If you fancy traditional things, then the Old City House restaurant is the perfect place for you. Located just opposite the Macedonian Opera and Ballet and very close to the British Council, this nineteenth century house transformed into a restaurant will take you back in time as you enjoy their old world cuisine.
The house was built in 1836 and served as the Jovanovich family home for six generations.
The decor shows off the hand-made woolen blankets used by many Macedonians to stave off the winter cold and woolen rugs in the usual red and black patterns. On one of the walls hang a dagger and gun crossed to form an “X,” the Ottoman era sign of Macedonian revolutionaries sworn to fight to the death to win their freedom from the Turks. Macedonian music rounds out the atmosphere.
We started with mixed Macedonian appetizers, called meze, including Shopska salad, pindzur (a fried mixture of ground peppers and eggplants), ayvar (pepper and eggplant spread), hot peppers stuffed with cheese, steamed zucchini, grilled bukovka (mushrooms), sarma (stuffed grape leaves), and mixed yellow and white cheeses. These were accompanied by furnarinki, a kind of waffle, on the side. We combined this with a bottle of Tikvesh Macedonian Merlot.
For the main course we had meat served in an earthenware pot, which is typical of old style Macedonian cuisine. Several different meats and preparations are available depending on your taste. There are also vegetable dishes prepared in a similar fashion, which are very tasty and suitable for vegetarians. Some of the names of the dishes were funny-sounding in English, For instance “smothered lamb.” The pork in mushroom sauce was delicious.
We rounded out our meal nicely with chocolate fudge served with ice cream and a piece of chocolate cake. The contrast of warm cake and cold ice cream might be bad for the teeth, but certainly a treat for the palate.
Great service and a summer garden are additional reasons to enjoy a meal here.
The Old City House was recently voted one of the best restaurants in Skopje in a contest sponsored by the City of Skopje.
Old City House Restaurant
Stiv Naumov St.
Skopje 1000
Macedonia
(t) +389 2 3131 376
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