Cella on Tomislavac: Siblings Revive Childhood Flavors
The new restaurant Cella Restaurant & Wine Bar has moved into a historic building at King Tomislav Square 18, offering a modern take on forgotten dishes and a wine list with 111 labels.
The new restaurant Cella Restaurant & Wine Bar has moved into a historic building at King Tomislav Square 18, offering a modern take on forgotten dishes and a wine list with 111 labels.
Zagreb's Tomislavac has a new gastronomic destination, Cella Restaurant & Wine Bar, owned by siblings Lucija and Borna Jergović. The restaurant is located in the house of painter Vlaho Bukovac, and the menu is based on traditional recipes and childhood flavors, translated into a contemporary expression.
Lucija Jergović, co-owner and chef, told Telegram.hr that it all started with memories of family gatherings around the table. "I love simple ingredients, ingredients that were once cooked and used but are perhaps forgotten today. We wanted to use food to bring people back to a simpler time when they might have been happier and more content," she explained.
She added that cooking was a big part of their home life and that they developed a passion for culinary arts early on. "We wanted to achieve that with the dishes on the menu too, to let people taste their way back to weekends at grandma's, but also adapt them to modern techniques," Lucija said.
The menu offers classics in unusual combinations, linking continental and Mediterranean cuisine. Among the starters, standout dishes include marinated sardines with fermented green plum, shallot, and plum brandy, followed by cuttlefish crudo with fava beans, red grapefruit, and celery, as well as mackerel ceviche with fig, fig leaf, and cucumber.
There's also veal tongue with butter, capers, and anchovies, variations of Komiža pogacha and copanjek on langoš, and beef and lamb tartare with bone marrow. We were particularly impressed by the Vittello Tonato (€18), Cuttlefish Crudo (€18), and Komiška XVIII (€15) for their intriguing blend of sour, sweet, and salty notes.
The menu also features homemade pasta, cacio e pepe, carbonara, gnudi with peas, leek, and zucchini, and casarecce with clams and shrimp. For meat dishes, there's ossobuco with caraway-lemon gremolata, beef heart with charred kale and kale-apple consommé, and lamb sweetbreads with roasted seasonal vegetables and pepper cream. Seafood lovers can choose between brodetto of fresh fish, tomato, onion, and wine, and fish on the grill with potatoes and green beans.
Borna Jergović, co-owner and sommelier, emphasizes their commitment to sustainability: "It was important for us to get as close to the zero waste concept as possible and to work on a farm-to-table principle. We collaborate with family farms, and we also have some ingredients from our own garden."
Lucija reveals that they try to produce as much as possible themselves, experimenting with fermentations and making their own oils. "There's more in the pipeline; we'd like to have our own ajvar, jams, and various pickles, but we're introducing that gradually," she said.
Each dish is paired with a carefully selected wine, and the list boasts 111 labels. Borna explains that he approached wine the same way as food: "I noticed that today there's an increasing demand for something new and different, like biodynamic wines, while classics are somewhat neglected. My desire was to bring guests back to the originals and classics and show them that they can still pair just as well with food today."
The list features wines from numerous European regions, from Spain and Portugal to Germany and Austria, as well as from New Zealand, California, Chile, and Argentina. There's a variety of white, red, sparkling, and sweet wines, along with rosés.
The building at King Tomislav Square 18 holds a special place in Zagreb's cultural and architectural heritage. The two-story tenement house with a studio in the courtyard annex was built in 1896/1897 for the painter Vlaho Bukovac, based on designs by the architectural firm Hönigsberg & Deutsch. Until 2004, Edo Murtić worked there, and his presence at that address is now continued by the foundation bearing his name.
Guests are greeted on the menu by Bukovac's "Zdravica" (Toast), a tribute by the owners to the famous painter. Borna says they came across the space by chance, but its symbolism fit perfectly with their vision. "Before us, a cult beer hall operated here for 40 years, so the space was already partially set up and prepared for a restaurant. As soon as we walked in, we had a vision. From the time Bukovac lived here, old brick vaults remain, which inspired me to steer the decor in the direction of a wine cellar," he recounted.
Lucija emphasizes how important the atmosphere was to them: "We wanted guests to feel at home as soon as they walk in. Comfort was therefore extremely important to us, so that guests would want to stay. We wanted a contemporary space, but without pretentiousness or stiffness-everything should feel relaxed."
They conclude that their goal wasn't just to open another restaurant, but to continue the story of a place that has always served as a gathering spot for conversation and shared moments. Cella is open Monday to Friday from 5 PM to 11 PM, and Saturdays from 5 PM to midnight.
