Riblja Čorba: No Question About the Fish
Serbia has no coastline. Its fish soup seems untroubled by this. At Znak Pitanja in Belgrade, I tried riblja čorba, a river-fish soup with a remarkably rich broth.
What I loved was the intensity of the fish stock. The broth was orange-red and seasoned nothing like a Japanese soup, yet its deep umami brought to mind dashi made with katsuobushi—the thin shavings of dried bonito used in Japanese cooking.
Someone, I thought, had been very generous with the fish.
A taste of the river
Belgrade sits where the Sava meets the Danube, and riblja čorba belongs to Serbia’s tradition of river-fish cooking. Several kinds of fish can share the same pot, and the combination varies from cook to cook.
Judging by the stock, my pot had not been limited to fillets. A good fillet is only part of what a fish can offer. Riblja čorba can also make use of heads and bone-in cuts, simmered to draw their flavour into the broth. In some versions, the liquid is then strained and the flesh returned without the bones: not everything that contributes to the soup needs to appear on the spoon. Onion and ground paprika take that stock towards a finished dish, with root vegetables, tomato or white wine joining them according to the recipe.
The name on the menu
The wooden menu cover bore a large “?” beneath the Cyrillic word for kafana, a traditional Serbian tavern. This was also the restaurant’s name: Znak Pitanja, or “question mark”.
The building dates from 1823, and the kafana is often described as Belgrade’s oldest. In 1892, its owner wanted to name it “At the Cathedral Church”, after the Orthodox cathedral across the street. The church objected. As a temporary measure, he put a question mark on the door.
More than 130 years later, the question mark was still on the menu.
The soup was quite clear on the subject of fish.
Location
Restaurant
Kafana “?” (Znak Pitanja) / Кафана „?“ (Знак питања)
On Kralja Petra Street in central Belgrade
Kralja Petra 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Practical Information
- Dish
- Riblja čorba / Рибља чорба — fish soup
- Opening hours
- Daily 10:00–22:00
- Official website
- Kafana Znak Pitanja
Information last checked: September 17, 2026 (Current menu, price and availability were not confirmed; recheck before visiting.)
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