Best Burgers in Zagreb: Lower Town, Festival

The best burgers in Zagreb are concentrated in the Lower Town (Donji grad), between Ban Jelačić Square and the main railway station, and on Tkalčićeva, the bar street that climbs toward the Upper Town. Gourmet beef burgers dominate, with smash burgers and Balkan grill flavours alongside.

Zagreb takes burgers seriously enough to give them a festival of their own. The 2026 Zagreb Burger Festival ran from 12 to 22 September on Trg dr. Franje Tuđmana, with 17 exhibitors serving 56 different burgers, free entry and payment at each stand. The local rival is the pljeskavica, a wide grilled patty of minced meat and onion served in lepinja bread with ajvar or kajmak. Zagreb’s own signature dish, štrukli, a baked or boiled pastry filled with fresh cheese, is the other thing locals will tell you to try.

Burgers in Zagreb: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: the Lower Town, Tkalčićeva and the Upper Town, around Dolac market.
• Festival: the Zagreb Burger Festival, whose 2026 edition took place in September on Trg dr. Franje Tuđmana.
• Local rivals: pljeskavica and ćevapi from the city’s grills.
• Currency: the euro (EUR), adopted by Croatia on 1 January 2023, replacing the kuna.
• Getting around: the blue ZET trams cross the Lower Town, and a short funicular links it with the Upper Town.

Every guide we publish on Zagreb is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. To compare the Croatian capital with other cities, browse our burger restaurant guides by city.