Špica: Zagreb’s Saturday coffee ritual

About Špica: Zagreb’s Saturday coffee ritual

By the ULTIMATE Zagreb Editorial Team

Coffee is not a quick shot at the bar in Zagreb: it is an hour, or two, on a terrace, watching the city go by. On Saturday mornings this becomes the špica, when friends meet in the Lower Town between the market and lunch, dressed to be seen.

What is the špica?

Špica is the peak hour: on Saturday mornings, roughly from late morning until lunch, Zagreb’s Lower Town fills with people who have come to shop at Dolac, read the papers and, above all, sit on a café terrace with friends. It is half social ritual, half fashion show, and the city’s favourite weekly habit.

Where it happens

The heart of the špica is the triangle between Ban Jelačić Square, Flower Square (Trg Petra Preradovića) and the pedestrian streets around them: Bogovićeva, Tkalčićeva, Gajeva and Masarykova. Every terrace is full, whatever the weather, with blankets and heaters in winter.

A coffee in Zagreb is never just a coffee: it is a seat with a view of the whole city.

How to order

Order a kava s mlijekom (coffee with milk), a produženi (a long espresso), a cappuccino or a bijela kava (a big milky coffee). Nobody rushes you: a single coffee buys you a seat for as long as you like, and a glass of water usually comes with it.

Specialty coffee too

Alongside the classic terraces, Zagreb has a growing specialty coffee scene, with roasters such as Cogito and small bars devoted to filter coffee, so you can choose between people-watching and carefully brewed single origins.

Our advice: arrive on a Saturday around 10:30 after a walk through Dolac, find a seat on Bogovićeva or Flower Square, order a kava s mlijekom and stay a while. Do as the locals do and dress up a little.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Špica: Zagreb’s Saturday coffee ritual before you go.