The Best Cafes in Ljubljana, Slovenia

The best cafes in Ljubljana are Stow Coffee Roasters inside the City Museum, Črno Zrno on the climb toward the castle, Café Čokl beside the Central Market, and riverside Tozd, with Čajna Hiša for tea drinkers and Le Petit Café for a long breakfast. The old town is compact enough to work through several in an afternoon, and nearly all of them pour white coffee, the local specialty: a shot of espresso buried under milk and thick foam.

Café hopping here is a year-round affair, even in winter when the terraces fill with blankets, heaters, and fur-covered chairs. With nearly 40,000 university students, the city is stacked with cafes, bars, and bookstores. We put this list together on a break from our backpacking adventure around Europe; if you are still mapping out your days, see our guide to the best things to do in Ljubljana.

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Best Coffee Shops in Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Cajna Hisa

Cajna Hisa: This café is for all those non-coffee drinkers that still need their caffeine fix. (Not to worry  they have some of the best coffee in town too). Cajna Hisa also offers breakfast, sandwiches, and cakes to fill your appetite while you enjoy your tea. If you feel like some tea to go, the café is attached to their tea shop with plenty of loose-leaf teas to take home. Find it at Stari trg 3, just off the river in the old town; closed Sundays.

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Le Petit Café

Le Petit Cafe:  On Trg francoske revolucije 4, in the heart of the university quarter, this café is filled with college students and professors looking for a break from their studies.  It’s made to look like a classic European café with French posters plastering the wall and featuring classic wood tables.

The café, like many in Ljubljana, has a large outdoor seating area perfect for catching some fresh air while reading a book. Le Petit café also is a great restaurant at night, offering good food and wine.

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Tozd Bar

Tozd Bar: Relaxed atmosphere with a cozy design. Tozd Bar has several bikes decorating the small cafe, adding a great element of quirkiness. Tozd Bar serves a nice selection of beers and wines complimented with a number of tapas. Most importantly, they offer cold brew coffee, which is simply awesome. You will find it riverside at Gallusovo nabrežje 27.

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Cafetino

Cafetino: This trendy coffee shop has no sign out front, but you can’t miss the selection of coffee roasting equipment in their window display. With a wide selection of worldly coffee beans, this is place is for those who take their coffee seriously. They offer a nice selection of baked goods to compliment your coffee. It sits at Stari trg 5 in the heart of the old town.

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Kavarna Macek

Kavarna Macek: This eclectic bar at Krojaška ulica 5 sits right along the Ljubljanica riverfront, and it is far more of a people-watching perch than a serious coffee stop. I wouldn’t say they specialize in anything but make up for that in fun. A large outdoor seating area and a lively crowd sipping out of kitschy cat mugs.

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Stow Coffee Roasters

Stow Coffee Roasters: Slovenia’s best-known specialty roaster has turned into the anchor of Ljubljana’s coffee scene since we first wrote this guide. The flagship café sits inside the City Museum of Ljubljana at Gosposka 15, with a second, airier location in the Cukrarna gallery. Filter coffee is the focus here, the brewing is precise, and the museum setting makes it a natural stop in the middle of a day of sightseeing. Note that the Gosposka café is closed on Mondays.

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Črno Zrno

Črno Zrno: A hole-in-the-wall espresso bar at Gornji trg 17, on the gentle climb from the old town toward the castle. The team pours Colombian coffee almost exclusively, and the space is so small that most people end up on the cobblestones outside with their cup. There is now a second outpost at Cukrarna as well. If you only have time for one serious coffee in Ljubljana, this is a strong contender.

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Café Čokl

Café Čokl: A tiny, long-running roaster at Krekov trg 9, right beside the Central Market and the funicular up to the castle. Tables spill out onto the square under the trees, which makes it a fine place to sit with a flat white and watch the market crowd. It is also one of the most consistently recommended coffee spots in the city by locals.

We loved trying out all these cafes in Ljubljana. Don’t forget that tipping 10% is common in many European cities. Check out our guide to tipping in Europe for the lowdown.

Once you’ve had your fill of white coffee and cake, the city has plenty more to offer — a hilltop castle, a riverside market, and some of the easiest mountain day trips in Europe. Here are 17 of the best things to do in Ljubljana to build the rest of your itinerary around.

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How to Get to Ljubljana

Ljubljana is easy to travel to as it is well connected. The main transportation hubs are the airport Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU), Ljubljana railway station, and a bus station. We arrived from the Italian border via bus, which was easy. It’s also easy to arrive via train from the more popular European city of Budapest.

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Where to Stay in Ljubljana?

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