Living in Sarajevo would not be as enjoyable were it not for Saša and Karuzo. The moment you walk in, you can tell this is going to be a very different dining experience. First of all, it's a one-man show: he is the waiter and the chef and the busser and the entertainment. Second, the ambiance is one-of-a-kind: quaint and intimate with only six tables set inside what can only be described as an upside-down boat, made of beautifully carved wood and decorated with various maritime paraphernalia. Something no photo can fully capture. Karuzo is far from just a destination for vegetarians and vegans. Saša's superbly flavored and beautifully presented dishes will convince even the most hardcore Bosnian carnivore to consider that a hearty, filling and delicious meal does not by definition have to include meat. And ultimately, his charm and his story might convince you there is something even more meaningful to be gained when approaching what we eat and how we live with intention, compassion and an open mind. We ordered the pumpkin gratin and seitan Thai dish. Both featured bold flavors and the comforting and satisfying textures of "meaty" proteins - something you can really sink your teeth into. The seitan is made completely from scratch and serves as the base of the Thai dish, which is then layered with various peeled veggies and topped with an excellent tofu crumble. The gratin is equally decadent and filling and features lovely surprises of chickpeas and walnuts for added crunch and texture. It can be served with goat cheese or a vegan alternative melted on top. Both are baked and are presented in rectangular mini lasagna-style dishes - very generous portion sizes to be sure. The vegan ice cream was an excellent way to round out the night, featuring home-made cherries, nuts and a sprinkling of herbs. Karuzo serves as a sanctuary for those who seek culinary fulfillment in a city in which meat very much still sits at the head of the table. The eclectic clientele and Saša's generous attitude are the icing on the cake. For both vegetarians and carnivore alike, it is a true gem and one I feel incredibly lucky to have so near my home.

Lots of vegan options and gluten free. You need to call before to be able to get a table, atheist one day before. I keep coming back and would say it's probably the best vegan restaurant style food in town. The toilette cand be locked but it's very small so not really a risk for anyone to walk in on you. You're not allowed to smoke inside at all so the air is very fresh in the restaurant.

Pictures cannot do this food justice. I never eat vegan food, but these dishes - amongst a very long menu - were complex, warm and impressive. We had the Thai mushroom soup, the spicy chickpea pancakes with tahini, and seitan. This is a one man show of both waiter and chef, which means the meal will take awhile - budget 2.5 hours. But it so worth it, as he makes each dish with a lot of care and attention. Call ahead for a reservation as it seems he only has two-three parties at a time - we called only a few hours beforehand for a Saturday night, and it was fine. I would go back here in a heartbeat, particularly to try some of the other dishes!

Unassuming from the outside to whimsical on the inside, Chef Sasha will take you on a magical voyage on the good ship Karuzo! Our journey took us from a magical, sweet-and-sour, chickpea salad, to entrées of homemade seitan, Swiss chard dolma, and homemade gnocchi with hand peeled tomato sauce! Our adventure reluctantly ended with his meticulously crafted desserts. We had the cheesecake, and a pair of pineapple sundaes. Chef Sasha, is a gracious host, clearly a kind soul. We won’t forget this meal in a long time. 100% one of the best (maybe the best). Come and plan to spend the evening on this fantastic journey. We’ll be back ASAP! Go and you will be too! Incredible!

Very original and nice restaurant in Sarajevo! I've never been in a veggie/vegan restaurant before, and the food was AMAZING. The chef, and owner, Saša makes wonderful and elaborated dishes with great technique and magical taste. It was absolutely delicious. The restaurant looks like the inside of a small fishing boat, it's very unusual. If you are a vegan, vegetarian or just curious person in Sarajevo, looking for culinary experiences, you must go. But don't forget to make a reservation first!

I was the only diner and the owner is the only one working there. He told me he needed to take time to make everything from scratch. I had celery and pear soup and also whole grain pancake with lentils. Both were good! Lentils a bit too salty but pancakes were very good!

Wonderful place, charming chef, amazing experience. Extremely tasty food, no meat. Vegan, pasta and fish dishes were superb and vegan desserts as well. Blues music creating great atmosphere. Small place but on Friday was entirely for our party of four, and on Saturday we shared it with 4 more people (yes, we went back and will do again!)

Cooking that makes your body happy, with great care and heartfelt work!!! This is absolutely a fantastic, one of a kind restaurant!! If you're vegetarian and/or gluten-free, you MUST try this place. Everything we tried was flavorful, delicious, and beautifully cooked. Even if you're not vegetarian, they offer seafood dishes, too! The owner's love and pride in what he does is evident through our chat with him and his dishes. He is the author of the first vegetarian book published in Bosnia, and he's very knowledgeable of his work as a chef. We stayed in Sarajevo for four days and there are so many restauranta to try, but we chose to eat here twice because it was such a fabulous experience dining in here!

Possibly the best restaurant I've been to. If not for needing reservations ahead of time, we would have had dinner at Karuzo all 5 nights of our stay in Sarajevo (we felt lucky enough to eat there 4 nights in a row). The owner is passionate about fresh, healthy and incredibly tasty food. The atmosphere is wonderfully cozy and private (we were the only diners 3 of the 4 nights). In all honesty, I would visit Sarajevo again just to eat at Karuzo's. Thank you for the fantastic experience!

Atmospheric place with a subtle entrance from the street, feeling cosy as soon as you step in. Very pleasing vegetarian options and an impressive one man show for the restaurant. Book in advance :)

This was the most amazing dining experience I have ever had. I left there with the biggest grin on my face. The menu is amazing with many veggie/ vegan options. I had the bass with ratatouille and pear stuffed with blue cheese. Tastiest thing ever , it was like an orchestra of flavour was playing on my tongue. You can really tell the chef takes pride in what he does and is extremely talented. The place has such a cute intimate vibe about it. Highly recommend to anyone.

Perhaps my favorite restaurant in Sarajevo. It's a unique experience, reservations required. Take it easy, enjoy some wine and wait for the master to do his thing. Bad Girls and little rats may not understand

Chef is a gem of Sarajevo, all very healthy, 0 meat, and super tasty. I order here very frequently, and can say that it's the best vegetarian restaurant I've eaten in my life (better than you'll find in Europe, North Africa, and certainly better than in US). All ingredients are carefully picked. He's a rare breed of a chef, and we must protect this man at all costs!

It's reservations only. I felt like I was at the cozy house of a very good chef. It was definitely one of the best dining experiences that I've had in Sarajevo. I ordered mulled wine, fish stew, tagliatelle pasta, and the cheesecake.

I went here with my mum. (She's very picky when it comes to food) It's a very special place; don't hesitate to stop by when you're in Sarajevo and you have had enough of meat. The food was absolutely amazing and so was the service (the chef also does the serving). The lentil pancake, seafood risotto and zucchini salad tasted delicious, for desert we had vegan sweets that tasted like heaven. The restaurant itself looks like the inside of a ship and the chef has a banger playlist. Would recommend 10/10.

Amazing vegan experience at Karuzo. Don't expect a regular restaurant as it's not. Sasha (cooker, waiter and spirit of the place) is an special character and can sometimes seem a bit rude but if you flow into the mood you'll get an incredible experience. Food may take a bit of time but it's more than worth the wait. It was awesome. Totally recommended, a must in town.

Every single detail, from food, interior, owner, music is perfect! I strongly recommend this place ❤️

The owner is really friendly and cooks great food. We had a superb evening with great vegetarian food. I give 4 stars on the food (paella) because it was a bit to salty for my taste The dishes my friends had were really good though.

the food was great, large/diverse selection so it caters to any taste - gluten free, vegan, veggie, fish - and pasta/soups/salads/etc... there are also some classic dishes as well as unique ones, definitely want to return to try some of the other dishes :) owner was kind, charming and attentive. lovely decor as well, very nautical

Probably in my top 5 places in Sarajevo. Discovered recently and amazed by the offer of the dishes, so unique and tasty! Owner is all in one - he cooks, he serves and he cleans! One man runs everything. Plus he is such a kind person! Atmopshere in the restaurant is great, and pricing is bit 💸💸 for standard Bosnian salaries, but Id say it is worth to save some money on side to visit it.

What stroked me the most is the chef's strong personality which is reflected in his cuisine. It is spicy, it is from everywhere and it is plant based. I had a lovely dinner there and I really enjoyed the way Sasha is cooking. It is a one man show : he is cooking and doing the service. I was in Sarajevo for only 12 hours and i will remember this encounter. Karuzo is an excellent restaurant!

The best vegetarian food I've ever eaten. We tried to walk in the evening before but this place is by reservation only. It was worth the wait as all the food we had was excellent. There was a large choice of interesting soups, we had broccoli and coconut. The barbecue quesadilla was full of flavour and came with a refreshing tomato salad. The pumpkin and goats cheese gratin was also very tasty. The portions were large and filling and good value. The food took around an hour to be served, but was worth the wait as it was clearly made to order and from scratch with quality ingredients. As someone who usually eats meat I did not miss the meat at this restaurant at all. There were also vegan and fish options available on the menu.

You neee to reserve a space. Sasha runs his little gem all alone and creates some of the best food I have ever eaten. The spaghetti with salmon were just perfect! The restaurant is like a clam. You don't recognize from the outside, that on the inside there is a beautiful pearl! Such a great great experience! Thank you Sasha!

One of those places where memories are created. The place itself feels a little outdated but in the end it adds up to it's unique atmosphere. The owner/chef knows exactly what he's doing and the food looks great, tastes amazing and is well thought out looking to nutritional values. Reservation is required, but you get full attention in return.

When you feel like traveling but wanna stay home, there iz Karuzo in the heart of Sarajevo. This unique place not “in your way” makes a sensational overall experience of world class culinary taste, all home style. Charming owner gives you a fabelous “one man show”. This is the place to try all the new things you have never tried before. Sasha’s recomendation of food&wine combinations is trully a five star experience. Don’t skip any course ‘cause you might regret it🤩

I loved my experience at Karuzo. It can be hard to find vegetarian food while traveling (I literally had French fries for lunch that day), and this was superb and my meat-eating fiancé enjoyed this too. We started by sharing vegan borscht. I had the spicy chickpea pockets and my fiancé had the tuna fillet. Everything was delicious and made fresh. The ship-like ambiance made everything extra cozy. Be sure to make a reservation, as the sign on the door states, because the chef is a one-man-show and only serves a few tables at a time.

You need a reservation! If you are a vegetarian or vegan, this should be your first meal in Sarajevo. You'll eat amazingly well - Sasa is a genius! 🌿

I write reviews very rarely and this is one of the occasions when I simply have to. This was truly some of the best food i’ve ever tasted. We did not know much about the place before we went. All we heard were praises and recommendations from the people who ate there already. In a way I’m glad we wen’t there “spoiler-free”. The host Saša runs the show. He literally does everything himself so be prepared to wait a bit for your food, mainly because he makes everything from scratch. Once the food arrives you will realize why you had to wait for so long and you will truly enjoy every single bite. Since we were spoiler-free we also didn’t know about Saša’s eccentric personality. We were fortunate enough to witness a party entering without a reservation and they were promptly informed how “Karuzo is not a fast food place” (which I now know is practically an iconic quote from the host), and that they would have to wait a bit longer for their food after which they promptly left, which was quite an entertaining sight in a weird way. That is to say, make a reservation and you will have one of the best culinary experiences of your life. On the attached pictures you can see the buddha bowl with the best peanut sauce you will ever taste and calamari stuffed with mussels and prawns which was just out of this world. Make sure to ask Saša about whatever you want to order as he is great at describing the dish to you and generally very entertaining to talk to. If I could give 6 stars, I would. We can’t wait to go again.

I had a foodgasm.. Believe me it is possible 🤤 This was probably the best restaurant I've ever been to - food wise as well as service and hospitality wise. Sasha, the owner is a very passionate cook and warm host, he will take care of you and give you all his attention !!just make sure to make a reservation in advance!! and to understand a Bosnian soul :).

Had an amazing experience here. We came prepared after having read the reviews and made a reservation the day before and made sure we were not in a rush. The owner was kind and humble. The food was incredible. The soup we shared as well as a pumpkin taco were both amazing. However, the vegan kebab absolutely took the cake. I am sure this is one of the best dishes I have ever had, for sure the best vegan dish. It also better than any kebab I have tasted before. Would definitely recommend

Its so delicious that i fiished everything beyond my normal diet volumn! The chef/owner welcomed me with exception of no reservation( ps: need to make reservations first), and cooked such fantastic meal for me, he s so hospitable, dedicated to the cuisine, satisfaction of customers, its a place to enjoy a proper meal prepared with heart, passion, care and love👏

We have been there for dinner and it really was extraordinary. The owner was very kind and took great care of us. He cooked the food all by himself - we had pasta and the vegan seitan which was outstanding! We can only recommend to book a table in advance and have a great dinner :-) Thanks!!