I am a food person more than a sightseeing person, and I am going to Belgrade

Hello. I am a food person more than a sightseeing person, and I am going to Belgrade specifically to eat. What I want to avoid is the tourist trap version of Serbian food: the places with laminated menus in six languages near the pedestrian zone. I am looking for actual kafanas, good grilled meat, and whatever the local specialty is that nobody outside the country talks about. Where do people find honest restaurant coverage for this city, ideally in English? I also do not speak the language at all, so I need places where pointing at things is a workable strategy.

Skipping the pedestrian zone is the right instinct, that stretch is where the six language menus live. For proper kafana food, head into Dorćol and the Zemun quay, where the floating restaurants do grilled river fish. The Balkan travel guides , at PickBalkan have a dedicated food section that covers this properly, including the bakery and specialty coffee scene, which is genuinely strong and underrated. Order the slow roasted veal with kajmak at least once, and try prebranac even though it looks like nothing. One caution: portions are enormous and nobody warns you, so do not order a starter each unless you are very hungry. I learned that the expensive way.