Learn what to eat in Bratislava, Slovakia

Let's kick off the list with local flavour, and let's go in strong while we're at it. Halusky is the umbrella term for a traditional variety of thick, soft noodles or dumplings in many European cuisines. Recipes vary from region to region, but in general, flour is mixed with grated potatoes to form the batter. Salt and sometimes an egg are added in modern recipes, but bryndzové halusky, the national dish of Slovakia, usually does not include eggs, and finding them traditionally made is an additional quest for a curious foodie. 

The aptly named Slovak Pub offers a great variation.

Let's continue with another local dish. Lokše, also known as lata, přesňák, šumpál or patenta, lokeš or lokoš, is a type of potato pancakes like flatbread popular in the cuisine of western Slovakia and southern Moravia. A lokše are made from boiled unpeeled potatoes, which are later peeled, grated, and mixed with flour and salt. The dough is made and rolled out into the thin pancakes, which are baked dry on a hot plate. If you're in the mood for something special, start with this.

Leberfinger is a good place to try.

Yet another kind of food popular among both the common people and restaurant enthusiasts is something of a staple dish of Slovak cuisine. Goulash exists in many forms with various recipes that differ from each other, sometimes wildly so. For example, the most popular Slovak goulash is the Segedin goulash - a dish consisting of pork stew with sauerkraut and cream or sour cream, usually served with steamed dumplings. Of course, even this formula can be experimented with by a chef.

Try some at Meštiansky pivovar.

The next offering on our list dates its influence over the local cuisine to the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Knödel is a type of boiled potato-dough dumplings filled with plums or apricots. The dough is made with mashed potatoes, eggs, and flour. In traditional recipes of knödel, the dough is flattened out and cut into squares, and the plums or apricots are inserted inside the dumplings by hand. The preparation can include removing the stone and stuffing the fruit with sugar.

This interesting dish can be found at places like Bratislava Flagship.

At first glance, there's nothing special about the next offering on our list. There are many variations of cabbage soup based on different types of cabbages, or on sauerkraut and known under different names in national cuisines. In Slovakia, kapustnica, a local take on cabbage soup with additional ingredients and replacements such as mushrooms, meat and sausage, etc. The proper way to serve and consume this kind of cabbage soup is in a bread bowl.

Bratislavský meštiansky pivovar offers decent kapustnica among other things.

Another item on the list that is seemingly very basic but is actually an old reliable dish when it comes to the local cuisine with its unique flavours. The basic premise is, of course, that garlic soup is a type of soup using garlic as a main ingredient. In Slovakia, there is cesnečka, a garlic soup consisting of a thin broth, garlic, sliced potatoes and spices such as caraway, marjoram and cumin. Additional ingredients sometimes used include lard or butter, and grated cheese.

17’s BAR is a good choice here.

Looks like this list will end up dominated by soups. In Bratislava, bean soup is surprisingly popular, especially when you take into account the attempts to reinvent the classic Greek formula and come up with recipes involving local ingredients. Of course, many variations from different regions of the world can be found in local restaurants, as using beans for making soup isn't exactly a counter-intuitive cooking technique. Still, all the more reason to seek out a restaurant with the best option.

For this, try Petržalská Klubovňa.

A soup with tomatoes as the primary ingredient is as common as the previous item on our list, and yet it's one of the more popular foods in Bratislava. The reason is, perhaps, that tomato soup is universally understood as a food and, despite the common nature of the dish, it's a little more classy than other options. Aside from tomatoes or tomato paste, there are also recipes that include chunks of tomato, cream, chicken or vegetable stock, vermicelli, chunks of other vegetables and meatballs.

Gatto Matto Ristorante is the place that comes to mind.

Near the end of our list, we're finally looking at some Asian influences on the Slovak food scene. Som tam is a spicy salad made from shredded unripe papaya, that possibly originated in Laos but nowadays is eaten throughout the world due to the successes of globalization in terms of mutual food introduction. The dish combines the five main basic tastes: the sourness of the lime, the spiciness of the chilli, the saltiness and savouriness of the fish sauce, and the sweetness of palm sugar.

You can find som tam at Bamboo Vietnamese Cuisine.

Since we've reached the end of the list, it's time to sweeten the deal. In Bratislava, a thin crêpe-like variety of pancake of Greco-Roman origin is popular, befitting the originality of the local palate. Palatschinke may be eaten unsweetened as a main course, or they can be eaten plain, filled with cheeses, or vegetables such as mushrooms, spinach or sauerkraut, topped with sour cream, etc. A great number of regional variants and alternatives from other countries exist.

Check out some options at Lacinka.

It's pretty obvious by now that Bratislava is a truly unique city, both in its history, its current cultural, political, and social life, and in its gastronomical makeup. You can have great fun exploring the city and its restaurants.