Opened since 1851

The oldest confectionery in the city was opened in 1851 by Mustafa Pelivan, who was of Gorani origin (ethnic minority in Serbia – ed. note), street vendor of ice cream and Boza (non-alcoholic drink made of corn flour, sugar and yeast – ed. note), and a talented fighter as well. It was the victories at the wrestling competitions that allowed him to earn enough money to open the confectionery, the “Pelivan” means “fighter” in Turkish. Initially, a cafe with sweets was next to the Republic Square instead of the nowadays “Staklenats”, but in 1941. it was destroyed by a bomb. The same year grandson of Mustafa, Azir, opened a new confectionery with the old name opposite the Main Post office, and it is still located there.

Most of the regular customers go to «Pelivan» because of their childhood memories: back in the day  their grandparents took them here for sweets. They say that over the years the recipes of sweets remain unchanged: baklava, halva, nut dessert “sujuk”, wheat grain with whipped cream and, of course, that very Boza are still prepared according to the original method. They also still sell here the desserts that were invented here: for example, “Pelivan” made of dark and white chocolate with “Nutella” and vanilla, or “White Grace” with raspberries and Plazma cookies

Nevertheless, the specialty of this legendary place is their ice cream, which is said to be the best in the capital. The technique and the recipe remained from Azir Pelivanovich, who was the first in Yugoslavia to sell scooped ice cream, although there are much more tastes in our days. On May 24, the confectionery celebrates its birthday and, according to the tradition, all visitors are welcomed with free ice cream.

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