Inat Kuca

billmoy
billmoy
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
3
Reviews
16
Photos
Editor Pick

Traditional Bosnian Food at Its Best

  • October 11, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by midtownmjd from New York, New York
Traditional Bosnian Food at Its Best

Thanks to tip-offs from IgoUgo members billmoy and captain oddsocks, our only choice for dinner in Sarajevo was Inat Kuca. It was a great recommendation and the perfect introduction to Bosnian food.

Both previous reviewers sought to warm up winter’s chill at Inat Kuca, but I can report that the restaurant is lovely on a summer’s night as well. We sat in the upstairs window nook, opened the windows, and enjoyed warm air and good food.

We ordered some of the same dishes as billmoy and captain oddsocks, plus about half of the rest of the menu—what can I say, we were hungry! We got the Bosnian Pot, along with a couple of orders of Bey’s Soup, a spinach pie, a mixed meat plate of appetizers, and beef medallions with fries. Also some local beer, wine, and coffee, which was exquisitely presented alongside a Turkish Delight on a copper platter. One of the best parts, though, was the absolutely delicious bread.

The service was unexpectedly quick, even though our server had to climb a couple of flights of stairs each time he visited us, and the atmosphere was Old World perfect. I’m going to concur with billmoy and captain oddsocks and recommend the venerable Inat Kuca to all future visitors to Sarajevo.
Editor Pick

Inat Kuca

Inat Kuca

Inat Kuća is a restaurant in an old ottoman-style house across the river from the national library.

We saw the name translated variously as House of Spite, Despite House and House of Pride. The story is that a previous owner refused to sell his house to the authorities who wanted to pull it down so that they could straighten and pave the banks of the Miljacka River. "Tsar in Vienna is mighty and great. He deserves all my respect but he doesn’t have money to pay me for my delight" were his words as reported by the menu. Eventually a compromise was reached, one of the conditions being that the house would be moved piece by piece and rebuilt on the opposite bank of the river.

Having straightened the river, the authorities moved on to further projects, including the building of the monumental Town Hall/National Library that takes up an entire block. The building was heavily damaged during the siege and is boarded up awaiting reconstruction. It’s quite a unique building due to its imposing Central European proportions and Moorish-inspired surface decoration.

What does this have to do with Inat Kuća? Well the chosen location was right where they’d painstaking rebuilt old Mr. Stubborn’s home. Another stand-off ensued and only a large payment and the removal of the House of Spite back towards its original location cleared the site for the new construction.

And the restaurant? Well, it’s good. I would go so far as to say that if you are only going to have one sit-down meal while you are in Sarajevo, then you should have it here.

Entry is through a heavy wooden door into a room filled with low round tables, stools and a long bench along the length of the wall. On your right though, is the staircase, and the best tables are upstairs. We were delighted to find that the small octagonal window nook that juts out from the staircase between the second and third floors was free. It’s the deep bay window that you can see protruding out above the street from the outside. The effect from the inside is something like the dining equivalent of a four-poster bed and the windows in all directions offer wonderful views.

From the menu we chose "Bosnian Pot" and "Sahan". Bosnian pot was a small ceramic urn, in which had been baked a great tender lump of veal and vegetables flavoured with orient-conjuring spices like cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Yum! "Sahan" was a sample of every other dish; meatballs, stuffed grape leaves, skewered meats and veal tongue to name a few. We decided that the meals were excellent value, at 10-12 marks (5 -6 Euros) and the drinks not cheap but reasonable. Mineral water was 2KM, soft drinks were 3, beer 4 and a glass of wine was 7KM (3.5Euro).

Good food, reasonably priced, in pleasant and interesting surroundings, with a view and just steps from the centre of town. Can’t ask for much more than that!

From journal Snowflake's Chance in Hell

Editor Pick

Inat Kuca

  • October 24, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by billmoy from Chicago, Illinois
Inat Kuca

This landmark restaurant is famous for being the "Despite House". Supposedly there was a large construction project that was being blocked by this house, but the stubborn owner would not sell his property. The owner was allowed to keep his house, but it was relocated to the opposite side of the murky Miljacka River. It is located across from the shell of the National Library, the project that forced the move in the first place.

Approach the whitewashed exterior with the extruding wooden corner bay. There is an outdoor dining area that is fenced off for privacy, but the interior has some wonderfully intimate seating nooks where you can get a great view of the surrounding city. Guests were very anxious to get the tables with the better views, and they would be reluctant to leave them once they became entrenched in them. Our view was not bad, but we were a tad disappointed that we did not do a bit better in this department.

We arrived on a drearily rainy day, so I was looking to order something to warm my bones. My dinner was the reasonably priced and appropriately named Bosnian Pot, a quaint lamb and vegetable stew delivered in the self-titled pot. Also called "bosanski lonac" in the native language, this is a typical and hearty entree. Apparently these little foil-topped kegs are used to heat up the meaty mix. The serving is a bit small, so sop up the insides of the pot with the bread. My friend enjoyed a juniper juice, a little-known fruit that is subtly sweet. The lemonade is less exotic but nevertheless refreshing.

The restroom is inexplicably muggy, so try not to spend too much time. When you are leaving, you may be tempted to purchase a sweet from the glass displays on the main level.

From journal Bill in Bosnia - SARAJEVO

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