Street food has become a hit in the big cities of countries such as the US and UK in recent years, but the trend of serving high-quality cuisine in ad-hoc locations hasn’t quite taken off yet in Zagreb. Perhaps the closest you’ll get is a little zalogajnica – a simple and quick restaurant for workers usually serving just a few dishes during the day.

However, there are types of food which have become widely available which are eaten on the move and are worth sampling. Burek is a filo-pastry pie with a variety of fillings that is traditionally from Bosnia but is almost ubiquitous in Croatia. You can buy it in most bakeries where it can tend to the dry side; a better bet is a small piterija restaurant or fast food spots (sometimes found at markets) that only serves burek. The meat (meso) and cheese (sir) versions are most widespread, but if you find potato (krumpir), pumpkin (buće), marrow (tikvica), spinach / chard (zeljanica) or apple (jabuka) you should certainly give them a try.

Another oriental-inspired dish that’s a firm favourite is čevapi – fried fingers of seasoned mince served in a bread roll, best eaten with raw onion for the full effect. Fried fish is another budget option: a plate of fried small fish (girice, papaline), or squid rings will set you back just 15kn from the little kiosk by the entrance to the market at Trešnjevka, for example. For 5kn more you get a glass of wine too! Bargain.

A healthy snack you can find on Cvjetni trg and Ilica is boiled or roast sweetcorn in late summer and roast chestnuts in autumn. And the sweet tooths among you should head for Tkalčićeva ulica where little mobile kiosks sell fritule (like miniature doughnuts) or you can satisfy your sugar craving in a pancake parlour.