Explore Sarajevo / Hidden Gems / Caffe Kamarija
Hidden Gem · Vratnik, Stari Grad · 3 min read
Caffe Kamarija
A small terrace café on Pod Bedemom — the path that runs along the old citadel wall between the Kovači cemetery and Žuta Tabija. The view is the entire bazaar from above.
- Established
- 2015
- By
- Anur Muharemović (owner; tree-house-style timber and glass structure)
Address
Pod Bedemom, Vratnik, Sarajevo (on the rampart path between Kovači cemetery and Žuta Tabija)
Hours
Variable; typically open in the afternoon and through the evening. Closed in heavy weather.
Price
Bosnian coffee ~3 BAM; soft drinks 3–5 BAM
Getting there
12-minute uphill walk from the Sebilj via Kovači street; continue past the cemetery and follow Pod Bedemom along the rampart
Time needed
30–60 minutes
Best time
One hour before sunset
Coordinates
43.861° N 18.4386° E
Navigate
Above the Kovači šehidi cemetery, where the cobbled path stops climbing and starts running level along the old Vratnik rampart, there is a small café called Caffe Kamarija. It opened in the summer of 2015, the project of a Sarajevan named Anur Muharemović, who built it as a tree-house-style structure in white-painted timber and broad sheets of glass, tucked into the slope just below the Kasarna fortress. There is a row of low tables along the rampart wall and the entire bazaar laid out below.
The walk up is the experience. From the Sebilj fountain at the centre of Baščaršija, take the cobbled climb of Kovači street north-east — past Čajdžinica Džirlo, past Ministry of Ćejf, past the small mosques and Ottoman houses that line the street — until you reach the white marble fields of the Kovači cemetery. There the road bends left and begins to follow the line of the old citadel wall. The street here is called Pod Bedemom — below the rampart. Within a hundred metres you will see the café.
The view
The terrace looks south-west across the entire valley. From here, in a single glance:
- Directly below, the rooftops of Baščaršija: the tile, the lead, the copper of the bazaar.
- Middle distance, the spine of the city: the minarets of Gazi Husrev-beg, the dome of the Vijećnica, the green of the Miljacka.
- The far slope, Trebević, with the bobsleigh trace visible on a clear day.
- West, the Sacred Heart Cathedral, the modern towers of Marijin Dvor, the long sprawl of new Sarajevo running out toward Ilidža.
At sunset the bazaar’s streetlights come on one by one. The muezzin call to prayer carries up the slope from at least four different mosques, in rough relay. The light goes copper, then gold, then blue. It is one of the rewards of climbing this side of the old town.
What to order
Caffe Kamarija works the seam between the traditional čaršija café and a more contemporary speciality drinks list. The standards are well covered: a proper Bosnian coffee in a small džezva with fildžan, sugar cube, and water glass (around 3 BAM); soft drinks; bottled water.
What is more interesting is what they have added on top. The espresso is pulled from Hausbrandt beans — the Trieste house that has been roasting since 1892. The teas are by Ronnefeldt, the German specialty house. The signature drink is a specialty grain coffee finished with whipped cream, and the small dessert to ask for is mahsuzija, the soft Bosnian semolina cake that goes with both coffee and tea. None of this is loudly marketed; it is what the proprietor cares about.
There is no full kitchen. This is a place to drink and look — not to eat.
How to make the trip
The full walk from the Sebilj is about 800 metres uphill and takes roughly 12 minutes, depending on how you read the climb. The path is steep in places and the cobbles can be slippery in wet weather. Take shoes with grip.
If you continue past the café for another three minutes along Pod Bedemom, the path emerges at Žuta Tabija — the yellow bastion — where the view widens further and an evening cannon is fired during Ramadan. The Kamarija–Žuta Tabija pair is the classic Stari Grad sunset walk.
On the way down, retrace your steps through Kovači, with one café stop on the descent. Čajdžinica Džirlo or Ministry of Ćejf, depending on whether you want a salep or a flat white. By the time you reach the Sebilj again, the bazaar will be lit, and the day will have ended properly.
Sources & further reading
More views
From Caffe Kamarija
Photographs: Caffe Kamarija · source · Used with permission
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