Balkan ekspres

Ljudi me često pitaju da im preporučim ne restoran, nego deo Beograda gde mogu lepo da jedu, a kad kažu deo Beograda, misle naravno na mesto gde će pored ukusne hrane uživati i u prirodi, tj. okruženju. Neko voli da sedi pored reke, neko okružen pretežno zelenilom, neko je urban tip pa voli da bude u gradskoj gužvi. Koji god da ste od ovih tipova ljudi, jedno je sigurno - ako ste zaista poznavalac beogradskih restorana, nikako niste mogli da zaobiđete Zemun. Ove nedelje odlučili smo da posetimo čuveni Balkan ekspres, izuzetno simpatičan restoran na obali Dunava, u Ulici Despota Đurđa 22. 

Restoran se sastoji od dva dela. Prvi čini jedna simpatična, po dizajnu jednostavna kuća, a drugi deo je vagon, po kom, uostalom ovaj restoran i nosi naziv. Unutrašnjost restorana, u nivou i na spratu čine drveni stolovi i klupe, kao u kupeu i, takođe, drvene stolice, a kad uđete u drugi deo restorana, tj. vagon, zaista ulazite u pravi vagon. To je veoma slatko i originalno, tako da time što ćete sedeti u tom delu, ne samo što ćete uživati u ukusnoj hrani, nego ćete se vratiti u neka stara, romantičnija vremena, kad je vožnja vozom imala poseban šmek. Restoran poseduje i terasu, kao i baštu, u kojoj, nažalost, nismo sedeli jer je padala sitna kiša, ali ručak ili večera u njoj po divnom letnjem danu uz zvuke brodova koji plove Dunavom je zaista nešto zbog čega ću vrlo uskoro morati ponovo da ih posetim.

Restoran "Balkan ekspres" - enterijer

Ovo je mesto koje je uvek puno i na koje se ljudi rado vraćaju, tako da je poželjno da rezervišete, naročito ako želite da odete na nedeljni ručak. Ovde dolaze sve generacije, što momci i devojke koji su izašli na piće, što bračni parovi sa decom, što bake i dake koji hoće da iskoriste lep dan. Gastro policija je što se toga tiče ovaj put napravila previd, pogotovo što smo ovaj put bili u proširenom sastavu. Kad smo došli, izuzetno ljubazna hostesa nam je rekla da ima samo jedan prazan sto u glavnom delu i jedan u vagonu, a da je sve ostalo ili popunjeno ili rezervisano. Smestili smo se za taj prvi ponuđen sto, u glavnom delu, međutim, posle par minuta nam je prišao konobar koji je čuo naš razgovor sa hostesom i pitao nas da li želimo da nas smesti za sto pored prozora koji je rezervisan, ali gosti dolaze tek za dva sata. Vrlo rado smo prihvaili njegovu ponudu i zaista nam je bilo drago što je osoblje tako srdačno i predusretljivo.

Kad smo se konačno smestili, pogledali smo meni. Za svakog ovde može da se nađe ponešto, jer su ovde zastupljena jela koja svako od nas voli, od pizza, pasti, obrok salata, preko rižota, supi, čorbi, jela od mesa, roštilja, itd. Vrlo brzo smo se odlučili za piletinu u corn flakes-u (pileće belo meso pohovano u corn flakes-u preliveno kikiriki puterom, začini, posluženo sa pomfritom, kupus salatom i ananasom), piletinu ''sendmen'' (punjene pileće grudi - pečenica, kačkavalj, crvena paprika, ''sendmen'' sos - neutralna pavlaka, topljeni sir, začini, posluženo sa pomfritom) i Karađorđevu šniclu. Za predjelo su nam doneli projice i domaći hleb uz sir i urnebes salatu, što nam je bila idealna zakuska pred glavno jelo. Utisci su nam zaista bili veoma prijatni, pogotovo zato što od svih poručenih jela sve to znamo i sami da spremimo, ali ovo je bilo toliko dobro spremljeno i lepo aranžirano, da sam se osećala kao da ovo jelo jedem prvi put u životu. Projice su bile lepe i sveže, kao i hleb, a piletina u corn flakes-u, koju sam jela je bila mnooogooo ukusna - meso prženo taman koliko treba, mekano, hrskavo, sa ukusom kikirikija, uz ananas je dalo jednu dozu egzotičnosti koje ovo jelo stavlja u mojih prvih 5 omiljenih. Probala sam i piletinu ''sendmen'', koja je takođe bila preukusna, tako da i da hoću da nađem zamerku, ne bih mogla. Vinska karta se pretežno sastoji od vina sa prostora bivše SFRJ, a poznato je da su to veoma dobra vina, tako da ćete naći nešto što vam odgovara, bilo da volite belo, crveno, roze ili desertno vino.

Piletina u corn flakes-u

Karađorđeva šnicla

Piletina "Sendmen"

Cene su i više nego korektne, možda čak i za nijansu niže, s obzirom na popularnost restorana, tako da će vaš dolazak vredeti svaku potrošenu paru.

Ovo je restoran gde je domaćinska atmosfera i gde ćete se osetiti kao kod kuće, uvek je gužva, ali ni u jednom trenutku nećete biti zapostavljeni. Drago mi je što postoji ovakvo mesto u mom gradu, originalno, autentično, sa menijem koji vam garantuje da nećete otići odavde gladni. Zato vam ga od srca preporučujem, bilo da Dunavom šibaju vetrovi, bilo da samo želite da odmorite posle šetnje zemunskim kejom.

Voli vas vaša Gastro policija!!  

www.balkan-ekspres.rs

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People often ask me to recommend them, not the restaurant, but part of Belgrade where they can eat something good, and when they say part of Belgrade, they, of course, think of a place where in addition to delicious food they can enjoy the nature, ie. environment. Someone likes to sit by the river, someone predominantly surrounded by greenery, someone is an urban type and likes to be in the city throng. Whichever you are from these types of people, one thing is certain - if you're really proficient about Belgrade restaurants you could never bypass Zemun. This week we decided to visit the famous Balkan Ekspres, very nice restaurant on the banks of the Danube, at Despota Đurđa Street no.22.

The restaurant consists of two parts. The first makes a nice, simple by design little house, and the second part is the wagon, according to which this restaurant was named. The interior of the restaurant, in the gound level and the floor is made of wooden tables and benches, as well as in the train roomette, and also wooden chairs, and when you go to another part of the restaurant, that is the wagon, you really enter into a real wagon. It's very cute and original, so by sitting in this part, not only will you enjoy the delicious food, but you'll be back to the old, more romantic time, when the train journey had a special charm. The restaurant has a terrace and garden, where, unfortunately, we did not sit because the falling drizzle, but lunch or dinner in it, on a beautiful summer day, with the sounds of ships that sail the Danube, is indeed something that I will come back for very soon.

Restaurant "Balkan ekspres" - interior

This is a place that is always full and that people keep coming back to, so it is advisable to make a reservation, especially if you want to go to Sunday lunch. Here come all the generations, young adults who came out for a drink, couples with children, elderly people who want to take advantage of a beautiful day. Gastro police for that matter this time made an mistake, especially as this time we were in extended composition. When we arrived, very friendly hostess told us that there is only one empty table in the main part and one in the wagon, and that everything else is either filled or reserved. We settled for that first offered table in the main part, however, after a few minutes we were approached by a waiter who heard our conversation with the hostess and asked us if we want to go at the table by the window which is reserved, but the guests are coming not for another couple of hours. Gladly we accepted his offer, and we're really pleased that the staff is so friendly and accommodating.

  

When we finally settled down, we looked at the menu. Everyone can find something here, because here are represented the dishes that each of us likes, from pizza, pasta, salad, over risotto, soup, meat dishes, bbq, etc. Very quickly we decided for Chicken in corn flakes coating (chicken breast fried in corn flakes topped with peanut butter, spices, served with french fries, cabbage and pineapple salad), Chicken '' Sandman '' (stuffed chicken breasts -  smoked ham , cheese, red bell peppers, '' Sandman '' sos - cooking cream, melted cheese, spices, served with fries) and Karadjordje’s steak. For starters they brought us corn bread muffins and homemade bread with cheese and Urnebes salad (mixed fatty, hard cheese, clotted cream, garlic and hot crushed seasoning pepper) , which was our perfect appetizer before the main course. Our impressions really were very pleasant, especially because all of the ordered dishes we know to prepare ourselves, but this was so well prepared and nicely arranged, that I felt as if I eat this dish for the first time in my life. Corn bread muffins were nice and fresh, and the bread also, a chicken in corn flakes coating  which I ate was really delicious - meat grilled just as long as it should be, soft, crunchy, peanut-flavored, with pineapple gave a single dose of exoticism and for that this dish is placed in my top 5 favorite dishes. I tried the chicken '' Sandman ', which was also tasty, so even if I wanted to find something faulty, I couldn’t have. The wine list consists mainly of wine from all over the former Yugoslavia, and it is known that those are very good wines, so you will find something that suits you, whether you like white, red, rose or dessert wine.

Chicken in corn flakes coating

Karađorđe's Steak

Chicken "Sandman"

Prices are more than fair, perhaps even slightly lower, due to the popularity of the restaurant, so your coming will be worth of each cent spent.

This is a restaurant with home-like atmosphere, where you will feel like at home, it's always crowded, but at no time you will be neglected. I'm glad there's this place in my town, original, authentic, with a menu that guarantees you that you will not leave this place hungry. Therefore, I heartly recommend it, whether the winds on Danube are whipping as popular Serbian song says, whether you just want to relax after a walk down the Zemun quay.

Love, Gastro police !!

www.balkan-ekspres.rs