Breg, the recently opened restaurant by the tandem of Jorg Zupan – Slovenia’s youngest Michelin starred chef, and his business partner Matjaž Ivanc is one of the hippest places in Ljubljana. Breg stands for bank, and this is where you’ll find it, at the bank of river Ljubljanica flowing through the city centre.
Breg is Jorg’s finalisation of a long-coming idea to create a neorestaurant where people could gather to enjoy comfort food, have a glass of beer with selected delicacies or sip wine while digging in his structured, finger-licking dishes. Jorg’s philosophy is simple “mastno in slastno” or, as in English “greasy and tasty”, and this is what you can expect to get.
The menu is composed of some of Jorg’s most signature dishes and some well thought new creations in which my better half Teja and I enjoyed. After a mandatory aperitivo of Slovene-French connection iconic Domaine Slapšak’s Brut Reserve, we opted for a platter of cold cuts and a plate called Little tomato.
Cold cuts consisted of Šuštar’s lightly smoked mangalitsa prosciutto, his deer and buffalo salami, Jakob Franc’s traditional prosciutto and a generous slice of zaseka (traditional combination of grease and cured meat). On the other hand, the tomatoes were a refreshing addition with beaten fetta cheese, dukkah and dill. A delightful start with mandatory sourdough bread. The wine choice? Štemberger’s Vitovska.
We continued with a fantastic surf and turf composed of mixed shells with nduja, smoked pork chin, peas and saltwort accompanied by a generous slice of grilled garlic bread. A delightful, well-greased dish was bringing a smile to the face with a slightly spicy touch. And the second dish composed of grilled octopus with baked potatoes, white wine sauce, pangrattata with olives and caper-fruit, mouthwatering and succulent.
Affogato was the choice to thame sugar cravings. Tonka-bean ice cream with espresso liquor, something to spoil a guy with a soft spot for Tonka.
Breg delivered with succulent dishes and a relaxed, easy-going atmosphere that many will enjoy. For us, it is a must-return to taste more for sure.