Our story

A spare cup

There is an old habit in the region our food comes from: keep one more coffee cup than you think you will need. The phrase for it is fildžan viška, a spare cup, and it means someone might knock on the door and they will be welcome when they do. Nobody plans for the extra guest. You just leave room for them.

That is the idea behind Bite of Balkan. Good food brings people closer, and a table is better with one more person at it.

Coffee means "let's talk"

Where we come from, "let's have a coffee" rarely means a quick cup. Coffee is brewed in a small long-handled pot, poured into a small cup, and served with a glass of water and something sweet. Then it sits there while people talk. The word for that unhurried pleasure is merak: the slow enjoyment of something simple, done properly. A coffee with merak can last an afternoon.

We can't promise you an afternoon every time. We can promise that nobody here will hurry you out.

The long table

Meals in this tradition are built for sharing. Plates go to the middle. Bread gets torn and passed. Someone orders "a few things for the table," and the table decides. If you came with friends, order that way. If you came alone, the counter is a fine place to start a conversation.

In many homes a guest is welcomed with a spoonful of fruit preserve and a glass of cold water before anything else happens. It is a small gesture, but it says that you were expected, even if you weren't.

The bakery down the street

In the towns and cities this food comes from, the neighbourhood bakery is where the day starts. People stop in for a wedge of pie still warm from the tray, a cup of yogurt, a word with whoever is behind the counter. It is breakfast, it is lunch, it is where you hear the news.

That is the kind of place we want to be on Kingsway: somewhere you drop in, not somewhere you save for an occasion.

Charcoal and patience

Our grill runs on charcoal. Our pies are made from dough stretched by hand. Neither is the fast way, and both are the reason the food tastes the way it does. The same goes for hospitality: it takes a little time, and it is worth it.

Come in, sit down, and let us bring you something. There is always a spare cup.