When you think of European cuisine, Eastern Europe often gets a little overlooked in favour of pizza, crepes and waffles. But Eastern European food is mouth-wateringly good in a whole different way! Think hearty, warming food and, of course, a selection of grilled meats and pastries filled with everything imaginable. Although there are many, many more dishes you need to try, here are some of our choices for must-eats around Eastern Europe.
Polish food is simple, hearty, and filling, and very affordable. Eating establishments called ‘milk bars’ are often the favoured place to dine out amongst locals. They are modest, unassuming, casual dining houses that serve inexpensive, hearty fare with a ‘help yourself’ attitude. A staple dish here is bigos (hunter’s stew), a stew of chopped meat, sauerkraut, and shredded cabbage. We love pierogi, the national dish.  A satisfying plate of dumplings with fillings ranging from curd cheese to meat and onions. Other traditional foods include the zurek – sour rye soup, golabki- cabbage rolls and makowiec – poppy seed rolls. Yumm!
Serbian food is heavy, fast, predominantly grilled and utterly delicious! A staple in any Serbian kitchen, ajvar sauce made from red peppers, can be dolloped on bread and served alongside cheeses and meats. For a main meal, we love karadjordjeva snicla– a fried breaded veal or pork cutlet stuffed with cream. It comes served with roasted potatoes and tartar sauce. Sarma is another traditional Serbian dish that is popular among locals. It contains ground beef, bacon, and rice, all rolled in fermented cabbage leaves!
Lithuanian cuisine is based on root vegetables, meat, and dairy. The dishes are usually hearty and filling, meant to keep you warm in Lithuania’s Baltic weather! Starting with the national dish, cepelinai, which are potato-dough dumplings filled with pork and topped with sour cream and bacon sauce. Incredible! Borscht is a vibrant, beetroot soup mixed with pork stock and served with potatoes. The perfect bar snack is dark rye bread, fried, seasoned with copious amounts of garlic and salt, and dipped in cheese sauce. And don’t forget to try blynai, a sweet and savoury pancake topped with sour cream and applesauce.
Bulgarian food is a treat! The cuisine is famous for using fresh, quality vegetables and dairy products unique to Bulgaria. A typical breakfast would be banitsa –Â pastry filled with a feta-type cheese and washed down with a bottle of boza, a thick fermented drink. For something a little fresher, try the traditional shopska salata – a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and onions topped with a dense layer of cheese. Kebapche is a staple on most menus, consisting of rods of ground meat and spices served with sour condiments.Â
Sarmale is the Romanian national dish: a delicious mix of smoked minced meat, caramelised onions, and rice, wrapped in fermented cabbage leaves.  As for dessert, the papanasi is a classic. Fried cottage cheese doughnut, stuffed with cream and jam. Delicious! s
Food from this region takes a lot of influence from Turkish and Mediterranean cuisines. It’s often fresh, light and made with organic meats. Cevapi is a staple in almost every restaurant and street food vendor, consisting of skinless sausages made from beef or pork, served on flatbread with sour cream, onions, feta, and peppers. Dolma is another favourite local dish, featuring eggplant, peppers, and/or zucchini stuffed with meat and rice. Baklava can be found in many places across Europe, but it’s especially good here! The Bosnian twist creates a small cake with gooey layers of nuts, syrup and honey. Likewise, don’t forget to try a burek – rolled-up pastry filled with minced meat!
Slovenian food shows influences from Austria, Italy, Croatia, and Hungary. The kranjska sausage is a popular (and very tasty!) sausage made from quality, smoked pork, bacon and garlic, and served with sour turnip and fresh horseradish. Struklji is a popular dish you’ll see all over Slovenia – basically cottage cheese pancakes (although they have many varieties) which can be boiled or fried. And for sweet stuff, why not try prekmurska gibanica, a sweet pastry with layers of quark, walnuts, apples and poppy seeds.Â
Albanian cuisine has strong influences from Greece, Italy and Turkey. Almost every recipe features a wide variety of vegetables and lots of stews! The most famous food in Albania is by far byrek. This salty pie, made with filo pastry and stuffed with cheese, meat, or spinach, is often eaten for breakfast. Kackavall is a salty cheese which is delicious served fried. For dessert, try the trilece, a cake made with milk, cream and concentrated milk; it’s outstanding! Tave kosi is the national dish – a quiche-like meal made from lamb, rice, eggs and yoghurt.
Latvian food is the perfect blend of traditional and modern. The most staple ingredient is rupjmaize- dark rye bread, which goes alongside almost every meal and sometimes made into a pie with a paste of carrot and potatoes. Spek is a delicious smoked bacon made from pork belly, and kvass is a unique drink which tastes like sweet beer. The Liepaja mencins is a signature dish made from smoked fish and vegetables, and the perfect dessert has to be rupjmaizes kartojums – a rye bread trifle!
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