Toro - One visit Toro is a Latin gastro bar restaurant located on the famous Savamala esplanade in Belgrade. A host of restaurants along the esplanade in Beton Hala (Concrete Hall), on the riverfront of river Sava. Toro is a beautiful space with comfortable outdoor and indoor dining, perfect for a casual meal or drinks and has a great atmosphere and design. The food was excellent, especially the tacos. You can graze away on a varied selection of Mexican and Japanese dishes of sushi and sashimi. We enjoyed our afternoon hanging out with friends, relaxing in a cosy environment, eating great food, drinking cocktails and great local wine. A pleasant surprise following lunch was the array of complimentary desserts. Thank you, Toro, for sharing your hospitality with our beautiful friends for our last weekend in Serbia.

Taylan Şef Steakhouse - One visit Ironically, our last lunch in Belgrade was in a Turkish restaurant. Unbeknownst to us, we were heading to Romania in the next day or so; after some COVID-19 developments, we quickly changed our next destination to Istanbul. Taylan Sef is a new restaurant (opened Sep 2021) in the heart of Belgrade in the beautiful Knez Mihailova pedestrian zone, tucked away on a side alley, surrounded by greenery, and you are also spoilt with street musicians. The restaurant in Belgrade is a second location from the main restaurant in Istanbul. We were instantly greeted with warm and attentive service and treated to a welcome starter, which was incredible; one of our favourite dishes was beef carpaccio. They present you with an excellent and well-selected wine list. The pinot noir was divine. Being in a steakhouse, it was only natural to order steak, and we were both delighted with our succulent mains. The quality of the meat was of the highest quality. Following lunch, we were surprised by Katmer, a local Turkish dessert, which was the perfect end to our last lunch in Belgrade. The team were full of fun and friendly energy, and we are looking forward to experiencing the restaurant in Istanbul soon.

This evening, we were blessed to experience Serbian Christmas Eve. A Serbian custom is to gather at the Church of Saint Sava temple and burn Badnjak (Oaktree); everyone places a branch on the fire. We were gifted with some branches from some lovely young ladies to burn; we were blessed with more offerings from our nearby street stall. We continue to fall in love with Beograd and are incredibly grateful for the kindness and generosity of the Serbian people. Thank you, Serbia, for your boundless humility

MAMA's bistro, wine & spirit shop - Ten visits This review is long overdue; somehow (well, let's blame the hubby Wayne; he forgot), we didn't review our favourite wine shop in Belgrade. However, this is not just a wine shop but also a fantastic family-owned fine dining restaurant. While the warm and friendly father is in front of the house, his son creates mouthwatering meals for the lucky guests. During the warmer seasons, this place is a hot spot for locals who want to enjoy an always pleasant breeze sweeping up this beautiful tree-lined laneway in the centre of Belgrade and, at the same time, chatting, laughing, and enjoying lovely wine and fine-quality meals lovingly prepared by the chef. You're in for an incredible food journey, from freshly carved ham and homemade pasta to a mouthwatering, tender steak and divine desserts, including presentation. All meals are accompanied by a large selection of homemade oils and a wide range of salts. Our only regret is not eating here more, especially at the remarkable price and location. With such a broad selection of wines, international and local, you are spoilt for choice or maybe enjoy a nice Aperol spritz while sitting under one of the green leafy trees covering the outside of the restaurant. Sitting outside on a summer's evening or late afternoon is divine; however, when those colder months come along, don't miss the opportunity to sit inside for a warm and cosy atmosphere with white tablecloths, beautiful glassware and excellent service. Pricing is very reasonable and can become quite popular in the high season, so a reservation is required if you want to sit outside and people-watch. As per its name, this is also a wine shop that became our wine cellar. The team will help guide you through the extensive collection of wines and even a few spirits (if you get a chance, try the Serbian gin). I recommend MAMA's. You will be in for a delightful dining experience and won't be able to help yourself by taking a few wines home.

August saw us settle into Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. We found the most fabulous Airbnb that ticked all our boxes and decided to make it our home for six weeks. We have fallen in love with Belgrade. It is the most vibrant and liveable city, exudes positive energy and is full of life. No surprises, dining is one of our favourite things to do when travelling; find us in a beautiful restaurant with fine wine instead of visiting all the tourist hotspots. We meet the most wonderful people and learn more about local life via chats. We have experienced nearly 20 restaurants in Belgrade over the past few months and have been incredibly impressed with the dining scene. We also enjoy sharing reviews on Google, TripAdvisor, and Facebook. These reviews help all the newcomers and locals find the next best restaurant, and we also love supporting local businesses while we travel. It truly warms our hearts to help them and reminds us of all the special moments we are so fortunate to experience during our travels. For independent and unbiased reviews on all our dining experiences and favourite restaurants in Belgrade, some light reading and pictures are on our website, traveldinestay.com.

September was our last month in Belgrade 🇷🇸, the city we fell in love with and found it difficult to leave our beautiful friends. We often leave a piece of us whenever we leave a country, and Belgrade holds many special memories and friendships. Everyone is full of kindness, positivity, generosity, free spirit, strength, and, above all, fun. We are forever grateful to have been welcomed into Belgrade by all your unique souls; you have made our lives so much richer; having met you and become friends, this is just the beginning. We are truly grateful, and we love and miss you all.

Value for money - Amazing Security - Extremely Safe People - Super Friendly Travel - Easy Length - Six months When - July to September | January to March | May to June Seasons - Summer and Winter Transfers - Taxis, Bus Accommodation - Airbnb and Hotels Tipping - Not expected; however, we rounded up 10% Vranje | Nis | Belgrade | Novi Sad | Kopaonik | Smederevo For all our travel experiences, tips on accommodation, dining and experiences exploring Serbia, click here .

The four stages of tasting your first Serbian wine with Sally.

Pizzeria Il Mercato There are days when you crave authentic Italian pizza; this place is located in Vorgartenmarkt, a permanent local garden market.

Leo HILLINGER Wineshop & Bar What could be better than fine wine or cheese in a beautiful street in Vienna? There is an excellent selection of Austrian wines from the Leo Hillinger Winery. We enjoyed the champagne so much that we bought a few bottles for later.