The One and Only Serbian Restaurant in Manhattan

A couple of times over the past few years I tried to find if there was a Serbian restaurant in New York City, but Google could not find one. So, I gave up looking and assumed there wasn't one. And that was true - until recently. Last night at the meetup, Nikola Trbovic told me there is one now - opened just last June: Kafana on Avenue C (between 8th and 9th Street, see reviews here and here).

So, tonight, after watching the amazing August: Osage County on Broadway, The Bride Of Coturnix and I went to 'Kafana' to give it a try. And we were not disappointed - the atmosphere was pleasant and the food was great - just like home. Under the fold are some pictures: Cocta ("drink of our and your youth" - rosehip-based Cola), Gibanica (philo-dough cheese pie), Zeljanica (spinach pie), pecene paprike (baked peppers), ajvar (a pepper salad mix), Sopska salata (tomato, cucumber, onion and cheese salad), Sarma (stuffed cabbage), Karadjordjeva snicla (a thin pork steak, rolled with cream cheese, breaded) with cabage salad, and Niksicko pivo (the best Montenegran lager), ending with Reform torte, espresso and a bite of popular "Best Wishes" chocolate:

i-c8c068cb405a74933ee3147492ed5ef9-Kokta.jpg
i-4dff37ced721779c8dcb1d8ca2f07493-gibanica.jpg
i-fe79f65cc436474e1d66dcceab82b8ed-zeljanicaNYC.jpg
i-f09a58a2df34890d52fbc5a5f2609c37-pecenepaprike.jpg
i-d8bdaeda68234e6ac7df3985372146d6-sopska.jpg
i-9c8c02520f33ae2f5aed93e49613b8f0-sarmaNYC.jpg
i-38b94eb4f35f6889f3b4e944103e3707-karadjordjeva.jpg
i-01f7086ee0f1962e954d3ecd5c015a6c-niksicko.jpg
i-d514f8a4ce4a45919aa9777d496d6b55-Reform torta.jpg
i-44ad0d11762700d479b7d85cfc17149b-espreso.jpg

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Drool. Here in Chicago any ex-Yugoslav restaurant is going to be pretty much Bosnian. Went to a Serbian place a few years ago (Semplon Orient Express), but it closed down.

Oh, I went there in January 2000 and it was great. Sorry to hear it closed.

What?! No slivovitz?

By Sven DiMilo (not verified) on 22 Feb 2009 #permalink

I asked about slivovitz, but they are new and do not have the license yet. They did have some Serbian wines, though, like Vranac.

omg, this looks delicious. thanks for taking photos. i am going to go as soon as i get a chance :)

polish cuisine is not similar to Serbian. Serbian cuisine is mix of Mediterranean (greek, middle eastern), hungarian and italian with some original dishes with more vegetables and less potato than polish.

By john miller (not verified) on 11 Nov 2009 #permalink

An excellent restaurant to hang out!!

Ok...I know I am a foodie and have travelled quite a bit and been to lot many places but the one city which is always an extension of mine is undoubtedly New York. I am proud to wear my Nike NY cap and cheer my Basketball team without fail. I have been to almost all the food joints, restaurants, pubs and bars located in Manhattan and I must say they all are pretty good considering this age of twittering and Face book wherein if you fail once your name pops up on all the social networking websites with negative comments. This is a welcome change becoz ultimately we the customers become the king as shoddy service or bad quality food can easily land the owners into trouble.

But the one place which has succeeded in amazing me is the newly refurbished Restaurant named Point Break. Formerly named as Nation Restaurant & Bar, Point Break is a new Surf Bar located in the heart of mid-town Manhattan. Now I remember sometime back I had been to this place when it had the old look and feel and I thought ok..seems to be an average place..what's the big deal? But even during my last visit when it was still in its old shape it served me excellent food and the service was razor sharp. So last Saturday when one of my friend threw a party and told me the venue to be a swanky new outlet which he was speaking so highly about I thought ok..let's try this one too. When he told me about the address I wasn't sure it was the same place but when I reached there the whole look and feel from Outside was changed and once I entered in, the earlier known Nation was truly looking like a break from the past and hats off this guy, I don't remember the name of the owner, but he has rightly renamed it as Point Break!! It appeals to the newer generation guys like me. We had a great time there. The menu featured old classics and new additions. I loved the wheel o' shots which made me crazy!! I had the fish tacos which was delicious..yummeee and it has got plenty of room for parties, the DJ that they had was great, excellent sound system as well and the drinks were strong and I had a look at the menu and thought the prices were pretty good.

Guys on top of it the next day when I searched this place on the internet, this restaurant has a Face book page too wherein they post photos and updates of recent happenings/parties and upcoming events/parties/offers too. They tweet also which is really nice thinking by the owner.

Anyways not wanting to sound like a paid blogger I would say as a foodie this restaurant is a nice one and I would not hesitate to give my recommendation for it to my guests coming in from out of town. Go and try once and do not hesitate to leave a comment once you are there. I know I am only going to get thumbs up from you all!!!

Ciaoâ¦

John Smith, NYC

By John Smith (not verified) on 21 Dec 2009 #permalink