Welcome to the Banat table

Zrenjanin, once known as Veliki Bečkerek, is located in the heart of Banat – a flatland region shaped by the Begej River, wetlands and agriculture.

Veliki Bečkerek was a place of trade, crafts, agriculture and encounters between different cultures.

Serbian, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak and other Central European influences left their mark on the cuisine of this region.

Food in Zrenjanin has never been just a meal. It is part of Sunday lunch, the slava table, pig-slaughter gatherings, fairs, courtyard get-togethers and long conversations around the table.

The taste of old Bečkerek: soup, rinflajš and paprikaš

If there is one meal that best describes the Zrenjanin region, it is the Banat Sunday lunch. It begins with homemade chicken soup, slowly cooked with noodles or semolina dumplings, so that the whole house starts to smell of it before noon.

After the soup comes rinflajš,  boiled meat from the soup, most often served with potatoes and vegetables, along with horseradish, tomato, dill or sour cherry sauce. 

Paprikaš holds a special place. It is prepared with chicken, pork or game, plenty of onions and ground paprika, and cooked slowly until the meat becomes tender and the sauce thick, rich and full of flavour. 

Flour-Based Dishes, Potatoes and Banat Comfort Food

Banat is a flat agricultural region, so it is no surprise that dough-based dishes were long the foundation of everyday meals. In homes, people often made homemade noodles dumplings – simple, filling dishes made from ingredients that were always close at hand.

The Zrenjanin region also had a strong milling and food-production tradition. That is why dough is so important in the local cuisine.

A simple potato-and-homemade-dough dish, known locally as nasuvo sa krompirom or grenadir marš. It is made from pasta, potatoes, onions and paprika. 

Home-style vegetable dishes made with potatoes, carrots, pumpkin or other vegetables were also served in this region. They were cooked until soft, usually with a simple roux or light seasoning, and eaten either with meat or as a meal on their own. Locally, these dishes are known as ćušpajzi. 

The sweet Banat table

Banat sweets were most often homemade, fragrant and made from what was already in the house.

Strudels with poppy seeds, walnuts, carob or sour cherries are unavoidable on the Banat table.

The Banat dessert table also includes sweet plum dumplings rolled in breadcrumbs and sugar, known locally as gomboce. Another old favorite is tašci, thin pieces of dough filled with jam, boiled, and usually finished with toasted breadcrumbs. 

In this region, people also often make lenja pita, a simple homemade fruit pie; krofne, soft fried doughnuts;  šnenokle, a light vanilla-custard dessert with poached egg-white foam; gibančice, small savory pastries made with thin pastry layers and cheese filling; and pumpkin pastries.

The sweet end of a meal in Banat is not just dessert, but a sign that people should stay at the table a little longer.

What people raise a glass with: beer, rakija and Banat togetherness

Zrenjanin has a special place on the gastronomic map of Serbia also because of beer. The brewing tradition of the city began in the 18th century, when a brewery was founded in what was then Veliki Bečkerek. Later, its development was marked by Lazar Dunđerski, one of the most famous landowners and industrialists of Vojvodina.

Beer in Zrenjanin is not just a drink served with a meal, but part of the city’s identity. 

With homemade food, people often raise a glass of rakija as well – plum, apricot or quince brandy. 

In Zrenjanin, people do not toast only to the drink, but also to company, guests and the custom of sharing food. Because in Banat, people do not sit down at the table in a hurry – at the table, people talk, remember and stay.

See restaurants that preserve tradition in Zrenjanin

Explore where these flavours are still served today – from family kafanas to places that preserve the spirit of old Banat. See where you can eat best traditional food in Zrenjanin.

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