Wine Bars in Croatia: Oranž in Zagreb

By , 04 May 2017, 22:06 PM Winebars
Oranž Wine Bar/Facebook Oranž Wine Bar/Facebook

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In the recent years, many wine bars have opened in Zagreb, many of them got quite popular with the wine-lovers and people in Zagreb wanting to have a pleasant night out.

One of the most popular ones is the one most centrally located: Oranž wine bar, in Ilica 7, literally a few steps away from Zagreb’s main square and very popular Cvjetni trg. Oranž wine bar is an extension of Oranž bistro and Cafe, with a selection of delightful finger food, quick snacks, hot and cold salads, quiches and many types of sandwiches. Recently a famous chef Jeffrey Vella took over the kitchen and started preparing the so-called street food (or bistro food, such as: octopus goulash, black cuttlefish risotto, Zagorje chicken, tender beef cheeks with freshly cooked baby veggies, pork ribs, pulled pork shank from the Black Slavonian pig in a steamed bun). The desserts (cakes, pies etc) still remain a strong favourite in this lively street bar in the centre.

And the wine bar remains. Over the past few years, it has weathered all of the changes happening in the bistro, and their wine list has grown and gotten stronger, more focused and nowadays it’s one of the more interesting wine lists of any wine bar in Zagreb. While they are offering many Croatian wines, there are also many imported wines offered to the Zagreb public (and many tourists, of course, as this wine bar is located in a very tourist area of the city). They have more than 10 imported sparkling wines and only one Croatian (Tomac Millenium). They have a few ports and sherrys, and only one Croatian dessert wine (Kozlović Muškat Momjanski). They have twenty or so Croatian white wines (from Košutić’s Škrlet, several Krauthaker’s wines, as well as Meneghetti, St. Hills and Stina wineries) and about a dozen imported white wines – from Austria to Australia.

Their selection of red wines reads like the “Who is who” list of Croatian red wines: Plenković, Kiridžija, Roxanich, Meneghetti, St. Hills, Arman, Stina and Josić, and they offer about the same number of imported reds, some from Europe, some New World wines, selected to cover as many wine styles and types. They offer around 20 wines by the glass, also a nice combination of Croatian and imported wines, and the prices are quite affordable, especially for such a popular tourist area like the centre of the city of Zagreb.

There has been an explosion of wine bars all over Croatia in recent years, an exciting new trend in both tourism and a new outlet for local entertainment. The city of Split, for example, had no wine bars just four years ago, and it seems that now there is a new one opening every month. It has added another dimension to tourism and nightlife in general. 

It has also been an extremely interest outlet for local wine producers to present their wines to international customers, where perhaps previously they were not in a position to do so. Tourists in general tend to know little about Croatian wine, with its unpronounceable names and unfamiliar varieties. 

Some winebars focus exclusively on local Croatian varieties, while others have more of an international selection. As with all things Croatian wine related, there is plenty of choice!

Above you can find a map of the winebars of Croatia with contact details. We will be adding information about each of them in due course, and a link to those articles will appear in the details of the individual winebar in the map. If there is a winebar missing or some inaccurate information, please contact us on [email protected] and we will fix immediately.

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