"Zagreb's cottage cheese pastry — baked under sour cream until the top forms a bubbling golden crust — holds EU geographical protection. The baked version is what winter food is supposed to taste like."
About Strukli
Zagreb's most beloved comfort dish — thin dough sheets filled with fresh cottage cheese (skuta), egg and sour cream, then either boiled (kuhani) or baked (pečeni) under a lake of sour cream until the top forms a burnished, bubbling crust; the baked version is Zagreb's greatest gift to winter; it has been granted EU protected geographical status.
Strukli — a staple of Croatia's cuisine
Zagreb's most beloved dish: thin dough sheets filled with fresh cottage cheese (skuta), egg and sour cream, then either boiled (kuhani) or baked (pečeni) under a lake of sour cream until the top forms a burnished, bubbling crust. The baked version is Zagreb's great winter dish.
Štrukli holds EU Protected Geographical Status for the Zagreb and Zagorje region — the first Croatian dish to receive this protection.
What to Expect
The baked štrukli arrives in a small clay dish, the sour cream crust golden and slightly puffed at the edges. You break through to the cheese filling below — soft, slightly tangy and warm.
Why Try It
Štrukli tells you what Zagreb cooking is: unfussy, dairy-rich and deeply comforting. It's the dish that visitors remember when they think of the city.
Insider Tips
Restoran Štrukli on Skalinska Street in Zagreb is the most celebrated address.
Order the baked version (pečeni) in autumn and winter, the boiled version (kuhani) in summer.
The skuta (cottage cheese) filling should be slightly tangy — if it tastes flat, the cheese was too fresh.
