Where there one sleeps well, there is also good cooking and drinking. That’s why you need to prioritise your travels and discover cities and towns, mountains and valleys, regions and their boarders, where a good cuisine is of essence. Tasty food and a well-chilled bar go hand in hand with soft bedside. Truly, you can’t cover up the dreamy, roasted pigeons falling from the sky with pillows. The more gastro experiences you want, the more gastro pigeons (staffed cabbage) from the roasted sky will caress the smooth muscles of your stomach.
Stroke your soul through your stomach and prepare your body for the next places that are just waiting for you at the edge of the world. That’s the job of good cooks, waiters, plates, cutlery and tables. Eat to your heart’s content, sleep to the fullest and you’ll leave satisfied where you came from, however, you won’t forget the Edge of the World any more.
1. Pigeons (stuffed cabbage) are eaten at the cottage
Na Chalupe, Veľká Tŕňa
It is not only the experience that keeps the tourist alive, but also the bread that they need to have greased. Whether also water or better wine…, this depends on the host. The collector of experiential images and memories is enthralled if he tastes something else that gets under his tooth and into his taste buds, and from there it never goes away. Like a textbook, the experience remains permanently etched in the tourist’s consciousness. Like a beacon at the end of the world, like a castaway’s diary, like a journey to the centre of the earth and 800 miles around the Edge of the World.
And so, at the Tokaj cottage, night after night, whenever you can remember, the sky will darken and so the arches of the wine cellar, from which the pigeons (stuffed cabbage) will fall straight into your sleep. With your mouth, you will taste the silk of a cabbage leaf, twisted according to an ancient recipe. Taste the meat of a thousand flavours in its original covering and wash it down with the one and only Tokaj wine. This is the only way to taste the traditional gastronomy in the countryside, in Tokaj – the Edge of the World.
Obchodná 134/12, Veľká Tŕňa 076 82
+421 905 837 829
2. Taste the raspberry
Med Malina, Košice
An old Polish proverb says: “Z żuru, chłop jak z muru” (żurek soup is that makes a man as strong as a wall). The best dishes of our northern neighbours in Košice are brilliantly represented by a restaurant where you can taste: żurek, bigos and pierogi. Taste and believe that this way you will get a better insight into the minds, customs and cuisine of our Slavic brothers – directly – through your stomach.
Why not to look for a piece of Poland in Košice? It’s a big, multicultural and multiethnic city… Its cuisine has also been influenced by the dishes of the surrounding nations, so it’s more than wise to travel with the tongue across the map, even at your leisure time. At least you’ll save time and miles of effort. All this you experience with good food and in the environment where your stomach becomes the main guest. You just have to step inside. Shelves full of goodies all around, stylish arrangements and a homely atmosphere. In short, you’ll enjoy Med Malina more than you’ll enjoy a raspberry.
Hlavná 81, Košice 040 01
+421 908 510 645
3. Create a nostalgic gastro memory
Nostalgie, Spišská Nová Ves
Experts say you shall enjoy your food slowly, calmly and in the most pleasant environment possible. That’s why every good restaurant aims to create an environment of peace and quiet. Nostalgia will give you a unique atmosphere with a touch of nostalgia in the middle of medieval Spišská Nová Ves. With great food and good wine, which is selected by sommeliers, you will quickly create a gastro memory. It’s up to you whether they are nostalgic memories of old times or shivering over fragrant minestrone, delicate salad, creamy ragout with parmesan, delicate snails or medium-rare sirloin steak. The varied menu will create an experience that will twist into a unique gastronomic memory of Spiš, the land of thousands of towers, old squares and unforgettable corners of a mother nature.
Letná 49, Spišská Nová Ves 052 01
+421 904 580 650
4. Eat your knuckle
Konský dvor, Brzotín
Gastronomy in vintage style? Or do you prefer country-style? Farm potato, decent demi-glace, roasted toothfish, or hand-baked pierogi or farm gnocchi… All this will be offered to the taste buds at the Konský dvor (Horse Court). And in the end, you’ll lick not only your fingers, but maybe even your knuckle. You can even eat your own, but we recommend something marinated and grilled. Exactly such dishes will be lovingly prepared for you at the Konský dvor in Brzotín. What is more, you can admire the horses while you’re there and even ride them. We recommend you to do it before lunch, not only for the sake of the noble thoroughbreds, but also for the sake of your stomach. Bon appétit, knuckle lovers!
Kružnianska 514, Brzotín 049 51
+421 919 167 875
5. Make your own pierogi
Europenzión Salaš, Zemplínska šírava
Enough was enough of traditional culture. Are you starving? Are you also thinking of finally going out for a traditional meal, preferably to a shepherd’s hut? But where to get it? Trudging through meadows and pastures, hoping the shepherd will be home? That the shepherd had just cooked gnocchi for lunch, washed down with sour suet the day before yesterday? Well, don’t risk it and make your own pierogi with a filling from scratch. Are you too comfortable? I mean, sorry, you’re supposedly less experienced and you don’t dare. Move on. If you’re in Zemplínská Šírava, hop straight to the Salaš with its guesthouse and renowned cuisine.
365 days a year, they prepare Slovak cuisine, among which specialties such as mutton goulash, pierogi made of tartar flour, gnocchi, bull balls, fish and other regional dishes lead in popularity. Dulcimer music makes the restaurant attractive. But that’s not all, because there is even more to the honest cuisine. If you don’t feel like gluing the pierogi with your own hands, they’ll glue as many as you like without asking. Sorry, we meant to say: as many as you can fit inside you.
Zemplínska šírava, Medvedia Hora 072 31
+421 908 036 849
6. Drink a barrel (puttonyos) of wine
Zlatá putňa, Viničky
Exclusive interiors and fine cuisine will spoil your senses whenever you encounter a quality and interesting offer. At the Zlatá putňa restaurant in the south of the region, you can taste Slovak-Hungarian classics or try something new. You will for sure make a choice and not only because your hunger will push you to the barrel of wine, by the way, definitely not the empty one. Tokaj honours distinguished guests and visitors, but it also expresses love for one’s fellow man. Of course, there is a seasonal menu and specialties of the cuisine. The food is an experience that can be indulged in endlessly, but only until you finish the meal with a glass of fine wine.
At the Zlatá putňa, they know how to impress guests. That’s why they have prepared a menu for you with the famous Slovak chef Daniel Širota, where they combine traditional dishes with adventurous ones. Don’t hesitate and taste.
Hlavná 414, Viničky 076 31
+421 918 625 846
