I always thought it an interesting concept to go to a restaurant named after the capital city of a country.

Does this mean I will be taken on a figurative journey to the country and be consumed with the best and worst of the destination through a culinary and cultural experience?

At times this may be true, but sadly the culinary experience at Beograd was not one that took me on a great journey. Nor was the ambience one that will have me rushing back. Before I go on to explain why, I feel a certain responsibility to let readers know that if a restaurant provides quality food they should get their critical acclaim, and likewise, if good service is provided, then the restaurant should also be commended. However, if the contrary occurred, it would be irresponsible and unhelpful not to share the experience.

At Beograd, to its credit, the service was excellent, with a personal touch from the owner, who guided us through a recommended selection. A restaurateur who can take the initiative to walk patrons through what is best on a given day gets my vote of approval. How can we be a menu expert at someone else's restaurant?

The owner greeted us with a warm welcome and sat us down at a table in what I would call an uncomfortable position. It was close to where she was joining another table of patrons who were having a joyous time, drinking and catching up with what appeared to be old friends. It was unfortunate that the Bulgarian summer this year was temperamental at best, and downright terrible at worst. On this particular evening, the weather changed to a cold breeze, which streamed in through the open door and windows onto our table.

I immediately admitted to the waitress my zero experience in Serbian food, and the rest was left to her, including the wine.

The entree was an enormous platter of Serbian and Bulgarian cheese, cold meats and some tasteless hard olives served on the cultural wooden serving dish, accompanied by a basket of home-made bread. One of the cheeses was made on the premises, as was the bread. Both were excellent, in fact the bread was outstanding, but unfortunately that's where the enjoyment of the food stopped.

When not really enjoying the food, what are the choices? Bail out early, trudge down the road to find another restaurant, or go home and raid the fridge. Or, have another drink and decide that the company you are in will serve as compensation. Fortunately, we like each other, and having a full bottle of wine, the choice for us was to stick it out. And besides, we had the cultural experience to absorb.

The tablecloths are imitations of the Serbian flag, which will serve me well on my next trivial pursuit night. The music was traditional Serbian folk, given its place and time I am sure it would chime to pleasure listeners' ears, but given the poor ambience of the restaurant, the fact that there were very few patrons - on a Friday night - it just didn't deliver the right feel.

So we were back to enjoying each other's company and the wine. We were recommended the house wine, which was specially produced for the restaurant by Balkan Hills - a Cabernet Sauvignon reserve. It apparently won the award for wine of the year in the Mavrud district last year. But it had no mid pallet, and the after taste left a wince in the throat.

The main course was chicken fillet and liver from a BBQ skewer. The chicken was fatty, most unusual for a fillet. The liver, not one of my favourites in the first place, did nothing to win my favour. I left it behind with a large portion of chicken.

We were brought two complimentary small bottles that contained approximately a 30 ml nip of homemade rakia, which was a great way to finish.

In a post-mortem, the restauranteur said she selected the food so that it would match the wine. So if you are heading down to Beograd, take an extra moment to choose your wine. After all, I am told Serbian culture is all about the drinking accompanied with the food.

Price per head 20 leva including wine.