October 2023. Belgrade. Serbia.
I saw “Serbia” was trending on Twitter last night, and assumed there’d been a surge in interest in my Belgrade blog posts, but sadly it was due to their Under-21s “sharing” 10 goals with England’s teenagers;
You left us having ticked the big church, and about to tick the best rated pub in the European Bar Guide (EBG).
The EBG fills a bit of a hole in the market for folk looking for authentic bars in unpronounceable European towns, and is a lot more interested in atmosphere than ale.
Chillton (Katanićeva 7, Beograd 11111, Serbia), just beyond Saint Sava in the upmarket bit of Belgrade, gets an 8.3, which for context is the same as Bristol’s Bag of Nails.
We couldn’t find it. Number 7 was clearly a residential address.
I went in.
“You CAN’T go in someone’s house !” hissed Mrs RM. No such word as CAN’T. Not in capitals, anyway.
Interesting. A chap our age sat in the corner with a fag.
“Umm, is this the Chillton ?”
“Of course”. Well, stick a sign on the door with a picture of a Chillton up then.
From what I gather, this used to be a hostel before becoming a “ramshackle and deliberately ‘vintage’ bar with wood panels and apartment style warren of rooms”.
There may well be an exciting list of Serbian craft somewhere but the sheet of paper we were handed seemed to have mainstream lagers in bottles;
it was like going in the Rutland Arms and having a Bud. Oddly, it was just what we wanted.
What we needed was a bit more custom, but I guess the Chillton only gets going after dark.
I loved it. Mrs RM looked at those windows and the exposed wiring suspiciously, and wiped her feet on the way out.
This is the point where I’d love to direct you to my brilliant post on the Anchor, Anchor, a similar pub experience. But I seem to have deleted it by mistake.
The licensees of the Anchor probably played 78s. Here the Chillton’s guvnor gave us the whole of “Around The World In A Day“, and then some Beefheart.
Za Druga sounds like a Beefheart track, but it’s actually Belgrade’s (only ?) healthy restaurant,
offer restorative beetroot juices,
and a dish called “CHICKENS IN THE GARDEN WITH SPICES”.
“Nice choice” said the waitress to Mrs RM.
I had the messy burger.
She didn’t say “Nice choice” to me.
retiredmartin 
“She didn’t say “Nice choice” to me” I’d generally define burger more as safe choice than nice choice. 🙂
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Exactly that, Andy ! I looked at all the health food but decided the description of the medium rare burger was too tempting to ignore. I made the right choice, anyway.
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I know nothing of Serbian cuisine, but have found the region’s food (Croatia) lacks a national identity.
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That’s very perceptive, Andy, we felt the same. Actually the Croatian coast had lots of seafood (octopus, yum), but inland it’s kebabs, burger, pizza, soup. We are so lucky in the UK.
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I suspect it has a lot to do with the empires who have claimed the region over the years (Venice, Austro-Hungary) as their influence seems to pervade much of the food. It’s interesting to read both your and Ron’s experiences but I suspect neither of you are going to be the cause of an upturn in Serbian inbound tourism. 🙂
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We’ll need Taylor Swift to spend Christmas in Belgrade for that.
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Not gonna happen. She’ll be at the Chiefs vs Raiders game that day.
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Once she’s got a song out of that relationship she’ll be moving on.
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Makes a change from a kid and a house I s’pose.
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You can’t just say “some” Beefheart. It raises far more questions than it settles.
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It was Black Eyed Beans From Venus. And if it wasn’t you’ll never know.
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You see, that creates a completely different impression from say, if it had been, “My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains”.
Thank you.
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You’re welcome.
Beefheart playing indicates civilisation, I feel.
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Aye, don’t hear much of it here these days, do we?
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