Best Bakeries and Pastry Shops in Zagreb: What to Order
A candid guide to Zagreb bakeries and cake shops, from štrukli in Skalinska to kremšnita and rožata, with what to order and where each stop sits.
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The best bakery stop in Zagreb depends on whether you want to sit down or eat on your feet. For a proper sit-down sweet course, head to La Štruk in Skalinska Street, Cukeraj in Petrinjska Street or Amélie for cakes, pies and macarons; for a fast savoury bite, an ordinary pekara counter does the job. This guide covers both, with the dishes worth ordering at each.
Zagreb treats baking as a cafe-style pleasure rather than a dash to the till, so a slastičarnica (pastry shop) is somewhere you linger over a plate and a coffee. Plan one sit-down stop and one counter stop into a day of walking the centre, and you get both the sweet and the savoury side of the city.
Why Zagreb bakery stops are a sit-down affair, not just a grab-and-go
In Zagreb the pastry shop and the café often blur into one another: at a sit-down slastičarnica you order, take a seat and eat with a coffee rather than walking out with a paper bag. That makes a sweet stop a proper pause in the day rather than a snack on the move, and it is why the city's cake shops reward a little time. If coffee matters as much as cake to you, The Best Cafés in Zagreb for Specialty Coffee are worth pairing with a pastry.
The trade-off is speed. A sit-down stop asks you to order, settle in and finish at table pace, whereas a neighbourhood pekara (bakery) sells you a burek and sends you on your way in a couple of minutes. Decide before you leave the hotel which you want, because the two experiences rarely fit into the same short break.
La Štruk: štrukli in Skalinska Street, sweet and savoury, and how the menu works
La Štruk sits in Skalinska Street in the heart of the old centre, a short walk off Ivana Tkalčića Street, and it is built around a single dish. Štrukli are rolled dough parcels filled with cheese, and here they come baked or cooked, in savoury and sweet versions. The savoury classic is baked štrukli with cheese; on the sweet side the kitchen turns out versions with apple and cinnamon, blueberry, honey and walnuts, and truffles.
The menu is built around štrukli rather than a broad restaurant list, so order two or three types between you and share: the portions are filling and the sweet-savoury contrast is the point. A place that serves only štrukli still manages variety, and the truffle version is the priciest of the toppings.
Cukeraj: doughnuts, cakes and sandwiches in Petrinjska Street, plus the busy-road seating trade-off
Cukeraj has two Zagreb locations, one on Jarun and one in Petrinjska Street, and the central branch is the easier one to reach: it is a few minutes on foot from the main railway station. The offer runs to cakes, sandwiches, ham-and-cheese pie, biscuits, strudels and rolls, with doughnuts as the headline item, sold mini and medium-sized with vanilla or jam fillings.
The pink interior is the reason many people stop, and the pavement tables outside make a decent perch in warmer months. The catch is that those tables sit close to a busy road, so passing traffic interrupts the scene; if you want to sit and talk, take an inside table instead. Order a doughnut and a coffee, and treat the sandwiches as the savoury option for anyone in the group who does not want sugar.
Amélie: cakes, pies, macarons and savoury bakes
Amélie is a well-regarded Zagreb pastry shop with a range that runs to cakes, pies, macarons and savoury bakes. That spread makes it a workable stop for a mixed group where one person wants something sweet and another does not. Treat it as a cake destination first, with the savoury items as a bonus.
Because it is popular, it suits an off-peak visit rather than a peak weekend afternoon when the counter gets busy. Pair a slice with a coffee for a mid-morning break, or take a box away if you are heading somewhere with a view. For more sweet options across the city, see the dessert guide to Zagreb.
What to buy in an ordinary Zagreb pekara: burek, kifle and savoury pastries
A pekara is Zagreb's everyday bakery, and it is where locals buy bread, kifle (soft rolls) and savoury pastry rather than sit-down cake. Burek, a flaky rolled pastry with a meat or cheese filling, is the classic counter buy, eaten warm and often with yoghurt alongside. A pekara is a shop rather than a café, so expect to eat standing or take it to a park bench.
Go early in the morning for the best selection, when the shelves are fullest and the pastry is freshest. If you are stocking a picnic or a train journey, a pekara is a better bet than a cake shop, and a fraction of the fuss. For supplies to go with it, Konzum in Zagreb covers the supermarket basics.
The sweet shortlist: kremšnita, rožata, paprenjaci, fritule and orehnjača
Several Croatian sweets are worth seeking out by name rather than pointing at a display case. Rozata, a caramel custard pudding associated with the Dubrovnik region, is a good test of a pastry shop's technique, and it is easy to find in Dalmatian and Zagreb pastry shops year-round. Kremšnita, a custard cream slice, is popular in Samobor and appears widely; orehnjača, a walnut roll, is the inland counterpart to the coast's lighter fruit and nut desserts.
Paprenjaci, a spiced honey biscuit, and fritule, small deep-fried dough balls, are the other two to look for, especially in the run-up to festive periods when they appear in greater numbers. Coastal Croatia tends towards lighter, fruit- and nut-based cakes, while inland Zagreb leans on richer pastries and cream, so a single counter can show you both traditions.
Sit-down cake shop or quick bakery counter: which suits your morning
Choose a sit-down cake shop when the break itself is the point: a leisurely coffee, a shared plate of štrukli or a doughnut eaten slowly. Choose a pekara counter when you have a train to catch, a day of walking ahead or simply want something savoury in hand within minutes. Neither is better; they answer different questions, and a good Zagreb day can include both.
If your morning starts late and you want brunch rather than cake, a savoury bake plus coffee bridges the gap, and the city's best breakfast in Zagreb options overlap with the pastry shops. A sit-down stop also works as a warm-up before a longer walk through the upper town, when a proper seat and a hot drink are worth more than speed.
What a bakery stop costs in euros and when to go to beat the crowd
A Zagreb bakery stop is one of the cheaper ways to eat in the city. A pastry and a coffee at a sit-down shop costs more than a burek from a pekara counter, but both sit well below a restaurant lunch. Croatia uses the euro, and prices are posted at the counter, so the board in front of you is the figure that counts.
Timing matters more than price. Sit-down cake shops fill up mid-morning and again in the mid-afternoon, so an early or late slot gets you a table without a wait. Pekara counters are busiest just before work and at lunch, so a mid-morning visit is the quietest window.
Which Zagreb bakery should you pick first?
Start with La Štruk if you want a sit-down dish you cannot get elsewhere in quite the same form, and add Cukeraj or Amélie for a cake-and-coffee stop later in the day. If you only have time for one quick bite, find a local pekara and order a warm burek with yoghurt.
Whichever you choose, go early or late to avoid the mid-morning and mid-afternoon rush, and sit down at least once: Zagreb's pastry culture is built around the table, not the paper bag.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pekara in Zagreb?
A pekara is an everyday bakery shop selling bread, soft rolls such as kifle, and savoury pastry including burek. It is a counter rather than a café, so most people buy to take away, whereas a slastičarnica is a pastry shop where you sit down with a coffee.
What is the classic savoury bake to order at a Zagreb bakery counter?
Burek is the classic counter buy: a flaky rolled pastry with a meat or cheese filling, eaten warm and usually with yoghurt alongside. It is a fast, cheap option rather than a sit-down cake course.
Sources
Notes on eating well in Croatia
Optional updates to our food guides.
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