Why isn't a cheese pie called burek in Bosnia?

Because in Bosnia and Herzegovina burek means the meat-filled pie only. The cheese version is sirnica, the spinach version zeljanica and the potato version krompiruša — ask for them by name at any bakery.

How are ćevapi served?

In somun, a soft flatbread, with raw onion and often kajmak, a rich dairy spread. They are grill-house food, eaten at a ćevabdžinica, and Sarajevo and Banja Luka each have their own well-known style.

How is Bosnian coffee different from an ordinary coffee?

It is brewed in a džezva, a small pot, and served with sugar cubes and often rahat lokum on the side. It is treated as a ritual rather than a quick coffee, so there is no hurry to finish it.

Which wines is Herzegovina known for?

Žilavka for white wine and blatina for red — both local grapes grown in the Mediterranean-influenced valleys of Herzegovina around Mostar.

Food guide

Eating Bosnia and Herzegovina: Only Meat Pie Is Burek

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, burek means the meat-filled pie and nothing else — a “cheese burek” is, properly, a sirnica. The naming rule is a good way into the whole table, which runs on bakery pies, grilled ćevapi in flatbread, hearty pots, coffee served as a small ceremony and, in the south, the wines of Herzegovina.

Updated 2026-09-19

The pita family: burek, sirnica, zeljanica, krompiruša

Filled pastry pies, known together as pita, are a whole category in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and each filling carries its own name. Burek is the meat version; sirnica is filled with cheese, zeljanica with spinach and krompiruša with potato. They are bought at the pekara, the neighbourhood bakery, and Sarajevo also has buregdžinice, bakeries that serve burek alone. Asking for the pie by its proper name is the easiest way to get the filling you want.

Ćevapi in somun, and the pots beyond the grill

Ćevapi are small grilled sausages of minced meat, served in somun, a soft flatbread, with raw onion and often kajmak, a rich dairy spread. They are the country's everyday grill food, served at the ćevabdžinica, and the style differs between cities: Sarajevo's and Banja Luka's ćevapi are the two best-known versions. In Sarajevo the grills cluster in the old bazaar quarter, Baščaršija, the natural place to try them on a first visit to Sarajevo.

Beyond the grill, the cooking is hearty. Begova čorba is a chicken soup, and bosanski lonac, the Bosnian pot, is a stew named after the country itself — both worth ordering wherever a menu lists them.

Bosnian coffee and the wines of Herzegovina

Bosnian coffee is brewed in a džezva, a small pot, and served with sugar cubes and often a piece of rahat lokum, Turkish delight, on the side. It is treated as a ritual rather than simply a drink, which is why ordering one is also an invitation to stay a while.

In the south, Herzegovina's Mediterranean-influenced valleys grow vines, and the two local grapes to know are žilavka, which makes white wine, and blatina, which makes red. Both are poured in Mostar and the villages around it.

Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.