Belgrade - Day 3 - Walking Food Tour - 13th June 2026

Brett Sedgwick
Jun 27
4 min read

Zdravo from Belgrade,

Because I got home late from watching the World Cup, we slept in the next day. Before we met our guide Anna, outside the front of the beautiful Moscow Hotel at 11 am, for a walking food tour of Belgrade.

There were about 10 others from all around the globe on this trip. The day was warm, but not blistering, and we were as keen as Serbian Mustard to go!

First of all, we wondered why so many people were gathered in the square outside the hotel. The answer was simple. It’s World Cup finals time, and this was the designated trading-card, swap-meet spot for collectors. Kids, teens, adults and oldies were all there in their supporters’ jerseys, swapping cards, trying to get a whole set. (BTW, when we finished the tour and got a bus from the spot 6 hours later, they were all still there!)

Anna took us through the lobby and into the restaurant of the uber-posh Moskva Hotel, and showed us the cake that they are famous for:

The iconic Moskva Šnit (Moscow Cake) is a signature dessert created in 1974 at Belgrade's Hotel Moskva. It features airy nut-and-almond sponge layers filled with a rich custard, whipped cream, sour cherries, and pineapple chunks. AI - overview

Anna then said that we wouldn’t be trying it, but we could come back later on our own time…

Was this going to be one of THOSE tours, where they show you food but you don’t eat? Like we did years ago in NOLA? Nah, we then went to the pekara and had burek, with drinking yoghurt. I don’t know how this tradition of drinking yoghurt with spiced pork and pastry occurred, but it wasn’t for me. Jen-Jen thought it was OK.

Our next stop was pretty cool.

There was a region within the city centre that was an abandoned shopping mall. The city leased it cheaply to artists, and they are now shops and studios where designers sell their original wares. We saw everything there: clothes, sculpture, paintings, plants, knick-knacks, street art, etc. Very cool.

In the heart of the precinct was a chocolatier, and we tried some artisan choccies that were OK, but my attention was drawn to the (closed) Steampunk shop next door. Check it out: https://galerijart.com/kategorija-proizvoda/autori-cat/danica-masnikovic/

We also checked out a way cool biker shop called Moto Platz. This shop was a mechanics/cafe/merch shop/bar, where all proceeds went to Men’s Health… very cool shop with lots of Steampunk and sculptures, and I even bought a t-shirt (my first of the trip)

Next food stop was an actual sit-down restaurant with Eastern Europe’s favourite sausage on the menu: Cevapi. This spicy, skinless sausage was served with kaymak, bread, chopped onion, and beer…just like an Aussie barbie, cobber!! Anna told us that Serbia has one of the highest rates of heart disease due to the diet of the population. We had a quiet chuckle as we noticed the sign above our head that translated to: The Ministry of Health allows smoking in this venue.” Hmmm. Anyway, the food was epic, of course.

We were not starving anymore, but we moved on to a traditional bakery that made a signature dish of beef kidney goulash served in a whole roll. It was OK, but I’m still not a huge fan of kid-u-knee. The dessert was a pink layer cake called a Rosen cake.

Just like after lunch yesterday, we then hit up a stall that served, wait for it: Rakija! Check Jen’s video of us getting sloshed on plum, apricot, honey and strawberry rakija. This was great, and I bought two wee bottles from Mina, our host. Good times.

We didn’t need any more tucker by then, but we tried some truffle products at the truffle shop anyway. Truffle and paprika red paste, white truffle and mushroom paste, and truffle and olive black paste on crackers… delish!

Next stop was the farmer’s market in the Bohemian Quarter of the town.

A kilo of the freshest cherries and raspberries was shared between the group and they were perfect. The early summer cherries of this region are by far the tastiest I’ve ever had and we feel so lucky to have been here around this time.

By now everyone was contentedly full, but Anna had not one, but two more surprises.

First off was a platter of fried and grilled seafood. Crab balls, battered catfish, fish sausages, fried sardines and potato salad (boiled potatoes coated in basil and white vinegar - off tap) were served, and my guts nearly burst open at how much I managed to sample.

We then rolled over to a shaded awning and she bought out a platter of sliced Serbian deli meats and 10 varieties of cheese.

We were well and truly stuffed and had to get out of there.

We bid goodbye to our fellow gourmet gastro’s, tipped Anna, lumbered to an air-conditioned cafe, where we slumped like elephants and digested the tucker over a wee espresso.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/af3533_23626d6494e7407a8f2c855bc5f5068b/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

What a tour!!

After we walked off the tucker and had an arvo snooze, we got the bus to the Saint Sava church. It is the fourth largest Eastern Orthodox church in the world and one of the largest churches in the world by gross volume - apparently, 11,000 people can stand inside. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava, the first Serbian archbishop and the nation's patron saint. Check out Jen-Jen’s sneaky captures below.