Café de Alma — Restaurant in MZ Donja Mahala

This place isn't just about the coffee, which is exquisite. The coffee comes with a story. The story of how to enjoy it to the fullest, how the coffee came to be what it is at this cafe, and a story about the owners, who are also wonderful. Here's the rendition:

The coffee: presented to each client on its own copper tray, with the coffee grounds brewing in their own little copper carafe. On the side was a glass of chilled water and a tasty rose-petal flavoured Turkish Delight. The owner teaches you how to complete the brew and pour it into your cup. The flavour concludes the divine tale. You need to do this.

The place: easy to miss, as it's tucked away, but well worth the hunt. It's like stepping into an old family friend's place. As it turns out, there were only three sitting areas on purpose because, as the WiFi sign says it, "No WiFi. Talk to each other." The layout is to encourage visitors to follow the example of the owners and meet new people. I loved that a not so simple cup of coffee turned out to be how I met some new friends.

Verdict: flying to Bosnia Herzegovina and getting yourself to Mostar just for this experience would be well worthwhile. So much so that we have rescheduled our remaining time in Mostar to...

I have an awful habit - I go to a totally new place and instead of exploring, I'll do a research of food/drink places online beforehand. Kinda steals the thrill of finding an amazing place on your own. But, a habit's a habit - it doesn't really care much whether you like it or not. I found Cafe de Alma the same way. Seeing the reviews I thought "It has to be nice, probably not THAT nice, but definitely worth a visit." Long story short - it IS worth 5/5 (out of twenty-something reviews at the point of writing that one). Go, try and find it (took me a while), listen to Jaso giving you his speech about the coffee, drink one or two yourself, and add the experience to the list of fabulous things that happened to you in Mostar. Full...

Extremely disappointed as my partner and I attempted to go here over TWO days and both days CLOSED!!!! A Monday and a Wednesday in the beginning of September (busy time for tourists to travel to Mostar - so would expect them to be open???) between the times of 10:30am-1:00pm. Nothing on their Google, Facebook or Instagram to say that they would be closed. Very unprofessional - the least you could do is have a sign on the door so myself, my partner and other tourists who have taken time out of their days to come here would know not to waste their time. So disappointing as my boyfriend loves coffee and was so excited to come to the best place in Mostar to try traditional Bosnian coffee (even a tour guide of ours...