Some say that there are as many as 40 different unique cuisines in Slovenia. Each is associated with a specific climatic and geographical area and influenced by the history of the place.

Use our Bled Restaurant Guide to find out what and where to eat whilst on your Bled holiday. Enjoying a fine meal by the lake after a day of exploring or shopping in Bled is an experience you are sure to love. You can also find more general information on the food and cuisine of Slovenia in our Slovenia Restaurant Guide.

Food & Cuisine in Bled

Local Cuisine

Bled is peppered with restaurants of all kinds, though you'll find that places serving Slovenian fare tend to be a tad overpriced.

A rediscovery of their roots has meant that local Slovenian cuisine is now close to what was traditional several centuries ago. Travellers must try the cottage cheese dumplings flavoured with tarragon and chives - known as štruklji, the walnut roll or the potica, plus the really special cream cakes, the poppy seed flavoured gibanica and the locally produced fresh honey, farm cheeses and grapes. If you're a meat eater, the speciality here is kraški paršut or prosciutto, which is air-dried pork sourced from the Karst area, and is typically served with a red wine called teran. The salamis and sausages are worth trying too.

The mountain and lake region of Gorenjska is famous for žganci. These are served with sour milk or sauerkraut and are groats made of corn, barley of buckwheat.

Indulge your sweet tooth with some vanilla custard and cream cake called kremna rezina. The best place to get some is at the Park Cafe close to the Park Hotel. Though the divine dessert was created in 1953 at this cafe, it is now widely available at cafes and restaurants in Bled.

Slovenian Cuisine

Slovenian food is hearty fare, with the use of a lot of dairy, meats like pork, seafood including freshwater fish, cereal, fresh vegetables, as well as legumes, olives, tubers and fruits like grapes. The food reflects the history and cultural influences and one can see glimpses of the cuisine of medieval lords, rural folks, monastic orders and even the bourgeoisie.

One thing is assured: no visitor to Bled ever goes hungry! There is just too much choice for that to happen. Even the fussiest eater will find a flavour that catches their fancy. Whether your appetite is for game-based dishes or fine pastries or even if you're vegetarian, Bled will cater to your every whim. The local wines that go with the food are a nice way to wash down a meal. There are well over 1200 dishes that are famous locally and the warmth and hospitality of the people ensures that each meal here will be truly memorable.

The only thing to be wary of is overeating! Slovenian food is in itself quite heavy and some of it may be great to taste but is hard to digest, especially if your system isn't used to rich food. An abundance of animal fat is used to cook and flavour foods, and ingredients like bacon, dripping, lard, zaseka and ocvirki are found in almost every recipe. Potatoes, pork, eggs, flour, butter, beans and cream are other staples, so it isn't hard to see why a meal can leave you exhausted! The famous Gorenjska prate uses a whopping 24 eggs! There aren't a lot of vegetables used in local cooking, though mushrooms, turnips and cabbage find their way into a fair number of foods. The health conscious may balk at some of the ingredients, but remember you are on holiday, so give yourself some leeway.

Local cuisine has its roots in rural cooking, and with the heavy labour that farmers had to do, the calories from their food was easily spent. City folk may find it less easy to work off these meals! More modern Bled restaurants serve modified versions of these recipes that are healthier and less fatty. One such innovation is the cottage cheese with polenta from the Primorska coastal area. Bread is a staple called kruh and is eaten with all meals.

Slovenian Wine

Slovenia has its share of really good wines and is known for its wine country, with as many as 20 wine roads marking the landscape of the area. Its most famous wines are the reds, like Barbera, Refošk and Cabernet Sauvignon.  If you drink only whites, then the Renski Riesling, Rumeni muškat, Laški Riesling and Sauvignons are a good choice. For something more special try Pinela, Zelen or Teran.