Bar-blessed Zagreb is in thrall to the beautiful game – here’s where pivo and nogomet combine
The football-worshipping drinking mecca of Zagreb does not lack for screens showing the game. Stroll down the main bar-lined thoroughfare of Tkalčićeva behind the main square and any number of terraces will be tuned into the action – though the choice of match may be limited to that night’s major international or key European fixture. You’ll look in vain for a pub with multiple channels happy to select for you the League One play-off from England.
On the plus side, Croatia was made for tournament summers, this a country entirely geared to tourism and outdoor living in Mediterranean climes. Thanks to brewing pioneers Medvedgrad, whose key outlet sits on Tkalčićeva, Zagreb long discovered the wonders of locally brewed craft beer, so you’re usually not limited to standard Ožujsko or Karlovačko when naming your poison.
Prices are pretty affordable, a happy medium between cheap-as-chips Serbia and pretentious Italy, and all staff speak English. Tipping isn’t expected unless you’ve had a meal, and probably not even then. Be advised, though, that the dreaded service charge has started creeping onto the bill at certain pricier establishments.
Finally, mention should be made of the choice of music, Zagreb being wonderfully savvy about this vital aspect of bar culture. This may not be an entirely Toto-free zone (where is?), but you stand every chance of catching that lesser-known White Stripes number you always loved.
BULLDOG
It’s been here forever, this corner pub, before this small pedestrianised hub near the main square became the Saturday-morning hangout for Zagreb’s trend-setters in designer sunglasses.
Screens are set up outside and in, many preferring to sup outside whatever the weather. Food is an important factor here, a couple of notches above pub grub, served on the terrace or in the two-floor interior, where live music and DJ parties often take place at weekends.
Bulldog, Bogovićeva 6. Open Mon-Fri & Sun 9am-1am, Fri-Sat 9am-2am.
DRIBBLING
By the Zagreb Arena just over the Sava river, Dribbling would clean up in the city centre – here on Lanište, it’s a superior sports bar filled with Croatian football iconography, used by regulars who call this burgeoning part of town home.
This is probably the only establishment in town entirely given over to the beautiful game – as well as match screenings, there are quiz nights and a mock dressing room displaying the shirts of the domestic clubs famed Croats play for. Close to the Arena Zagreb stop on tram line 7.
Dribbling, Lanište 26. Open daily 7am-midnight
harat’s
The world’s leading Irish pub chain, initiated in Irkutsk in darkest Siberia back in 2009, has covered all spots on the Risk board since – but this prominent venue in Zagreb was the first one in Europe, its opening coinciding with the 2016 World Cup.
Harat’s not only occupies a huge pub interior with plentiful screens but spreads over the terrace and little square outside, overlooking the city’s main market. Behind rise the twin spires of Zagreb Cathedral, you really couldn’t be more central.
The bar counter is long enough, just, to accommodate the many beers on tap (HB and Erdinger included), and if you’re going to split the G anywhere central, it should be here.
Harat’s, Trg Petrice Kerempuha/Opatovina. Open daily 8am-2am.
mk bar
Probabably the most atmospheric drinking den in Zagreb, the MK Bar is known as ‘Krolo’ after the revered writer Miroslav Krleža who resided in this building. It still feels lived-in, framed photographs and dark wood surrounding the sturdy, half-moon bar counter, where regulars gather over affordable domestic beers. The TV usually shows sport – for Croatia games, it’s set up in a prominent spot for communal viewing and opinion-sharing.
MK Bar, Radićeva 7. Open daily 8am-midnight.
Old pharmacy pub
One of the earlier Brit-style pubs to set up in Zagreb, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024, this former pharmacy sits in a basement space in the criss-cross of streets of the Lower Town, between the train station and the main square.
With the slight feel of a gentlemen’s club, it dispenses pricy pints of Paulaner, Nova Runda from nearby Zabok and enough options by the bottle to warrant a separate beer menu. Matches are shown on two screens over the entrance, the spotlight later falling on occasional live acts that set up on an ad-hoc basis. Note that the Croatian restaurant next door, Mašklin i Lata,
Old Pharmacy Pub, Hebrangova 11A. Open Mon-Thur 8am-midnight, Fri 8am-2am, Sat 4pm-2am, Sun 5pm-1am.
OLIVER TWIST
A key spot on Zagreb’s main bar-lined thoroughfare, Oliver Twist has grown out of its main bar area to fill a large conservatory that looks out onto the constant bustle of Tkalčićeva.
Football is a huge part of the equation here but it needn’t dominate proceedings – you can focus on one of several flat screens as you sip your Guinness or Paulaner, or let it play in the background and concentrate on the conversation. Once you finish up, there are probably 20 other options within a short stagger away.
Oliver Twist, Tkalčićeva 60. Open Mon-Thur & Sun 9am-midnight, Fri-Sat 9am-2am.
Ozujsko pub maksi
This is the most convivial option by the Maksimir Stadium – hence the name. Croatia’s most popular brew is the main sponsors, underlined by the beer-barrel lampshades and vintage Ožujsko ads. All in all, this is a league above, a large, contemporary sports bar/restaurant with beer brewed on-site.
Regulars tuck into towering burgers amid the plentiful TV screens tuned to football, while outside, the many terrace tables catch the afternoon sun. Only busy pre-match if Croatia are playing round the corner – or if Dinamo are taking on a top foreign team. Closed on Mondays.
Ožujsko Pub Maksi, Budaka Divka 18. Open Tue-Thur 9am-11pm, Fri-Sat 9am-midnight, Sun 9am-10pm.
pinta
Zagreb’s best bar bar none, Pinta appeals to local football fans with its homely atmosphere, TV, spot-on tunes and lack of tourists. Staff are genial – if she’s on shift that day, the half-Marseillaise, half-Croatian Eva won’t be shy in expressing her support for OM.
If it feels traditional, historic, even, it’s not just the archive posters and photos of Zagreb – this was the stables where Croatian leader Ban Josip Jelačić would tether his horses, needed for his heroic charges towards Hungary in the mid-1800s. Walk round the corner, and that’s his statue on the main square, sabre drawn.
Back at Pinta, the focus is more on the simple mantra it always sticks by: ‘Beer. Music. Local’. So local is the Grif beer it offers on draught, you can hop on tram five stops to where it’s brewed, at Pivana 1892 on Ilica.
Pinta, Radićeva 3A. Open Mon-Sat 9am-midnight, Sun 10am-midnight.
pivnica mali medo
Amid the current clamouring for craft beer everywhere, it’s easy to forget that some people have been flying the flag for independent purity for decades. One of them is Zagreb’s family-run Pivovara Medvedgrad, marking its 30th anniversary in 2024, which has always relied on natural ingredients, and the centuries-old craftsmanship of the Czechs and Bavarians.
Naming their brewery after the nearest fortress – another tradition adopted from south Germany – four brothers started out while the war was still going on in Croatia, and locals swore by the two main brands of Karlovačko and Ožujsko. Their rise to success mirrors Croatia’s, and is now manifest in four branded venues across the capital.
This one occupies a prime spot on Zagreb’s main byway of bars, Tkalčićeva, where summer tournaments see a cinema-sized screen set up outside and a wallchart faithfully updated by hand every day. (Look closely and you might still see that fateful Italija 1 Hrvatksa 1 from June 2024…)
Beer here comes in six varieties on tap, including the classic pilsner Zlatni Medvjed (‘Golden Bear’) and the strong, dark Grička Vještica, inspired by the witch in the revered children’s story by Marija Jurić Zagorka, whose statue stands nearby. All is eminently affordable, including the excellent Balkan favourite ćevapčići on the menu.
Pivnica Mali Medo, Tkalčićeva 36. Open Mon-Thur & Sun noon-midnight, Fri-Sat 10am-midnight.
sheridan's
Authentically Irish-run Sheridan’s sits on Savska towards Kranjčevićeva, where Zagreb’s second stadium will soon be knocked down to create an entirely new arena. This is also the student quarter, so the pub’s popular loyalty cards go down a treat.
Soccer is shown, particularly major internationals, though Six Nations land GAA also share top billing. Live Irish music, too, actually, scheduled for Thursdays, with the regular pub quiz the night before. No surprises among the beer taps but always nice to see local cult label Velebitsko among the bottled options.
Sheridan’s, Savska cesta 36. Open Mon-Sat 3pm-midnight.
