Kavana Palainovka
$Opened in 1847 on Zagreb's smallest square in the Upper Town, it is the city's oldest café still in business, with a terrace behind the City Museum.
Order: Kava s mlijekom · Cake
💡 Combine it with a walk round the Upper Town.
World cafés / Europe
Cafés to visit in Croatia
7 cafés in 2 citys. Places change: check opening hours before you go.
Historic
Local tradition
Johann Franck
$On the main square in the space of the old Gradska kavana, revived to play the same role as Zagreb's meeting point. It keeps an Art Deco chair from 1927 and a tribute to Ferdinand Budicki, who got Zagreb's first speeding ticket in 1901.
Order: Espresso · Kava s mlijekom
💡 Saturday from about 11 to 2 is špica, when Zagreb meets over coffee to see and be seen.
Kavana Dubrovnik
$The café of Hotel Dubrovnik, right off Ban Jelačić Square, a long-standing spot for watching the main square over coffee.
Order: Kava s mlijekom · Cake
Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.
Specialty
4coffee soul food
$A coffee window in the outer wall of Diocletian's Palace run by Marin 'Dado' Rimac, with no seats and very good coffee; ranked 47th in Europe's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026.
Order: Espresso · Iced coffee
💡 Mornings only (about 7 am to 1 pm), Monday to Saturday.
D16 Coffee
$A specialty coffee bar in the heart of Diocletian's Palace, popular with remote workers and smoke-free inside.
Order: Flat white · Cold brew
Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.
Cogito Coffee
$Zagreb's best-known specialty roaster, supplying many of the city's cafés with single origins from Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Mexico.
Order: Filter · Flat white
Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.
Quahwa
$A Lower Town roaster café with several rooms and a covered terrace, known for its espresso.
Order: Espresso · Filter
Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.
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