Explore Sarajevo / Hidden Gems / Petica Ferhatović
Hidden Gem · Baščaršija · 3 min read
Petica Ferhatović
The oldest ćevabdžinica in Sarajevo. 1957, three generations of the Ferhatović family, the quiet alternative to Željo two blocks over.
- Established
- 1957
Address
Bravadžiluk 22, Baščaršija
Hours
Typically 08:00 to 22:00
Price
10 ćevapi ~10–12 BAM
Getting there
4 minutes' walk east of the Sebilj
Time needed
30–45 minutes
Best time
Late lunch on a weekday
Coordinates
43.8593° N 18.4322° E
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Eleven years before Željo opened — in 1957 — a man named Ferhatović began grilling ćevapi on Bravadžiluk, the short pedestrian street that runs east from the Sebilj. The shop he opened is still there. His sons inherited it. Their sons run it now. Three generations of the same family on the same grill, and Petica Ferhatović is the oldest still-operating ćevabdžinica in Sarajevo.
It is, depending on whom you ask, also the best.
A 68-year recipe
The recipe is not secret. Ćevapi everywhere are made from the same broad outline: minced beef (sometimes with a small percentage of lamb), salt, black pepper, garlic (sometimes), and baking soda (which gives the meat its characteristic light, almost airy texture). The mince is allowed to rest, hand-rolled into small finger-sized cylinders, and grilled over beech-wood charcoal.
What varies between ćevabdžinicas is the meat grade, the grind, the fat content, the resting time, the bread, the kajmak, and the fire. Petica’s edge, which Sarajevans who prefer it will tell you with some intensity, is in the consistency of the bread and the onion. The somun arrives hot. The onion is fresh-chopped within the hour. The kajmak comes from a particular dairy the family has used for decades. Nothing is dramatic. Everything is exactly correct.
The restaurant is also one of the few traditional Bosnian eateries with formal HACCP food-safety certification, a small detail that matters more in 2026 than it would have in 1957.
The room
Petica is slightly larger and slightly quieter than Željo. The front room has a long counter with the grill in clear view. The back room has communal tables. The walls are tiled, the lighting is fluorescent, and the décor has not been modernised in any meaningful way in 30 years. This is the correct presentation. A ćevabdžinica that looks like a wine bar is doing something wrong.
The serving staff are direct, fast, and have heard every order in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, English, German, French, and Italian. The kitchen does not slow down for foreigners. Order, sit, eat, pay.
Order, briefly
- 10 ćevapi with somun, onion, and kajmak. About 12 BAM.
- A cold yoghurt (jogurt) in a glass. About 3 BAM.
- Optionally a small salad. Šopska or a simple grated-cabbage salad.
- Cash. Tip a couple of marks if service was good.
Total bill: around 15 BAM per person. You will not eat better Sarajevan food for less.
Petica vs. Željo
The eternal question. The honest answer:
- Željo is louder, slightly faster, slightly smokier, and slightly more famous.
- Petica is quieter, slightly older, slightly more spacious, and run by people who can tell you, by hand-feel, when the mince has rested long enough.
The differences are real but small. Most serious eaters in Sarajevo will say: eat at both, on different days, and form your own opinion. Then come back next time and have it confirmed.
The Ferhatović family is, in the end, the longest unbroken thread in Baščaršija’s food scene. That is worth a meal of its own.
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Ph: Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0
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