Top Picks

I heard it said that there are as many cafes in downtown Sarajevo as there are people. That's very possibly true. While I haven't visited all of them, I have been to many; some are great, some are so so, but most of them are fantastic! Below is a review of three of my favorites--enjoy...

Unitec--For the Starbucks (and air conditioning) lover, I'd suggest Cafe Unitec, located right next to the famous Holiday Inn hotel in downtown Sarajevo. Wealthy businessmen/women and foreign tourists staying at the pricey hotel frequent Unitec. Great selection/variety, and anything you'd want to find from a place like Starbucks: from iced mochas to double tall extra hot lattes with/without whip. Spacious, comfortable chairs, tastefully decorated, friendly, prompt, unobtrusive waiters, unobtrusive music. Great place to read or study for hours uninterrupted. Quite inexpensive compared to Starbucks.

Cafe Buybook--Downtown. Great location. Similar to Unitec, but smaller and a bit more "hip," with louder music and waiters under the age of 30 and dressed in all black. Great atmosphere: low lighting, wooden floors, large dance floor, artsy bookstore upstairs. Patrons enjoy a great variety from the menu: again the beverages are similar to Starbucks. Prices comparable to Unitec. For artists, readers of poetry, and those who are ironically detached or wish to be.

Nes (Nesh)--My top choice. A truly Bosnian cafe. Small, right off the street--majority of the patrons are locals. Very simple: just tables, chairs and coffee. Menu is much more limited than Unitec and Buybook: here you find Bosnian (Turkish) coffee, espresso, kafa sa mlieko (coffee with milk), and kafa sa slagom (coffee with cream--real, heavy whipping cream made by local dairy farmers: out of this world). Very inexpensive (kafa sa slagom is less than $.50 USD) Oh, and did I mention beer? From morning til night the locals (mostly men) sit and gab and smoke and drink Sarajevsko Pivo (Sarajevan beer). Happy hour is all day long at Nes. Don't visit Nes if being stared at and talked about by both the locals and the waiters makes you uncomfortable.

A cafe very similar to Nes