What a great meal in Slovenia

As you drive by the restaurant Jakse and you see a full parking lot, you know it's worth walking through the metal forged door. Tall centuries-old trees rising above the building anticipate everyone. Magnificent linden and chestnut trees have been companions of the restaurant owner since his early days as well as his ancestors. After all, this restaurant is already led by the third generation of Jakse family. The oldest operating restaurant in town has recently teamed up with a creative chef and together they also established the catering specialized brand “Okusni dogodki”.

When it comes to tradition, there is always a good result, so we gave it a try. At the entrance, we noticed a brick oven and fresh bread was just taken out of it. All that aromas drove us crazy because we know how good the food can be when it’s baked in a wood brick oven. The heat emitted by wood is more pleasant even for space heating. Thus, when food is baked in a wood brick oven and is infused with the wood energy, the outcome is completely different than in an electric oven. The daily fresh bread that is baked in this heat-resistant wood oven has a brittle and glossy crust. But you know the saying – bread is only bread, so you can enjoy their homemade goose pate with truffles and red onion jam with it. Our next dish was one of the best mushroom soups we had ever had, and the rule of a thumb goes: if the soup is good, everything upcoming will be even better.

The main dish was a real treat. It was served in terracotta pots which are a common visitor in a brick oven. That material holds the heat very well, so you can enjoy every bite without the discomfort of having cold food at the end. The latter happens to me very often, because I like to chew and appreciate the flavors of the food, while the time flies by. We had baked veal leg with their specialty, homemade “struklji au gratin”, which are a splendid side dish also served in a terracotta dish. I think there is nothing more to say than a real comfort food. However, don’t be deceived, at the Jakse’s you can also expect a modern touch to the dishes, not only old school cookery.4

We visited the Jakse restaurant in autumn season and the desert was an absolute reflection of it. What is typical for autumn are the temperature changes and attractive snug colors which come hand in hand. The chef put golden hues on display with vanilla crème on top of a fried apple slice and the red shade was presented with Moscato pumpkin cubes. The temperature diversity was instant when warm apples and homemade apple ice cream crashed each other. Sooner or later autumn reaches its peak, that happens when leaves fall from trees. This indispensable crumbly element was captured with almond crumble.

Definitely, it’s worth to get some room at their table, considering the goodies that come from the brick oven, which is the pillar of their traditional Slovenian cuisine. The only con is not so clever ambient. The modern look is sure neat, but with that delightful traditional food, some traditional old style ambient would be a picture perfect.