"Znak Pitanja" or "Question Mark,"constructed in Balkan style by Greek craftsmen, is the oldest Belgrade restaurant, and was built in about 1820 for Prince Miloš Obrenović. His brother-in law opened a restaurant with his own name over the door, the "Ećim Tomina". His heirs sold it in 1878, and its name was changed to "At the Shepherd's". Then in 1892 it became "At the Cathedral," since Belgrade's main cathedral is just across the street. This name had to be immediately removed, because it did not comply either with local regulations or with the views of the Cathedral authorities. As a temporary solution until another name could be chosen, the owner put up a sign with a question mark on it, which has stuck to this day. (The 'Avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie" sign is of course not its real address; I imagine this souvenir sign was brought back from Paris.)The "?" was a favorite of mine for quite a while, but I hadn't been back for many years until the other evening. Though inside it is practically untouched since I first came to Belgrade, the service and food were terrible, far from what they once were. It left me with a big question mark in my head: "Why didn't I choose another restaurant?" Definitely now a tourist trap, so if you come to Belgrade, let me know, and I'll point out another place for you to go!
If you enlarge the menu, you'll see that the Question Mark does serve some local specialties: enjoy the translations of the 5th, 6th, and 7th items...
