Kafana

"Kafana has a lot of things going for it: It’s cozy, near the train, and the kind of restaurant you can actually walk into. The restaurant specializes in Serbian food with pork schnitzel ham rolls, roasted vegetable salads, pljeskavica, cevapi, braised meats, and more — but its wine program, in particular, is lowkey one of the best in the whole neighborhood. Note: it’s cash only." - Eater Staff, Robert Sietsema

"A Serbian restaurant Kafana — say, the medium body, dry Malvazija from Croatia’s Kozlovic Winery ($50) followed by snacks like the roasted red pepper salad ($10.95) and meaty ćevapi ($16.95). I keep hammering away at this place because it’s so reasonably priced for food and drinks — and satisfying." - Robert Sietsema

"An extensive orange wine section paired with Serbian home cooking makes this East Village restaurant stand out. Goler says the wine list is well-priced, with a focus on Italy and Eastern Europe. “It feels like having a grandmother cook for you,” she says. “The focus is on the food, so to have such an extensive selection of orange wines as well is an unexpected surprise. The orange wines work so well with the food because they have nice acidity and tannic structure that can stand up to the heartier flavors in the dishes that they make.” Goler says that the wine list at Kafana is really inexpensive compared to what the same wines cost at other places around the city. This is also the first place that Goler tried Movia orange wines from Slovenia, which have since become one of her favorites." - amber gibson

"Sit in the dark, drink wine, and eat a variety of grilled meats at Kafana, a casual East Village spot with brick walls covered in black-and-white photographs. This place specializes in satisfying, unpretentious Serbian food, and it’s the ideal venue for a date night with someone you’ve been sharing a bathroom with for the past decade. The Balkan-centric wine list has a good number of bottles under $55, and just about everything on the menu is under $25." - bryan kim, will hartman, willa moore, sonal shah

"Visit here for an affordable, compelling Eastern European wine list, a charming little dining room, and homestyle dishes from Serbia, including ćevapi, pljeskavica, chard with potatoes, grilled vegetables, a roasted red pepper salad, and spinach pie." - Eater Staff