Marley & Me — Restaurant in Upravna Enota Ljubljana

I met my friend for lunch at her suggestion, Marley & Me, a cozy European restaurant serving a blend of Italian, Mediterranean, and Slovenian cuisine. The restaurant is tiny, and seems to be a hit with the locals of Ljubljana, meaning they are often crowded. That said, the staff were incredibly accommodating and welcoming, and the service was better than anticipated. We enjoyed talking to our waiter and she was attentive to everything we needed.

The restaurant design is warm and inviting, with soft neutral colors and rustic wood accents. Our table was perfectly sized for two people to enjoy intimate conversation and company, without feeling like you’re on top of the table next to you.

We shared a starter of salt cod pate, which was light and airy, with the perfect whipped texture with a creamy cod flavor. My friend doesn’t usually eat salt cod, but even she absolutely loved the pate because of its balance of flavor and saltiness.

She ordered the pork knuckle with baked cheese štruklji, which I snuck a piece of, and I must say it was delicious! The pastry was baked to perfection, a golden brown on top with a creamy cheese filling. I thoroughly enjoyed my slices of roast beef on rocket with smoked ricotta, cherry tomatoes, vegetables, and baked potato. The produce was fresh and offered a contrasting sweetness to the smoky cheese and tender meat.

We finished our meal with a slice of bled cream cake, with delicious vanilla cream topped with a crispy layer of buttery dough and a dusting of powdered sugar. Don’t miss this!

After this excellent experience at Marley & Me, I’ll be the next to suggest this restaurant when searching for a casual, comfortable lunch spot in Ljubljana. Everything was impeccable, from...

An immediate warm welcome from the owner set the scene, pulling tables together for our group of 5 plus 1 dog. He checked our Covid papers/QR codes as required, and proceeded to make sure we were comfortable and ready for a relaxing time. The place is small, maybe 25 seats, and the ambiance is quite "home-y" and personal... If I were a local, I would be a regular! There are two clean toilets, one for boys and one for girls. On to the food... Maybe most impactful, is he served our dog first, making sure he had water and was comfortable. Very kind. :) Now the human food... The chicken liver and truffle pate blew us away! I could eat that every day. This stands out the most when I think back to our food there. We also got the meat board, which had a tasty variety of things - not as simple/"elevated" as the pate, but still worthwhile. Then, many of us got the trout, which was cooked perfectly - savory, salted, and a bit crispy on the edges - though some in our group thought it was too salty. For me it was perfect. :) The accompanying spinach mashed potatoes were creamy/buttery and savory with a certain umami. Would definitely get it again. Then there was the sausage main dish, which of course included delicious sausage, but the accompanying fried potatoes and veggies were a perfect pairing. Then there was the cream cake - I forget the actual name - for dessert. Oh man, we were stuffed after the mains, but it's a must-have! Find room in your belly. It's better than anywhere else! Overall, a really wonderful experience. The total was €115 for all 5, which I think is really high value. Thanks to the "Me" in Marley & Me for...

Marley and Me, a small, cozy and friendly place with delicious food. We didn't have a reservation and walked in around 18:00 p.m. The staff was really friendly, I liked the atmosphere there, we were seated at the window, I know not everybody likes to sit somewhere, where people passing by can look at you but for us it wasn't a problem, it didn't bother us.

There are tables farther in the back biggest one had space for 6 people and the smallest ones have space for 2. Although we did not have an reservation, we got a table, I would recommend that you call beforehand to be sure.

Roasted octopus and roasted, sliced beef (medium, recommendation of the staff) was very well done.

Not always the big fan of wine, this time we stuck with the slovenian beer and tried some schnapps, the one with plum was milder and nice. Forgot the name though...I am sorry.

All in all, nice experience and evening, once we were finished with our main course we also tried the desert, some puffy pastry with white and sweet layers inbetween, quite the mouthful. I never had the feeling that they had stress, the staff was quite relaxed and we didn't feel the pressure having to leave after we finished our food. I mention that because this isn't always the case.

I honestly do recommend this...