Lajbah Pivnica Pub: Birthday Party for Boludos
When I came to Lajbah Pivnica Pub & Restaurant for dinner the day after the concert, I heard nothing but Spanish in the outdoor courtyard. And not European Spanish, but the Castellano Spanish I had learned while studying abroad years before in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Large speakers at the pub’s entrance blasted Rock En Espanol. Everyone was dancing to the music I remembered from the Buenos Aires clubs: Soda Stereo, Bersuit Vergerabat, Fito Paez, Rodrigo… .
Che boludo, why are all these Argentinians in Slovenia today?
The owner of Lajbah Pivnica (and Ze V Redu Primoz) has an Argentinian fiancée who runs a Spanish school in Ljubljana. She also operates a shop for Argentina’s famous mate beverage. Her brother, Juan, is the head chef of Lajbah. On that Thursday when I dined, it was his birthday. Any Argentinian, and any Latino who lived in Ljubljana, was there celebrating.
Yes, Ljubjana is a small city, where every foreigner knows every other foreigner. On this night that’s great. I ate quality Argentinian food and danced to kumbia villera in Slovenia.
Juan prepares traditional Slovenian cuisine, yet naturally he also makes typical Argentinian dishes at Lajbah. After several years living in The Balkans, I didn’t have an urge for Slovenian food, as it’s similar to its neighboring countries’ cuisines. So the Argentinian menu – featuring classic chimichurri, churripan and empanadas – looked appetizing. I ordered six different empanadas with minced meat, chicken and vegetables. A clean Kromberger Pils from Reservoir Dogs Brewery washed them down.
Churripan & Empanadas: Typical Argentinian Food, Found In Ljubljana
Only the best Belgium beer, Cantillon, could finish off this meal.
Slovenian or Serbian; Argentinian or Brazilian?
After I ate, I joined the Latinos for dancing. I ordered another round of beers with them, and soon my rusty Spanish become more fluent. I also found out how similar Slovenian is to Serbo-Croatian, as I could speak with some Slovens in Serbian, and they understood me. There was even a Russian and a Brazilian there too. Unfortunately, Lajbah has grumpy neighbors who demand the music be turned off after 11pm.
I walked back to my central apartment with my head spinning in a whirl of Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Serbian.
Lajbah is a 20-minute walk from the center of Ljubljana. Damir told me that, when the pub opened, several locals doubted the brewpub would be successful since it wasn’t in the heart of the city. However, that week I was there almost every day, and it was always busy. Damir believes “the power of craft beer” would bring people to Lajbah.
It does.
