15 amazing delicacies to try in Strumica

Visiting fancy museums or seeing spectacular buildings is not why people from all around the world come to the city of Strumica. Here, the real attraction are the many great restaurants and “kafani”. And do you know what is the best part? A culinary experience of traditional food and fine wine will cost you less than a single entrance ticket to almost any tourist attraction in Europe.

Very often the guests in our apartments are asking us what traditional or typical dish would we recommend them to try while in Strumica. We love that question! That’s why we answer it here with 15 delicious recommendations, but please note that we are not trying to advertise any of the mentioned restaurants, we just hope to be helpful to the readers who are visiting our city for the first time.

15. “Tavce Gravce” with homemade sausage

It’s just baked beans, sausage and some spices. BUT! Few hours of cooking a in a large clay pot in an old-fashioned stone oven is what makes these beans the best beans you have ever tried. Dried Macedonian paprika is usually added to enhance the flavor of a true “Tavce Gravce” serving.

14. Pastrmajlija with pork or chicken meat

Pastrmajlija is another delicious thing that comes out of a hot stone oven. Soft and tender dough with cubes of seasoned pork or chicken meat (plus cheese, mushrooms and sesame seeds, if you prefer a richer taste) – it takes you to culinary heaven with just one bite! Pastrmajlija is such a famous dish, that cities like Veles and Shtip, dedicate special festivals in its name.

13. Grne

Possibly the tastiest way to prepare meat! Again, it is cooked in traditional clay pot, but this time inside of it you will find pork, beef or/and chicken meat with vegetables and a rich cover of cheese. Once you open the pot (grne) and sense the amazing aroma that comes out of it, you suddenly want to start cooking in clay pots for the rest of your life! The meat is so tender and soft and juicy that even those who don’t enjoy eating meat that much, will find it irresistibly delicious.

12. Bosilanka

Okay, we know pizza is Italian. We won’t try to steal the credit for it at all. But what we are about to recommend you is more than just pizza. “Bosilanka” is delicacy invented and made only in one restaurant near Strumica – “Pizzeria Park Bosilovo”. Over there you might find many traditional items on their menu, but people always come back for the famous “Bosilanka”.

11. Burek

“Burek” is something that can be found in many bakeries around the Balkan countries. But very often it’s either too greasy, or too dry and tasteless… That’s why we recommend a place that makes freshly baked burek each morning – and it’s located in the center of the center in Strumica. Burek with cheese, with meat or with pizza filling, the choice is yours – but don’t forget to order a glass of “Joka” yogurt or ajran to go with it.

10. Selska Tava

All the goodies on one plate. Tender pork, juicy chicken, homemade sausage, paprika and more. A lot of good restaurants prepare this kind of dish differently, but the point is to take the best ingredients that nature has to offer and cook them slowly and skillfully. If you don’t find it on the menu with this name, you can ask your server for “turli tava” or “selsko meso”.

9. Fish “Pastrmka”

You are right, Strumica doesn’t have a natural lake or big river. But we do have one restaurant that serves fish so good, that even people from cities with lake come here to enjoy it. This restaurant serves many kind of fish, but the most famous one in this part of the Balkan is “Pastrmka”, which is an endemic species of trout living in the beautiful Lake Ohrid.

8. Sarma

When you see it, it looks very simple… but the skillful hands of the cook know how much time and effort it takes to make the perfect, delicious rolls of “sarma”. To this day, this dish is still a big part of the everyday cuisine in Strumica. That’s why in a family fridge it is very likely to be found an ice cream container, that doesn’t have ice cream in it, but it’s filled with leftover sarma rolls from a previous meal. Simply beautiful, isn’t it!

7. Sutlijas (rice pudding)

How can something so simple as white rice and milk can be so so tasty? Some people like it plain, some like it with a little bit of cinnamon or vanilla flavor. Either way, this simple desert is best when consumed hot and freshly made.

6. Ekler

Another sweet bite that might make you want to ask for more! Usually, when people from Strumica go to a pastry shop they order one “ekler” and one “tulumba” or “indijanka”, and then a glass of “boza”, “spricer” or lemonade. Our grandparents love it, we love it and our kids love it! It’s the universal dessert for every generation.

5. Langidi (Mekici)

Most people call them “mekici”, but people from Strumica call them ‘langidi”. If you can make it sound funny, just do it, right? Basically, we are talking about deep fried dough made with yogurt, but somehow it can be one delicious breakfast if you combine it with sweet “lokum” or white cheese. Traditionally, “langidi” are served when a new baby is born. Friends and relatives gather to congratulate the happy family and they eat one or two in the name of the newborn.

4. Ajver

If you have come to visit Strumica, then welcome! You have just arrived in the home city of Ajver (spelling is not wrong – in Strumica it is pronounced with an “e”)! Since this city is the biggest producer of peppers in the country, it is very acceptable to say that Strumica makes the best
red-pepper-caviar IN THE WORLD! Different people might like it differently, and there are plenty of recipes with all sorts of ingredients – we respect that! But the real thing can only be tasted when homemade in the backyard of some family house in Strumica.

3. Sweetened chestnut

If you can find it homemade then you are really lucky and the family that makes it is awesome! But because chestnuts are not produced in huge quantities, a lot of people haven’t even heard of this mega delicious dessert. Trust us – It’s a must try!

2. “10ka” and a bottle of “Strumka“

If you are looking for a local experience, then you just found it. This combo is as local as it gets! “10ka” (or simply 10) is the known name for a big sandwich with 10 “kebapi”, some onion and some sour cabbage salad. But what brings the local touch to all of this is the refreshing carbonated beverage “Strumka”, that has been produced in our city since we can remember.

1. Shopska salad and a glass of “Mastika“

As our last recommendation here, we have the famous “Strumicka Mastika” and one simple salad that has only 3 main ingredients: fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and delicious white cheese (plus some oil and salt). You can make that anywhere in the world, but while in Strumica we recommend going to the farmers market and buying fresh, local cucumbers and tomatoes (frenki in Strumica’s dialect), and making it for yourself. Most people visiting from far away countries, amazed by the taste of the vegetables, admit that they never knew tomatoes and cucumbers could taste like that.

At the end, one bonus tip – finish your meal with a hot black (Turkish) coffee, the way it’s prepared here in our town, and let us know which dish was your personal favorite!

This list could be very very long if we try to mention every good menu item in the restaurants in Strumica. That’s why, for now, we will stop here. But we do have plenty of other tasty suggestions, that can help the guests of our town discover new hidden culinary jams.
So, dear guests, always, always, always feel free to contact us and ask as many questions as you want – it’s going to be a true pleasure to share some of our love for Strumica with you.