Gostilna Pri Kuklju

Rating: 13
Author: Gault&Millau

Trubarjeva cesta 31, 1315 Velike Lašče, Slovenia

13/20
Chef's Restaurant

4 PHOTOS

Chef: Andrej Damjanić
Cooking: Home cooking | Local | Traditional

Gault&Millau's review 2026

Pri Kuklju Inn is not a place that needs to explain its story loudly. It is enough for a guest to step through the door, and tradition reveals itself as part of everyday life. White tablecloths, elegant place settings, and bouquets of home-grown flowers adorn the tables. The dishes are not burdened with fashionable effects; they convince through flavour. At Pri Kuklju, soup is still soup, and štruklji are still štruklji. Telerflajš (beef from the soup), tripe, goulash, and mixed bread do not seek approval through modern embellishments. Their strength lies in flavour, heritage, and the sense that someone understood why they are worth preserving. A special place belongs to the crackling salty potica. A rich, homely bite reveals a flavour that is not easily forgotten. The inn is renowned for its štruklji, with the Dolenjska version, filled with scrambled eggs, being a particular speciality. Among the dishes that best reflected the character of the house during our visit were the soft gluhi štruklji – made from leavened dough and without a filling. Their strength lies precisely in this simplicity, making them a confident accompaniment to meat dishes such as venison loin. Lovers of traditional cuisine will be delighted by the veal roast, while those with a sweet tooth are won over by the potica, doughnuts, and strudels. Yet none of this is a culinary spectacle. It is proof of a belief in the power of a homemade meal and of a commitment to remaining true to oneself. That is precisely why inns like this are so valuable today: they do not explain tradition – they simply place it on the table.