Bratislava, Slovakia

We arrived in Bratislava by train from Prague, Czech Republic.
We sat quietly, Laura tried to sleep but was unsuccessful, I watched a couple of films on the iPad. While I was watching films Laura was watching a group of people sitting nearby as they necked 2 litres of red wine and a bottle of absinthe. Not once did they offer us any, shocking behaviour!
The train was late arriving, about an hour late, which meant we were late meeting the owner of our rental apartment. Eventually we met, and dumped our bags in the apartment before going out for a late lunch.

Video of Bratislava ‘Old Town’

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Stand along blog posts from Bratislava, Slovakia
Instagram Photos of Bratislava – Blog Post HERE

Eating in Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislavska Restauracia ~ http://dalriada.sk/flagship
Our first meal in Bratislava was eaten just across the road from our apartment. I had goulash served with a slice of bread, the portion was a bit small but very tasty. Laura ordered chicken schnitzel, we asked for roast potatoes to share. The potatoes came on Laura’s plate, but thankfully she’s a generous lady so I didn’t miss out. Laura said he chicken schnitzel was good, as we’re the potatoes. A couple of beers completed our meal.

Pizzeria Bella Napoli ~
We ate a very nice bacon, sweet corn and chilli pizza with a side dish of greek salad. Good service, food food, and fast.

CarneValle ~ www.carnevalle.sk
We sat outside watching the wild go by, it was very pleasant, as was the food. I had stroganoff, Laura had lamb shank, we ordered side dishes of roast potatoes. In retrospect we should have only ordered one lot of potatoes as the portions were large enough to share. Shame the same can’t be said for my stroganoff, it was tasty but quiet a small portion. Laura’s lamb shank was also small, probably the smallest lamb shank we’ve ever seen, but having said that, it was like the Doctor Who tardis. It looked small but had lots of meat, which Laura shared with me. I ordered a Pilsner, Laura asked for a dark beer. Unfortunately they had run out of dark beer, so she had a Pilsner too, both beers were very small and expensive at €2.50 for 33cl.

El Campo ~
A great find. Great simple food at a really reasonable price. Wandering round in the cold and rain we found El Campo restaurant. It looked inviting, we went in out of the rain, the inside had a warm glow, and the waitress was helpful transalting the daily specials menu. We had a two course lunch, which cost only €3.40. We started with a bowl of soup, a light broth with a few pieces of ham and red beans, warmed us up. Our main course was surprisingly large, especially considering the price. We had lots of moist chicken pieces, chunks of boiled potato, all covered in a delicious spinach sauce/purée, with a little tangy pickled cabbage on the side, serve in a large frying pan. Seriously good food. Wish we’d have found this restaurant sooner, as we’d definietely have eaten there again.
Great food, at a great price, and even the beer was good value.

Drinking in Bratislava, Slovakia ~

Bratislavsky Mestiansky Pivovar ~ http://www.mestianskypivovar.sk
A lucky break for us. A decent pub/restaurant just around the corner from our rented apartment. Laura enjoyed the dark beer, although she said it wasn’t the best black beer she’d ever drank, I supped the Pilsner. Both beers could have been a lot better, but the bar was close so we went there more than once. It’s not a place we’d go out of our way for. The food they served looked and smelt good, but we didn’t eat there so no idea if it was decent or not.

Slovak Pub ~ http://www.slovakpub.sk/
A decent pub serving good food, and cold beer. From the outside it looks small, but once you enter, it is cavernous.
We popped in for a beer on our last night in Bratislava. We ended staying for a couple, and a beer snack of sausage with bread, mustard, and horseradish.
Service was a bit slow, but they were very busy. I got told off for going up to the bar for our drinks, I was told to sit down, it’s table service. ;o

Manak 2010 Cabernet Moravia ~ www.vinarstvi-manak.cz
A very decent wine we purchased in Prague. Full bodied with a great earthy nose. On the palate it is woody with loads of dark stewed red fruits fighting for dominance. A lingering finish. Purchased from Kratochvilovci in Prague.
8/10

Tomas Krist ~ www.vinarstvikrist.cz
Tramin Cerveny 2008. A very refreshing white wine from the Czech Republic.
Purchased from Vinoteka Sv. Urbana ~ www.vinotekasurbana.sk
6/10

Milos Matus ~ www.vinomatus.sk
Frankovka modrá 2009
A light bodied Slovakian wine
4/10

Villa Vino Raca ~ www.villavinoraca.sk
Racianska Frankovka 2009
Not a bad tipple purchased in Billa Supermarket.

6/10

Video of Bratislava ‘Old Town’ at night

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Summary ~
Bratislava is a nice city which feels more like a provincial town because it’s quite compact. It has a young vibe due to the university students wandering about. There are lots of good places to drink and eat, the people are friendly, and there are lots of interesting historical buildings. We thoroughly enjoyed our short stay.

Supping a beer or 2 in Bratislava

Moving on ~
On arriving in Bratislava, Slovakia, we purchased onward tickets for Budapest, Hungary, at 15€ per person.
The morning we left Bratislava we walked to the station from our rental apartment. At the station there were a few places to get drink and food. We didn’t need to purchase anything as for once we were well prepared for our train ride, we had a bag full of drinks and snacks.
Goodbye Bratislava, it was fun!

Other Bloggers on Bratislava, Slovakia:

• Hello Bratislava! from Evie and the olifanten
• Bratislava, Slovakia from Travel Monkey The Adventures of Kongo
• Visit Slovakia! from One Dream Travel!
• first trip! bratislava, slovakia from vienna with love.
• Bratislava – a capital place from Went up a hill and came down