Mali Bar
Affordable and innovative bistro popular among the Zagreb locals
An ordinary courtyard in Vlaška hides a wine shop, pizzeria, hostel, and on one of the terraces on top of the stairs in the bottom of the yard – Mali Bar, a bistro that has been cooking for the last 10 years.
Owner and chef Ana Ugarković made everything simple, and nice. The ochre walls are decorated with illustrations made in wine and squid ink. The tables are high, as well as the chairs, and there is a small terrace with three tables for 2 people. Even the menu is fun, with a comic on the back side with interesting anecdotes from theater and movies.
Falstaff gave them one fork, and Gault&Millau awarded them one chef’s hat.
Mali Bar is open Monday to Saturday from 12.30 AM to 12 PM and closed on Sundays.
What is served
The menu changes weekly and is divided into two sections, savory and sweet. It usually has 9 savory dishes: 3 vegetarian, 4 meat based, and 2 seafood, followed by a couple of desserts.
All of the dishes are interesting, using unusual ingredients and preparation techniques, so it is really hard to decide what to try. Ana Ugarković likes to use seeds, nuts, fermentation, and a lot of trendy techniques in her cooking and mix up unexpected flavors, so you might find orange zest in her savoy cabbage soup, or dates as a side dish with her duck meat cabbage rolls.
The wine list is moderate, but interesting, with all Croatian white wines, while among the 8 reds there are picks from all over the world: France, Africa, and Croatia. Two dessert wines on offer are French. You can get all of the wines by the glass. Red Malvasia is an interesting choice, as it is usually white wine.
The drinks list is decent and homemade elderberry syrup is our favorite choice.
What our chefs had
We started with ox tail and quince arancini with sour walnut ketchup. This is an interesting interpretation of Italian rice balls stuffed with cheese and ham and then fried since it has no rice, ham, or cheese. The texture is interestingly crunchy, and it worked well with the sour walnut ketchup that reminded us of an interesting version of romanesco sauce, but a bit more acidic.
Savoy cabbage cream soup with toasted walnuts, orange peel, walnut oil, and fried thyme was thick and hearty, very filling, with a refreshing zing of the orange peel, and enjoyably aromatic crunch of fried thyme.
Home-made squid ink spaghetti with Adriatic shrimp, fennel, salted lemon, and coriander was creative, and some of the ingredients worked well together, like fennel and shrimp sweetness, countered by the salted lemon tang.
We also sampled breaded porchetta stuffed with pistachio and a side salad of lamb’s lettuce, beans, violet onion, and horseradish. The idea was great, but it could have been balanced better.
We drank still water and a glass of Krauthaker Graševina Mitrovac 2019 and Bolfan Sauvignon 2020.
Altogether, the food served in Mali Bar is inspired and innovative.
The entire meal for two people, with drinks, came to 54 euro.
