What Pekara means
- In Serbian: Пекара
- Pronounced: peh-KAH-ra
- Category: Food & drink
A pekara is a neighbourhood bakery built around filo pastries, above all burek, sold hot from trays behind glass. You point at what you want — meat (sa mesom), cheese (sa sirom), spinach-and-cheese or another filling — and it's weighed or cut and handed over, usually with a drinking yoghurt from the fridge beside the till as the traditional accompaniment. Beyond burek, most pekare also sell gibanica, other pastries, bread and simple sandwiches.
Pekare are everywhere in Belgrade, on nearly every corner of every neighbourhood, and many run 24 hours a day. That makes them the backbone of the city's late-night food scene: after the clubs close, a lit pekara window with burek and yoghurt is rarely more than a few blocks away, whatever time it is.
For a visitor, a pekara is also the easiest possible transaction in the city — everything is visible behind the counter, so there's no menu to decode, and prices are cheap even by the standards of Belgrade's already-affordable food scene. It's the natural first stop for breakfast and the natural last stop after a night out.
Common questions about Pekara
What can you buy at a pekara?
Mainly burek in various fillings (meat, cheese, spinach-and-cheese), plus gibanica and other filo pastries, bread and simple sandwiches — all sold hot, by weight or the slice, from a counter.
Are pekare open late?
Many are, including some that run 24 hours, which is why bakeries are the backbone of Belgrade's late-night eating — a post-club burek and yoghurt is a genuine city institution.
How do you order at a pekara?
Point at what you want in the display case and say the filling — sa mesom (meat) or sa sirom (cheese) are the two you'll need most — and it's weighed or cut, then handed over hot.
