back to Bar Crawls: Main Page

Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city and biggest settlement for hundreds of miles in either direction is a curious, intriguing city with more to it than initially meets the eye. The expansion of the city has taken place in such a distinct series of phases that a walk from North to South is like passing through centuries in time. With quirky museums and a hilly landscape of stairs, tunnels, twists and turns you can easily get lost (in a good way) exploring the old town or dropping off the map in one of its socialist era estates. You’ll find it’s a very safe feeling city with a strong social life and bars dotted all over the place.

The major congregations of bars are in the old town (as you’d expect), downtown (in between the station and the main square), and Savska cesta, a long wide boulevard stretching to the South West fringes, with frequent trams rattling up and down it, making that area a much more practical option than may first appear. Our tour will take in all of those with some of Zagreb’s major sights along the way!

The Route Map:

Stop #1 is Orient Express 🇭🇷

ul. Nikole Tesle 10

In the centre of the commercial district of Zagreb is bar we found simply by walking past it and giving it a second glance, saving who knows how many hours of research in the process. Its eye-catching Orient Express theme, works in a carriage like setting – a small narrow bar you enter straight off a shopping street. Wood fittings, leather upholstered seats and booths, golden age ephemera on the walls and backroom. This level of effort on the interior is noteworthy, particularly in a country with a famously ‘who cares’ approach to decorating its Caffe bars. Drinks are fairly stock and trade, but complimented with some local craft options in bottles and cans. Service is very friendly and used to touristic custom, and you’ll find a familiar kind of city centre custom, transient, perhaps not a place with regulars as such, but highly distinctive for a one off visit.

A gentle stroll takes you on a transect through central Zagreb, with a range of urban scenery passing by the city park, the central shopping streets and turn of the 20th century grandeur mixed in with Yugo-era architecture. In a most unassuming location is Stop #2.

Stop #2 is Café Cajt 🇭🇷

Vlaška ul. 68

Excellent beers and local life are what it’s all about at this tiny worn-in to the point of worn-out wood-fitted café bar that has either been inherited or changed its modus operandi at some point to become beer specialists. Unlike city locations like Valhalla, there is little chance of tourists peeking in here, with limited signage and not much of a view from the outside to indicate it’s safe. However, you’ll find a cosmopolitan crowd mixing in here, and if you like beer this is a clearly superior option on the circuit. Social, relevant feeling and an insider tip you could very easily miss. A pub to make new friends in, for sure.

Stop #3 is Kvazar 🇭🇷

Opatovina ul. 39

The route to our next stop takes you directly past Zagreb’s stunning cathedral to the Dolac market square where you can pick up good quality meat, cheese, fruit + veg if you are so minded. A short walk north into the low-rise old town takes you here. If you’re staying in Zagreb old town and enjoy any one of the following: free popcorn, multitap craft beer, buzzy social scene, music, sport on TV, then this place may be for you. Blending a number of things together without there being a clash or becoming overly bland is a skill and one that’s been executed well at Kvazar. There’s nothing wrong with being the venue people have ‘up their sleeve’ as an answer to ‘Where next?’. We enjoyed both our visits, but bear in mind the bar is quite small so seating is never guaranteed.

Stop #4 is Valhalla 🇭🇷

Ul. Pavla Radića 25

One of Zagreb’s strongest beer specialist bars, combining a great range on tap and in the fridge with a venue that is itself worth hanging out in even if the beers weren’t there. An understated reasonably pubby space set along one of the main old town streets, its Nordic signage is unmissable and leads into a two room pub with a mixed crowd of locals and visitors. While this isn’t somewhere you’d go for a wild party (the name is somewhat of a misnomer, you won’t find the typical goth/metal approach it would suggest), there is a social atmosphere around the bar and in the backroom, which all combines effectively to make this somewhat of a clear, obvious choice for beer lovers and a fine bar, perhaps Zagreb’s best.

Make your way downhill from the old town to Zagreb’s central square, the functional, if unspectacular Trg bana Josipa Jelačića then down along the city park, which has an atmosphere quite particular to Zagreb, a balance of Austrian and Slavic personality that is really quite harmonious. It will build up a good social feel for the next venue.

Stop #5 is Čeh Pub 🇭🇷

Preradovićeva ul. 28

Centrally located and an institution of Zagreb nightlife, its walls plastered with old and new posters advertising cultural events from floor to ceiling. Smokey, buzzy and chatty, totally unpretentious and more likeable for it. You’ll get to know its surges as the rises and swells of customers accent its atmosphere and energy, which also has a wistful charm at quieter times. One of Zagreb’s stronger spots. The knowledge they can keep and pour their keg Pilsner Urquell and Kozel very well certainly helps too.

Stop #6 is Bacchus 🇭🇷

Trg Kralja Tomislava 16

Enter an alleyway with the telltale neon signage guiding you to a courtyard and basement. This is a cult venue with a verdant beer garden in spring and summer, a long-standing classic with gigs several nights a week and a host of attractive elements to appeal outside those times too. Fair value with a broad drinks range, centrally located and it is simply a fixture on the Zagreb circuit. 

After Bacchus you’ll be heading West past the Botanical Gardens (worth a look in if you have free time in the morning) and National archives. On the corner of Tehnički muzej and Savska cesta you’ll find football and basketball stadia, a museum and complex of shops and bars. It’s a busy and bustling interchange. And tucked away within it is another venue in Zagreb that stands out a touch from the norm.

Stop #7 is Le Petit Belge 🇭🇷 (or should that be 🇧🇪?)

Trg Dražena Petrovića (end of the alleyway to the left of the stairs up to the Basketball stadium)

For starters, a superior selection of beers covering not only Belgian classics but some Czech and German options too. There is attention paid to the overall package as a venue. Kind service, amenities, a good location and pleasant venue too, with a calm, welcoming afternoon café atmosphere and a nice glowing evening buzz later on.

Stop #8 is Krivi Put 🇭🇷

Savska cesta 14

And finally! It’s getting late, the pace is picking up, the volume is rising and the culmination of the evening comes in the shape of Krivi put, a large venue with courtyard, porch, terrace, and exposed barn. It is all stripped back, raw and unvarnished without any pretensions towards being some showy see-and-be-seen venue. Its cult status and size means you can find all ends of the nightlife spectrum here from crusties to those dolled up for a night on the tiles. It’s quite unusual to feature such a cross-over. There is further potential to exploit, but for now, let’s accept it for what it is. Genuine unpretentious nightlife with very different groups rubbing shoulders. Afterwards, don’t forget to check out the fast food vendors by the tram-line opposite supplying ideal late-night fodder.

Should any of the above 8 venues be closed we have a series of recommended backup venues for you:

Other recommendations:

Woody Beer Bar 🇭🇷 – A roadside bar on Savska cesta that doesn’t look like much from the outside, although the keen eyed will see the word ‘beer’ appears, but the ‘not looking like much’ ends up being part of its appeal. Truly local, you’re as likely to find a gibbon in here as you are a camera wielding American in boardshorts or Instagrammer boring everyone to tears. What the Balkans lacks in interior décor in their pubs it can often make up for in hospitality, and here that is definitely the case with music events, food spreads, barbecues and general bonhomie adding hugely to what may otherwise simply be a down to earth multi-tap pub. Oh yes, the beers are pretty good with a nice selection on tap and in the fridge. You can’t help but gradually be won over by its down to earth charms. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not, but that’s never prevented a spot from being included by us.

Hub Cooltura 🇭🇷 – A quirky café bar out in the neighbourhoods, everything from the shape of the building, an unusual exterior growth extended from a smaller building, to the inside with its sweeping lounge area and cosy seemingly subterranean backroom with lampshade, rugs, antique furniture and eclectic décor. Nothing you won’t have seen before, but nicely curated and very unusual by Croatia’s modest standards. Drinks are adequate while the range of amenities is more of a standout here, a versatile place you could sink into the sofa and read a book, or enjoy some sport on TV, lounge out in the garden, catch up with friends or go for a buzzy evening out. Very much worth a look while in Zagreb. 

The Beertija 🇭🇷 – A central offering with expansive, appealing outdoor courtyard space. Colourful and atmospheric, with a scuzzier basement bar/club attached, the place seems to inhabit the alternative and the mainstream, slightly uneasily but still to its credit. Drinks are competent and there’s a lot to do. For its utility and change of environment, it is worth recommending.

Ambasada 🇭🇷 – Sometimes craft venues can veer towards the stark and sterile, and it takes a hell of a good social scene and a hell of a good beer roster to elevate them. Ambasada has a clear ‘beer crowd’ social scene and is a place where you could easily strike up a friendly conversation with the staff or the regulars. This is not any kind of cold or corporate operation. Painted in warm amber and black, it is half bottle shop and half bar, with a truly superb Fridge selection we are sure competes anywhere in Europe, not for exhaustive choice but for the selection representing each style, which is of the highest quality, with around 8 or so taps too. If you enjoy beer then it is clear you would end up here regardless of externalities but it is nice to know that it is not just a row of beers in a sterile environment, but a reasonably nice place to hangout.

The Garden Brewery 🇭🇷 – A tram ride out here marks it as a destination venue. On arrival you’ll see the huge premises across a strip of wasteland, and on entry through a large beer garden you’ll be impressed by the big greenhouse and atrium housing the brewing equipment, the tall plants complimenting the surroundings. The rest is quite familiar, a clean modern multitap premises with street food vendors. It is a surprise they don’t offer flights given the number of taps, and it has a fundamental lack of ‘lovability’ in its largely unwavering adherence to the craft genre. Overall though, when factoring in the quality of their brewing produce, the interesting premises and suitability for visiting with large groups, it has to be included.

Jazz Café 🇭🇷 – Out in the district Jarun near the swimming lake you’ll find a Caffe Bar that, for a change, has decided to create a distinctive and interesting space. Jazz era decor and some memorabilia from what appears to be a Water Polo medallist, a retirement age owner potters about serving while you can enjoy the comparatively unusual surroundings, as well as a few beers that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find in such a place. 

Swanky Monkey Garden 🇭🇷 – Silly name, and quirky concept, a tiered beer garden at the back of an old complex turned into a hostel and funky, smart bar. You can sit by the heaters in colder months or enjoy either the shaded cover or blazing sunshine in summer. Indoors the quirky but sleek look continues, overall the feel is young and hip, with a broad range of drinks acknowledging its relevant, if mainstream audience. There is enough going on overall to recommend a visit and it certainly is different for Zagreb overall. 

Caffe Bar Croatia 🇭🇷 – A true locals pub still open in an area that is well off the beaten path in Stara Peščenica, a working class neighbourhood. Any venue in Croatia that pays attention to the finer aspects of a bar – the décor, the environment, while still retaining a degree of authenticity immediately stands out. It took a while of trawling to find this place and we’re glad we did. It isn’t so much about the wow factor but about the unusually rustic look and completely unvarnished local life which may produce initial surprise at your arrival but is friendly and tolerant, aided by young staff that are unabashed. TV plays, music is on, smoking is raw and the atmosphere even mid afternoon rattles along at a reasonable lick while you pour your next Budvar.

Veliki Tolk 🇭🇷 – Long-standing branch of this Hobbity old town backpacker hangout.

Pivnica Mlinarica 🇭🇷 – Worth the tram ride north up towards the hills for this local pub and brewery with excellent beers and a neighbourly atmosphere. Slightly lacking a focal point with the bar area overly cramped in.

Carpe Diem 🇭🇷 – The central versatile pub option that is like an uncanny valley of every pub you’ve ever been in. Reasonably drinks selection and a good option in winter months.

A Most Unusual Garden 🇭🇷 – Gin, treehouses and beautiful outdoor space. Unfortunately lacking in the inside and service can be erratic. Worth a look, all the same.

Pivnica Mali Medo 🇭🇷 – Old town branch of Medvedgrad Brewery with interesting, high quality locally produced beers and good terrace atmosphere. They also have a larger beer hall on Ilica street in the centre.

Interested in more Croatian bars? Head over to our Croatia page!