Explore Sarajevo / Hidden Gems / Park Prinčeva
Hidden Gem · Hrid, Stari Grad · 2 min read
Park Prinčeva
A traditional Bosnian restaurant on the Hrid slope with what is, by general agreement, the best dinner-table view of Sarajevo's old town.
- Established
- Late 1990s
Address
Iza Hrida 7, Hrid, Stari Grad
Hours
Lunch and dinner; later in summer. Reservations strongly advised.
Price
Three courses 60–100 BAM; mains 25–45 BAM
Getting there
Taxi from the centre (~10 BAM); 25-minute uphill walk from Baščaršija
Time needed
A full slow dinner — 2–3 hours
Best time
An hour before sunset, in summer
Coordinates
43.8538° N 18.4362° E
Navigate
Park Prinčeva is the restaurant where Sarajevans take guests when they want the guest to remember the city. It occupies a stone-and-timber building on the steep south slope of Hrid, above the Miljacka river, with a long terrace that looks directly across at the Vijećnica, down at the entire bazaar of Baščaršija, and west across the valley toward the cathedral and the modern centre. The view, in any weather, is consistently among the best dinner-table panoramas the city has.
The food is traditional Bosnian — bey’s plates, slow-cooked lamb, dolma, japrak, the full repertoire — served with a degree of theatre that suits the setting. The kitchen takes its time. Plates arrive in a deliberate procession. The lights along the terrace come up slowly as the city below starts to glow. By the end of the meal you have eaten a long, considered dinner in something close to a private box overlooking the whole opera.
How to use it
Reservations are essential. The upper terrace seats fill weeks ahead on summer weekends and a day or two in advance on most other nights. Ask explicitly for a terrace seat when you book — the interior is fine but the terrace is the experience.
Get there by taxi from central Sarajevo (about 10 BAM, ten minutes). The walk up from the river takes about 25 minutes and is steep; pleasant on the way up before dinner, less so on the way down after wine. The restaurant arranges taxis for departing guests.
What to order
- The bey’s plate (begova ploča or similar) — a tasting of traditional Bosnian dishes, designed for first visits.
- Slow-cooked lamb (janjetina ispod sača) — one of the kitchen’s signature dishes.
- Dolma and japrak — stuffed vine leaves and stuffed cabbage, both done seriously here.
- A Bosnian red from Herzegovina — Vranac or Blatina; the wine list rewards a question to the waiter.
- A coffee or a slivovica on the terrace afterwards. Stay another half-hour. The city won’t go anywhere.
It is not a casual restaurant. The point is to be there, slowly, for two or three hours, while Sarajevo performs itself below. The bill will land north of the city average. The view, on a clear night, will be one of the things you remember.
Sources & further reading
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Ph: Desemeus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hrid / south bank
Ashkenazi Synagogue
Sarajevo's working synagogue, built in 1902 in pseudo-Moorish style by the Austro-Hungarian administration for the Jewish community that had grown rapidly after 1878. Survived the Holocaust as a building, if not as a community. Still active. Friendly to visitors.
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Ph: Julian Nyča · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marijin Dvor / Centar
Avaz Twist Tower
The Avaz Twist Tower is Sarajevo's tallest building (142 metres, completed 2008). A small public observation deck on the 35th floor costs around 5 BAM and gives you the full valley. Skip the café at the top. Take the view.
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Ph: Julian Nyča · CC BY-SA 3.0
Stari Grad
Baščaršija
The 1462 Ottoman bazaar of Sarajevo, still a working bazaar. Copper workshops on Kazandžiluk, Bosnian coffee at Morića Han, and a marker in the pavement where the Ottoman city meets the Habsburg one.
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