much of a help as well so he summoned another colleague who speaks English.
Well, my new waiter is the only waiter in the boat who speaks English. He saved the day for me.
After a little bit of menu discussion, I made my choice. I ordered a traditional food in the area – stuffed fish with potatoes and a small bottle of the local brew, a Jelena beer. The bottle reminds me of San Miguel beer in the Philippines. The food arrived quick and I could not contain my surprise on the manner of presentation of the fish. I was not quite sure if it was very appetising at all? You be the judge.
The fish however was delicious; it was fresh, meaty and juicy. The potatoes that accompanied it were also made very well. The bread that came too late was nice—warm and tasty. And I enjoyed the Jelena Serbian beer too.
To sum this up: This was an interesting lunch amidst the locals in peculiar setting.
Walking the plank to the boat restaurant.
It was a bit cold to be sitting outside the outdoor boat terrace.
The boat is divided into a cafe with the outdoor terrace and a proper restaurant. I chose to sit at the restaurant. You can see the menu in Serbian.
The local brew -- Jelen.
This lunch was quite heavy I must admit. I do not think I ate dinner later in the evening when I arrived back in the Netherlands.
This is how I learned the name of the restaurant, haha.
The view from the boat. You can see Belgrade city in the far distance.
Travel Period: March 2016
Destination: Zemun (Belgrade), Serbia
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
All pictures were taken by a point and shoot pocket camera or iPhone.