Maribor Culinary Route

“Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people eat together.”
(Guy Fieri)

The story of the event or experience, how it started and evolved to its current form, when it started, what is unique about it, how popular the experience is with locals/visitors to the area etc…

Maribor is more and more recognisable on the map of cities that offer excellent wines and culinary experience. While the winemakers from the Maribor surrounding wine routes are reaching for medals at many famous wine competitions in Europe and on other continents, already for decades the culinary experts in the city are strengthening their image in the recent years as well.

Thus the city of Maribor includes a diversity of the local places with their traditional culinary delights. The town represents a rising star among the Slovenian foodie destinations including excellent winemakers gaining the highest global wine awards and top chefs where one of them – the restaurant MAK ranked the highest among five Slovenian restaurants on the renowned »La Liste«.

Due to the facts that speak for themselves, a Maribor Tourist Board decided to prepare the project named Maribor Culinary Route which fully started in the year 2018. The main aim of the project is to present the culinary specialities of the Štajerska region to the tourists as well as to the citizens of Maribor themselves. The approach of the Maribor Tourist Board was to gather the individual restaurants within an attractive package which the visitors of the city enables a qualitative and price-friendly culinary experience of the city including the oldest vine in the world. The constructed »package« is dynamic and thus represents a walk through the best restaurants of the city. The Maribor Culinary route consists of four culinary stops / restaurants among which the meal is divided (cold appetiser, warm appetiser, main course, dessert dish & wines) and the guests are kindly invited to walk from one restaurant to another in order to finally enjoy the complete meal. The route begins in the place called »At Three Ponds« where the cold appetiser is foreseen. This place is the oldest pub in Maribor since it was established already in the year 1825. It is situated between the city central park and the forest that surrounds the city in its north city limit. A special natural beauty is represented by the charming three lakes. The culinary specialities offered by this restaurant are based on traditional regional recipes combined with modern approach regarding serving and presentation of the dishes.

*Source / Author: Restaurant No 7 archive*

The Maribor Culinary Route continues at the »Restaurant no.7« where the warm appetiser is served. The main course is served at the »Fudo« restaurant which is known for unique food made from local organic ingredients and excellent wines. The Route ends at the »Old Vine House« by the river Drava where »the travelling« is concluded by the offer of dessert dish and wines from the Maribor surrounding hills. A shopping of the regional wines is added to the offer at the end of this culinary trip. The impressions and opinions of the guests that visited the restaurants on the Maribor Culinary Route are available at the social networks – mainly Facebook and Twitter with the linked access.

The »first station« represents the oldest restaurant in Maribor »At Three Lakes« (cold appetiser is foreseen. It Includes a beautiful wine cellar and is situated in the magnificent surrounding of the Maribor city park. The dishes prepared are based on traditional Slovenian and regional recipes with a touch of modernity. The ingredients used with cooking are regional or at least Slovenian, partially from ecological production. The delicious dishes are accompanied by selected wines of the regional wine producers. The restaurant At Three Lakes is mentioned in the French culinary guide Gault & Millau where it is rated with 13 out of max. 20 points.

The “second station” the »Restaurant no.7« (warm appetiser) is the restaurant of the Higher Vocational College for Hospitality and Tourism in Maribor which uses a business model where students transfer their knowledge into practice – independently or under mentorship.

A special invitation is dedicated to the café, because, among others, the restaurant is especially focused on the culture of making coffee. The opinions of the guests are mainly exposing the excellent meals with precisely cooked food and the imaginatively serving with a carefully selected wine pairings. Although most of the staff is from the school and just few professionals are employed they are all extremely friendly and perfectly organized. The guest’s eyes are many times caught also by the interesting interior design.

»Restaurant no.7«was awarded by the Michelin plate for the year 2020 as well as it was quoted in theFrench culinary guide Gault & Millau where it is rated with 15 out of max.20 points.

»Fudo«, as the »third station« (main course) of the Maribor Culinary Route represents an urban gathering place for lovers of good food, drink and entertainment on the liveliest street in the city.

Fudo offers unique food made with local, organic ingredients, great wines and much more. As per guest’s opinion the place is famous and recommended for its delicious local cuisine, selected wines, and nice atmosphere. In the winter the place is »the one« with the nicest door wrath and in the summer a view from the terrace to the Main Square. Some describe it as an amazing combination that you can’t find anywhere else. The fourth place, named »The Old Vine House Winery«(dessert dish & wines) is a true treasure trove of Maribor wine-growing districts. It represents around 55 local winemakers who contribute to the collection of more than 200 different wine labels, including the Oceanus sparkling wine that matures for several months at the bottom of the Bay of Piran, earth-ripened orange Dolium wine and others. Of course, the place is, first of all, offering a wine tasting but in addition to it a different types of snacks can be served – made of bread, pumpkin seed oil and salt or canapés, cheese plates and cold cuts. Finally, the performance of the folklore group KUD Študent Maribor can be admired at the end of the culinary evening.