Drinks and paaaaarties

I have to recommend a few places for you to drink a coffee during the day, in Croatia drinking coffee is almost an obligation therefore, coffee culture maintains a continuous popularity in Zagreb, and may be one of the best ways to see the city is to try ‘Spica’, have a coffee on Saturday morning, before eating, on one of the terraces in Preradovićeva and Tkalčićeva.

Booksa, for example, combines coffee and culture. The bibliophiles and poets, writers and actors, rare creatures and artists, in short all those who live a creative life in Zagreb go to this endearing bookstore to chat and drink coffee, buy books and listen to lectures (also in English).

Eli's Café has an excellent expresso and a smooth cappuccino, you will see why the prize for the ‘Best Café in Croatia’ was awarded to this tiny café. There is also pasta with dips for breakfast.

Apartman, found on the first floor, is a bar decorated with cushions and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere without pretension. On the weekends, Apartman livens up with DJ sessions and is also open during the day.

But Ale, come one! You’ll want to know where to drink, to go out, where to take the night by storm and triumph. Stay calm, everyone, we have arrived to this part, I will address my nocturnal experience, after hitting the books, and hitting up the town. In the upper city, the distinguished Tkalčićeva is full of bars. In the lower city, Bogovićeva, there is also a multitude of bards and the south of Ban Josip Jelačić becomes a meeting point during the sunny spring days, the summer and for pleasant nights. When the weather is good, Trg Petra Preradovića is the most popular place in the lower city for the street artists and pop-up bands. With half a dozen bars and cafés between Trg Petra Preradovića and Bogovićeva, the atmosphere during the summer nights is often like that of a huge outdoors festival. Mind you, the establishments tend to close around midnight.

You could pass through Cica, where there is a dizzying amount of artisanal stalls (that sell herbal liquor). Another option would be to sit on the large balcony of Oliver Twist where you can watch people go by from. But, if the day is a bit dismal, you can stay inside this successful British pub that is popular with modern Zagreb. You can eat one of their house specialties and wait for the DJ to arrive. If this type of atmosphere doesn’t interest you, you can try Funk only a few metres away, which combines a gallery with a varied music playlist. In Melin, you will find traditional rock’n’roll, with rusty seats, curiously-painted walls, smokescreens and music at full blast. A grimy corner in old Zagreb in a street that’s in the process of gentrification. In the Hemingway you will find a sort of uniform with black sunglasses on and a mobile phone stuck to their ear. It serves luxury macro-cocktails and is a place to pose and to be seen. The BP Club specialises in jazz, blues and rock. The Zabac is also cool, the drinks are cheap, the atmosphere lively and you will have a good time.

In regards to the clubs, I would recommend KSET, the best local for music, with a programme that’s the crème-de-la-crème of the current scene, on Saturdays there is a DJ and hundreds of young people come to dance and stay out late. There are performances for all tastes. I have to say that the clubs close quite early for what you might be used to, at three or four o’clock they’re ready to shut. The Boogaloo is a fabulous local with a poster full of DJ or live music nights. This is 15 minutes by foot from the Ban [Josip] Jelačić Square. The Purgeraj is a fun, relaxed local for listening to performances of rock, blues, rock-blues, blues-rock, country rock and Avant-garde jazz. Every day at 11pm they will offer a promotion for two drink for the price of one. I remember that well. I needed it.

And I won’t forget those from the homosexual or bisexual community, or those who are generally curious. The attitude towards gays and lesbians in Zagreb is finally becoming more liberal than before, although it’s still not ‘open’. Many gay people go to socialise and flirt at the beach that surrounds the Jarun lake. They are welcome in almost all the clubs.

David, for example, is a sauna, bar and video room that is very popular in the homosexual community in Zagreb.

Goodbye for now.

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