Slovak cuisine focuses mostly on simple and hearty recipes. Historically, what is now considered genuinely Slovak has been the traditional food in the northern villages where people lived off sheep grazing and limited agriculture - in the harsh conditions many crops don't grow, and herbs are more accessible than true spices. Therefore, the staple foods mostly involve smoked meat, cheese, potatoes and flour. This does not make the food bland, however, and much of it is quite filling and flavoursome, though can be a bit heavy. As no strong spices or truly exotic ingredients are used, sampling local wares is a safe and rewarding experience.
Some dishes are authentically Slovak, many others are variations on a regional theme. A lot of cheese is typically consumed, out of meats pork and poultry products are the most common, with some beef and game dishes, most common accompaniments being potatoes and various types of dumplings. Since Slovakia is a land-locked country, fish and sea-food options are limited carp is served at Christmas, trout is the most common fish. Soups are quite common both as an appetiser and, as some are quite filling, as a main dish.
If you are a vegetarian, the variety of food in the cities should be decent. However, when venturing out into the countryside, the offer may be limited as vegetables are mostly considered a side and/or eaten mostly raw or in salads. Also, be aware that even though some dishes will be in the vegetarian section of the menu, this merely means that they're not predominanty meat-based and still might be prepared using animal fats or even contain small pieces of meat, so make your requirements clear. Fried cheese with ham or Cesar salad! are good examples. Still, almost every restaurant in the country will serve at least the staple choice of fried cheese the normal, non-ham variety with fries, which is a universally popular. There should be a good selection of sweet dishes as well, with pancakes, dumplings filled with fruits, jams or chocolate and sweet noodles with nuts/poppy seeds/sweet cottage cheese most common. Seeking out the nearest pizzeria is also a good and accessible option mostly everywhere.
The main meal of the day is traditionally lunch, though this is changing especially in cities due to work schedules, and dinner is increasing becoming the main meal there.
In establishments where you sit in cafes and restaurants, it is common to tip around 10% or at least round the amount up to the nearest euro or note depending on amount. Tips are not included in the bill, if there is a percentage shown on your bill, this is usually the VAT. Tip is added to the bill and should be handed to the waiter while you pay, before you leave the table. Tipping is not compulsory, so if you are not satisfied with the service, don't feel obliged to tip! You will not be hassled if you don't. Tipping is not common in over-the-counter establishments, bars or for other services.
It should be noted that in all but the most exclusive restaurants it is not customary to be shown to your table by the staff. So when you enter, do not hang out by the door, but simply pick a table of your choice and enjoy. Once you are comfortably seated, waiting staff will be over shortly to give you the menu and let you order drinks.
Again with the possible exception of the most exclusive establishments, there is mostly no dress code enforced in restaurants and informal clothing is fine. Hauling yourself into a restaurant for well-deserved meal after a day of hiking/skiing in your sporty clothes might attract a few frowns, but you certainly won't be turned away. Generally, anything you would wear for a stroll in town is perfectly fine. You don't need a jacket or closed shoes and in summer shorts are also acceptable.
slovak food
Bryndzové haluÅ¡ky is a Slovak national dish made out of potato dumplings and special kind of unpasteurized fermented sheep cheese called 'bryndza'. This meal is unique to Slovakia and quite appetising and surprisingly filling, and you should not leave Slovakia without trying it. Please note that while this dish will usually be listed in the vegetarian section of the menu, it is served with pieces of fried meaty bacon on top, so if you are a vegetarian make sure to ask for haluÅ¡ky without the bacon. HaluÅ¡ky can be found in many restaurants, however, the quality varies as it is not an easy dish to prepare. If you at all can, seek out an ethnic Slovak restaurant this can be harder than it sounds, or at least ask locals for the best place in the vicinity. In the northern regions you will find also authentic restaurants called 'SalaÅ¡' this word means sheep farm in Slovak and many take produce directly from these, which serve the most delicious and fresh variety. Sometimes, a variety with smoked cheese added on the top is available. A separate dish called strapaÄky might also be available where sauerkraut is served instead of bryndza, but it is not as typical this will also come with bacon on top.
A salaÅ¡ will usually serve also other typical Slovak dishes, and many will offer several varieties of sheep cheese to buy as well. They are all locally produced, delivious, and well worth buying if you are a cheese fan. Verieties include bryndza primarily used to make 'Bryndzové haluÅ¡ky', but it is a soft spreadable cheese which is very healthy and often used as a spread, blocks of sheep cheese soft and malleable, delicious on its own or with salt, parenica cheese curled in layers into a small peelable roll, sold smoked or unsmoked and korbáÄiky this word means hair braids in Slovak, and korbáÄiky are threads of cheese woven into a pattern resembling a basic braid. Some of these cheeses are available to buy in supermarkets as well but these are mass produced and not as good.
Most other dishes are regional, and their varieties can be found elsewhere in Central Europe. These include kapustnica, a sauerkraut soup typically eaten at Christmas but served all year round in restaurants. It is flavoursome and can be mildly spicy based on what sausage is used. Depending on the recipe it may also include smoked meat an/or dried mushrooms.
Various large dumplings called pirohy can be found and depending on the filling can be salty or sweet. Fillings include sauerkraut, various types of cheese or meat or simply fruits or jam. They closely resemble Polish pirogi.
Goulash is a regional dish made with cuts of beef, onions, vegetables and squashed potatoes with spices, which is very hearty and filling. Depending on the thickness it can be served as a soup with bread or as a stew served with dumplings. Goulash can be sometimes found outdoors during BBQs or at festival markets, where it is prepared in a big cauldron, sometimes with game instead of beef - this is the most authentic. A variety called Segedin goulash also exists, which is quite distinct and prepared with sauerkraut. Goulash can be quite spicy.
Apart from kapustnica and goulash, which are more of a main dish, other soups are quite popular as an appetiser. Mushroom soup is a typical Christmas dish in many parts, and there are several soups made out of beans or bean sprouts. In restaurants, the most common soups are normal chicken and sometimes beef broth, and tomato soup and garlic broth served with croutons, very tasty, but don't go kissing people after are also very common. Some restaurants offer certain soups to be served in a small loaf of bread 'v bochniku', which can be an interesting and tasty experience.
Other typical streetfood includes lokÅ¡e, potato pancakes served with various fillings popular varieties include duck fat and/or duck liver pate, poppy seeds or jam and langoÅ¡, which is a big deep fried flat bread most commonly served with garlic, cheese and ketchup/sour cream on top. A local version of a burger is also common, called cigánska peÄienka or simply cigánska. This is not made out of beef, however, but instead pork or chicken is used and is served in a bun with mustard/ketchup and sometimes onions, chilies and/or diced cabbage. If you are looking for something sweet, in spa cities such as PieÅ¡Å¥any, you will find stands selling spa wafers, which are usually two plate-sized thin wafers with various fillings. Try chocolate or hazelnut.
Especially in the western parts, lokše can be found in a restaurant as well, where they are served as side for a roasted goose/duck husacina, which is a local delicacy.
Other foods worth trying are chicken in paprika sauce with dumplings 'paprikas', Schnitzel 'RezeÅ' in Slovak, very common dish. 'Äiernohorsky rezeÅ' is a variety that is made with potato dumpling coating used instead of batter and is very good and Svieckova sirloin beef with special vegetable sauce, served with dumplings. From the desert section of the menu, try plum dumplings sometimes other fruit is used, but plums are traditional; this is a good and quite filling dish on its own as well.
In some parts of the countryside, there is a tradition called zabÃjaÄka, where a pig is killled and its various meat and parts are consumed in a BBQ-like event. This is a lot more historic celebration than you are likely to find in mostly modern Slovakia, but if you have an opportunity to attend, it may be an interesting experience, and the meat and sausages are home-made, delicious and full of flavour. If you can find home-made hurka pork meat and liver sausage with rice or krvavnicky similar to hurka, but with pork blood on offer elsewhere, they are both very good. There is also tlaÄenka cold meat pressed together with some vegetables, served similar to ham, which is served cold with vinegar and onion on top, and can be bought in supermarkets as well.Various other type of sausages and smoked meats are available commercially.
A thick fried slice of cheese served with French fries and a salad is also a common Slovak dish (http://www.slovakcooking....). It is served in most restaurants, and worth trying out, especially the local variety made from smoked cheese 'udeny syr'/'ostiepok' or 'hermelin' local cheese similar to Camembert. This is not considered a substitute for meat.
There is a good variety of bakery products, including various sweet pastries- try the local fillings of poppy seeds and/or sweet cottage cheese tvaroh. Strudel Å¡trúdla is also popular, try the traditional apple and raisins filling or fancier sweet poppy seeds and sour cherries version. For something savoury, try pagáÄ, which is a puff pastry with little pork cracklings. Local bread is excellent, but please note that some of the several varieties are sprinkled with caraway seeds. You may or may not like this! Baguettes and baguette shops/stands are very common and you will be able to choose from a variety of fillings.
For dessert, visit the local cukráreÅ. These establishments, though slowly merging into cafes, exclusively specialise in appeasing your sweet tooth and serve a variety of cakes, as well as hot and cold drinks and sometimes ice-cream. The cakes resemble similar fare in the Czech Republic or their Viennese cousins. The selection is diverse and on display, so just pick one you like the look of, perhaps a 'krémeÅ¡' a bit of pastry at the bottom, thick filling of vanilla custard, topped with a layer of cream or just chocolate or 'veternÃk' think huge profiterole coated in caramel, selection of tortas etc.
When you are shopping in the supermarket, remember to pick up Tatranky and/or Horalky, two brands of similar wafers with hazelnut filling and lightly coated in chocolate that the locals swear by.
For more information visit (http://www.slovensko.com/...).
international cuisine
Italian restaurants and pizzerias are extremely popular in Slovakia, and have become ubiquitous. Even if you don't go to an ethnic Italian restaurant, there will be a pizza or pasta dish on almost every restaurant menu. Italian and generally Mediterraneanice cream is also very popular.
Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine is also becoming more common everywhere, and kebab/gyros a bun with sliced bits of meat stands are very common.
In bigger cities, you will find selection of ethnic restaurants including Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Italian, French and many others. Moreover, as mentioned above, many Austrian, Czech, Hungarian and Polish dishes with Slovakian twist are commonplace.
Fast food establishments can be found in Slovakia as anywhere else in the world, McDonalds and Burger King can be found in many bigger and smaller cities. However, due to the other food being relatively cheap in comparison to the Western prices in fast foods, this is not usually considered the truly budget option. A food in a cheaper restaurant will cost 1-1.5x the price of a meal combo and might prove a better value. Still, these establishments are reasonably popular, especially with the younger generation.