Little Bay Restaurant, Belgrade

We went to this restaurant our very first night in Belgrade. One thing I like about having to connect in Europe is that by the time you get to your destination there is not all that much time you have to stay up to go to bed at a respectable local time. None-the-less, we were not up for a late dinner reservation, and consequently we were almost alone in this restaurant at 6:30 in the evening--Belgrade as a whole does not dine early.
This restaurant is part of a somewhat unusual chain--they have restaurants in England, and then this one in Belgrade. Odd. I am sure there is a reason behind it, I just don't know what it is and there is nothing particularly English about the dining experience. The restaurant is located near the National Theater, and it appears to be just an extension of that--there are theater boxes, lush velvet curtains, and you have the sense that you are stepping into a theater from a bygone era.

Opera is playing throughout your meal, and the whole experience is somewhere between engaging and melodramatic. Call us jet lagged, but we enjoyed it. This was also, hands down, the best meal we had in Serbia. We ordered two different salads to start, both of which were very good, and then we got the traditional Serbian dinner plate, which was generously proportioned, had a balance of meat dishes and vegetables (the best root vegetable puree I have ever had amongst them), and was absolutely delicious. The cost of hotels in Serbia is out of proportion to their product, but this large and well-made meal came in at under $20 per person, including beer. You have to choose your restaurants wisely in Serbia but it is very possible to have excellent food.