Editor Pick
Cantante - Is it Cuban or Mexican?
- October 30, 2008
- Rated 3 of 5 by
fizzytom from Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Cantante has branches in Celje, Ptuj and two in Maribor which makes it about as close to a chain as you get in Slovenia. It is a Cuban/Che Guevara themed bar and restaurant that serves great cocktails and excellent Mexican influenced food (I say influenced because a great deal of licence is used).
Had we wanted to eat on other days - we were in Celje on a Sunday on this occasion - we could have gone to one of several places serving good value local meals, a Croatian restaurant serving traditional dishes from Dalmatia or one of a number of pizzerias.
Anyone visiting Celje should also be advised that few restaurants open in the centre in the evening except on Friday and Saturday evenings; for food in the evenings, hotel restaurants or restaurants in the villages around the city are the places to dine. When we asked about the lack of open restaurants, the waiter in Cantate told us in sombre fashion "Celje is death town on Sundays".
Although it was the case that visited because there was little else open we did enjoy what we ate at Cantante. We ordered a plate of bruschetta which was heavy on the topping of tasty tomatoes, pepper and cheese and a portion of hot peppers stuffed with cheese. We also shared an enormous dressed salad which we might have enjoyed even more had it not been drenched in a rich creamy dressing that - while tasty- proved a bit on the heavy side and cancelled out the good intentions we'd thought of when ordering the salad.
Cantante also do a selection of filled tortilla wraps, chilli con carne, soups, chicken wings and main courses dishes like posk cutlets with a spicy sauce. The wraps are good value and we sometimes have these at our local branch in Maribor.
As you would expect there is a strong enphasis on cocktails with al the Cuban classics like mojitos and daiquiris being served.
The music is mixed but there's often Cuban/world music being played and the atmosphere generally is laid back and as close to a South american or Cuban bar you're going to get in Slovenia! The interior is all wooden tables and chairs, wooden floor and lots of Che Guevara memorabilia on the walls.
There is plenty of outdoor seating and as the bar is on a pedestrian only street, it's a nice place to sit outside on warm days.
The place gets livelier in the evenings and its one of the more youthful places to drink in Celje although its never too crowded and the music never gets too loud.
Mon - Thurs: 8-24h, Fri -Sat 8-03h, Sun 12-24h
From journal Celje - the Central City