She looked at me like I’d fallen out of a tree.

So the Balkans (countries that have these mountains surrounding/going through them) are super into Habsburg, or Coffee House, Culture. That is, grabbing a coffee - that is served with a tall glass of water - a newspaper or a book and sitting for hours. Or in the case of today, catch up with friends for hours.

There I was in Slovenia geeking out that I was being given full size glasses of water (and top ups) in cafes, when actually it’s a whole ‘thing’, according to Lonely Planet. And it’s glorious. The wifi password is typically on the receipt in Croatia, so you can hang out for as long as you want. Although I’d advise not overstaying your welcome on one coffee because, you know, manners.

Personally, I’m surprised Zagreb isn’t talked about more by digital nomads and remote lifers. It’s relatively cheap to live there, there are plenty of places to work from and groups of people in similar situations who meet up regularly. There’s plenty of activities to do in town and around, like skiing in Sljeme, and Flixbus will take you most places across the country - and around it. There are also direct train lines to other countries as well - I took a two hour journey from Ljubljana, Slovenia and it was a really relaxed experience. Even with border control.

So without further ado, here are some of the places I enjoyed visiting in Zagreb, but there are many more!

Good Food - the one I went to regularly

I’m not sure yet if it’s a Zagreb thing, or a Croatia thing, but they are big on freshly sourced food and I’m here for it. Good Food is essentially a fresh fast food alternative to Burger King or McDonald’s. Even if I didn’t stay in, I still ordered food to go here frequently, for the quality of the meal. From bowls, salads and tortillas, there were plenty of nutritious options to choose from.

There were a couple of locations and both were up to par, they even have USB outlets to charge devices built in to some of their tables. Put this one on your list!

Cat Caffe - the one I went out my way for

I stumbled on this one aimlessly scrolling around on Google Maps, and I’m so happy I did! The only cat cafe in Croatia, you can buy a coffee and in true Coffee House Culture ways sit there surrounded by floofs for as long as you wish. Although they don’t serve food, and I know I get cranky after a couple of hours…

It was a great serotonin boost watching the cats play, greet you and just in general ‘be cats’. I’m not sure if I happened to go at the right time, first thing in the morning, or if they were just particularly confident cats. But a couple of them were more than happy to jump on the table to say hi and hang around my legs. Let them come to you!

Ps. they don’t take card, remember cash - and you can look up the price of things before you get there on Google and their socials.

OAZA Joyful Kitchen - the one I’m glad I tried once

I’m glad I gave this one a go, and I guess if I lived here I’d maybe try it more. But honestly I was a little uninspired. Sure, it was a great place to take a quick gander up to the Zagreb Observatory and a couple of other touristy sites. But I didn’t feel mega blown away by the offering except that it was all whole food and natural.

One for a chilly day to get out of the cold for a little bit before taking a lunch time walk to see the Grič Tunnel, the funicular and some of the other museums.

Cogito Coffee - the one that takes coffee seriously

And after a few disappointing cappuccinos, I was ok with this in the name of a decent oat flat white. Cogito Coffee actually has a couple of locations in town, and for the coffee lover, this can be a massive bonus. They also serve pastries which, for someone like me that doesn’t tend to eat breakfast if I’m out early, this was very welcome.

The key to places in the Balkans is to not sit near the door - or at least on the side it opens - and I learned this one pretty quickly in Cogito Coffee the day after Zagreb had some snow. Try and get a seat on the long table here and you can get quite a bit done.

Quahwa - the one that takes Coffee House Culture seriously

“Do you serve food?” I asked. The waitress looked at me like I’d fallen out of a tree.

Like I said, they take their Coffee House Culture seriously here. However I really wish I had found this one sooner. Nestled in a courtyard, this place goes on and on. It has a cosy space for coffee drinkers, a hideout for laptop users and space for smokers as well.

I took my Kindle - I’m currently reading ‘Show Your Work’ by Austin Kleon - asked for an oat flat white and got settled in next to the radiator in their little attic space. It was absolute best and I only left because I got hungry.

Other suggested co-work spaces:

Prior to heading to some of these places, I did do a little research - and if you’re looking for a little further help to find your own places, I’ve created a guide that can help here. Generally speaking I only really tend to try out co-work spaces when I have client work or need an office kind of vibe to motivate myself.

But on this trip, I was comfortable in my little Airbnb ‘cave’ and opted for this instead. However these two places seemed to come highly recommended and are fairly centrally located:

• Element International Dolac

• Galerija Badrov Crveno

Overall, I’m glad I made the effort to visit Zagreb for a couple of weeks. The vibe here in general is pretty relaxed and I would have loved to have tried a ski day (darn migraine!). Even the shopping actually seems pretty decent, but I chose to use my time on some beginning of the year ‘inner work’ this time. (Which I’d be more than happy to talk about a little more, if of interest?)

But definitely put Zagreb on your list if you’re passing through Croatia and get to know this quiet capital!

Until the next destination,

Han x

Ps. Discover places to stay in Zagreb below (disclosure: we may earn a small portion of affiliate income from your booking).