Pizzeria Ara & Burger Bar: Samobor’s Tastiest Stop on Trg Kralja Tomislava
Tucked beside the pastel façades of Samobor’s main square, Pizzeria Ara & Burger Bar has quickly become a pilgrimage site for anyone craving wood-fired pizza and gourmet burgers near Zagreb. The restaurant’s sunny terrace looks onto Trg Kralja Tomislava, where locals sip šumski čaj and visitors photograph the 13th-century Church of Saint Anastasia. Step inside and the aroma of blistered sourdough crust mingles with the sizzle of Angus patties, creating an instant appetite no GPS listing can convey.
The kitchen team, trained in Naples and Berlin, lets top-quality Croatian produce do the talking. Hand-stretched dough ferments for 48 hours before meeting San Marzano tomato sauce and mozzarella from nearby Žumberak farms, while burgers arrive stacked with Pag Island cheese, house-smoked bacon and a drizzle of truffle mayo sourced from Istria. Vegans are not an afterthought either: the Mediterranean pizza with almond ricotta and the beetroot-quinoa burger both draw raves on Instagram and Google reviews.
What truly sets Ara apart is its devotion to the slow-food ethos without slow service. Orders land on the table in under ten minutes even on busy Saturday market days, leaving time to wander Samobor’s cobblestone lanes, sample kremšnita pastries at U Prolazu, or hike to the ruined fortress that crowns Tepec Hill. Craft beer from Zagrebačka pivovara and crisp Graševina wines round out the menu, while live acoustic sets on summer evenings transform the patio into the town’s most convivial gathering spot.
Whether you’re fuelling up after a cycling tour of the Sava Valley or planning a family lunch before the annual Fasnik carnival, Pizzeria Ara & Burger Bar delivers a slice of culinary happiness that lives up to every five-star review. Next time you search “best pizza in Samobor,” follow the aroma to Trg Kralja Tomislava and taste why locals call this corner of Croatia their daily delicious sanctuary.
