Podgorica Traditional

Traditional Montenegrin restaurants in Podgorica work from a tight regional repertoire. The peka, a heavy iron bell covered in wood embers, is the kitchen centrepiece for slow-cooked lamb and veal with potatoes, ordered an hour ahead and brought to table in its dish. Kacamak, the cornmeal porridge folded with kajmak and cheese, sits on most menus alongside cicvara and popara as the older mountain dishes. Njeguski prsut cured ham from the ridge above Cetinje appears as starter, plus aged cheeses from the Komovi pastures and roasted peppers from the Niksic plain.

Stara Varos carries most of the traditional rooms, with stone walls, wood-fired hearths and seating on the Ottoman lanes around the Sahat Kula. The wider residential blocks hold a handful of family-run kitchens that lean home-style. Mains run ten to eighteen euros; a peka portion for two sits at twenty-eight to forty-five. Vranac and Krstac wines from the Crmnica plain pair the menu. Bookings for evening tables are advisable in season.