Tata Mata
I missed seeing Tata Mata for a long time. It is only about 4 blocks away but you have to turn down a street that does not connect to anything except the two-car washes, right next to each other near the corner. One day I was out for a walk and went down the street, found the restaurant, read the menu by the entrance, and thought we should give it a try it is so close.
The night we went was a bit chilly and we sat inside, but they have a lovely patio. Our visit to the actual restaurant was perhaps a week before the Corona lockdown started in Serbia. So we have not been back since but thanks to all the delivery services here, including just calling the restaurant and letting them handle it, we eat there about once a month.
This fish is from the sea. If you go across the river to Zemun, along the promenade of the Sava, there are tons of local fish restaurants where the fish is caught from either the Sava or the Danube. But here you are going to get fish from the sea, usually off Croatia or Montenegro, caught the day before.
We order the freshest fish that they recommend that day, which changes from time to time depending on what is being caught. They have several options of how the fish is prepared including covering the fish in a layer of salt and setting it on fire, recommend trying at least once, but you need to be there, not a home.
We go for grilled. My wife decided not to let them bone the fish as they do when they serve it at the restaurant. They do such a great job and we do such a lousy job but you get this huge fish whole, perfectly grilled. It is one of if not the best fish I have ever eaten. You know it is fresh right away. The skin is so crisp and the fish is so flaky. It is amazing!
We also get the grilled octopus, which is perhaps the best without any fancy sauce that I have ever had. It is very consistent. You could make a whole meal of the octopus. We tend not to get any appetizers for delivery, and I can not remember if we had any the first night we went but I can not imagine they would not be great.
Our daughter always gets the shrimp risotto and it is one of the best risottos I have had. Even better than mine. Baby shrimp and tiny mushrooms. It is so creamy. I am always glad she can not eat the hole container and there is some left over for the next day.
They din’t have a web page but there are lots of links if you search. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. They gave us a bottle of wine the last time because they knew it was my wife’s birthday. Very nice!