If you’ve been paying any attention to the Slovenian travel and tourism scene in the last few years then you’ll be aware of the various attempts to being made to get people to stay longer and see more, broadening the profile of the country beyond Ljubljana, Bled and Postojna.
It’s an approach that’s bringing attention to a wide range of activities and areas, one of which is food and drink, with perhaps the guiding star in this regard being Slovenia’s coming time in the spotlight as a 2021 European Region of Gastronomy.
Source: Ljubljanayum's Instagram page
Foreign operations, like Michelin and Gault&Millau, already have guides for Slovenia in print or preparation, but what about something produced by people who actually live and work here, who are part of the scene and know how things compare within the city itself?
In this space you’ll find The Ljubljanayum Foodie Guide to Ljubljana, an e-book that’s free to anyone who joins a Ljubljanayum food tour of the capital or that can be purchased for €6. And that purchase price is important, because the text – written by Iva Gruden, Nina Purger, and Pia Kaplan – is based on experience, discovery and pleasure, and not on sponsorship or paid content, as you’ll find in some other guides available around town, with recommendations for sale, and the worst presented alongside the best.
The lead on the project was (and is) taken by Iva Gruden, one of the pioneers of the Ljubljana food tour scene, with the first one being offered back in 2013. It’s thus a guide by people who know the city well, and not a blogger who based their story on the biggest names or most Instagrammable locations.
The book contains descriptions of over 40 best shops, bakeries, take-aways, restaurants, bars, cafés, pubs and neighbourhoods in Ljubljana, including places offering vegan, brunch, speciality coffee and more, so you can find exactly what you want. There’s also a guide to local etiquette and customs, interviews with specialists, gastronomic words and phrases in Slovene, and foodie dates and events to base a vacation or day out around.
Personally, I lived in Ljubljana for five years, on Trubarjeva cesta – the city’s ethnic food centre – only leaving a month ago, and I still learned a lot learned a lot from The Ljubljanayum Foodie Guide, including more about places I’d never considered, as well as a fresh look at those I know well.
In short, if you’re coming to Ljubljana to eat and drink and don’t want to fly blind or rely on TripAdvisor and sponsored content, then consider taking a Ljubljanayum Food Tour (bookings here, and our interview with Iva Gruden, back when it was called Ljubljanajam, here), or picking up a copy of the related guide to the city.
The current e-book was published in 2019, and while a new one is in the works nothing much has changed in the months since it was released – just a little more attention being paid to Slovenian food and drink, attention that’s repaid with pleasure.
Source: Ljubljanayum's Instagram page
