The story
TaBar sits inside Center Rog at Trubarjeva cesta 72 in Ljubljana, serving modern cuisine on two floors. Gault&Millau gave it a score of 16 in 2026. A bar and bistro occupy the ground floor, and the restaurant TA is upstairs.
Jakob Pintar is an active hunter, a member of the hunting club in Železniki, and he also forages wild plants and grows cultivated ones. He treats technique as research, and his own dishes grow out of that. Upstairs the menu is fixed, but it is served at an unhurried pace.
The evening opens with a drink of buttermilk and sumac. Later come wild herbs, grasses and a fermented vegetable paste on a plate Pintar designed himself, stamped with the imprint of a roe deer's head. Bites of deer heart show how far the contemporary kitchen at TA will go. The dishes are complex and bold, and the Michelin Guide recommended the restaurant in 2026.
Rog was once a bicycle factory, and grey concrete keeps that industrial character. The southeast side of the building was designed by Jože Plečnik. The dark, carved furniture nods to him, and the lighting gives the space its mood. Downstairs, plates are made for sharing, and bread is there for wiping them clean.
Every wine on the list is organic and made within 150 kilometres of Ljubljana. Many are poured by the glass, including some that rarely are. The pairings are playful and a little provocative.
Recognition
Details
History
TaBar at Centre Rog lives in two rhythms. On the ground floor, it pulses as a lively BAR and relaxed bistro, while upstairs it opens into the avant-garde restaurant TA. The kitchen reveals its character from the very first amuse-bouches, making it clear that this will not be an ordinary evening. Nature and the exceptionally talented Jakob Pintar take centre stage - a chef with knowledge, vision and a distinctive culinary voice. For him, ingredients are more than just ingredients. They are echoes of the forest, meadow, garden, field, river and sea. A refreshing drink of buttermilk and sumac awakens the palate, and then the play of flavours begins. The chef’s particular strength lies in his ability to draw out flavours that linger long after the plate has left the table. Wild herbs, grasses and fermented vegetable paste are not merely decoration on the plate bearing the imprint of a roe deer’s head - a plate designed by Pintar himself. They are part of a dish with real substance and character. The dishes are complex and bold, at times testing and challenging the guest. The chef’s passion for hunting does not end in the forest. It continues in the kitchen, where it takes on a new form. With bites of deer heart, TA clearly reveals its avant-garde side. This is not food for everyone. But it is food for those who expect more than a beautiful plate and familiar flavours.
Location