Bela Reka Nacionalni Restoran
For my wife’s birthday weekend, we went wine tasting on Saturday (more on wine tasting in a future post) and then on Sunday had lunch at a local New Belgrade restaurant Bela Reka. This is a fairly new restaurant that has great detail in design with a large dining room, a terrace and an outdoor patio that someone clearly thought through. It was weird, we drove past the Bela Reka on Saturday and I had never notice it before, being just a few blocks away from us, and asked about it to the group in the car, but no one heard me and I figure I could look for more info later. The very next day while trying to find it on Google Maps (it is not there at time this post is published) my wife said that she had made a reservation there for her birthday lunch. Wow what a coincidence!
We had a great seat out on the patio, and it was a perfect spring day in Belgrade to enjoy. Bela Reka started as a farm in the Homolje region of eastern Serbia which is known as one of the best places for cheese and wine. They sell several items from their farms including lamb and pig on the spit or roasted in a Serbian pot, goat cheese for which they are famous and various sliced meats and sausage. We skipped the cheese tasting this time as my wife is fasting for Lent and is sticking with fish, so we plan to either visit the farm in the future or go back for a tasting. They also have seven different manufactures of Rakia in what seems like all of its various forms. There is a commercially produced Rakia (sliva) that we really like and that my wife thinks is one of the best that we enjoyed — Zlatni Tok Prepečenica (no English translation on the menu but it translate to “The Golden Stream). A rakia well worth the try.
So, for lunch I tried the Karađorđeva (Karađorđeva šnicla sa pomfritom), I always try the Karađorđeva and a Šopska salad. My wife had Grilled Fresh Trout with Swiss Chard and Potatoes (Marinirani fileti smuđa sa kremastim spanaćem) her mother had Ćevapi on a Flatbread with Ajvar and Kajmak (Ćevapi na lepinji sa ajvarom i kajmakom) I will have to try and explain Kajmak sometime. Ella had the Serbian version of pasta bolognese which she can not have often enough. Everything was prepared very good. The fish was more of the commercially developed river fish sold in a lot of restaurants in Belgrade, though prepared quite well. I think this is true in the US as well. If you want fish, it is best to go to a place that specializes in fish rather than one that specializes in farming on the land. The Karađorđeva was one of the best, though I have started to realize that chicken is better than veal. I loved the Šopska Salad. The tomatoes where excellent and the cheese was exactly what you want, a little salty and quite creamy. Ella loved the pasta and the mother in law thought the Ćevapi was great, but had to add she could make it better.
For desert we shared three different ones, in English it is called chocolate ice cubes cake which ice cubes is the literal translation of Ledene Kocke, but it is not ice cubes but a soft chocolate and vanilla cake. Also, we had Orasnice which is a walnut cookie in this case with sitting on a bed of a little honey, and traditional Baklava. All were excellent.
If you are in New Belgrade is it ver nice place to visit, have a rakia and enjoy the food.
Web http://www.restoranbelareka.rs/contact.html
Email info@restoranbelareka.rs
Prijatno!