Food in Montenegro is of very high quality, much better than in Russia. I’m not writing this to present Montenegro as some kind of European paradise — it’s just the way it is. Food in Montenegro is much tastier than back home, and this is noted by all tourists and immigrants.

How much does food cost in Montenegro

How much does food cost in Montenegro and how much money is needed for food in Montenegro? I’ll try to answer this question. I think you need about the same amount of money for food in Montenegro as you do back home. Honestly, I’ve only been to Russia twice in the last 7 years, so it’s hard for me to compare prices, but tourists say that food in Montenegro is not more expensive than in Russia, while the quality is much higher.

How much money is needed for food in Montenegro if you don’t go to restaurants but cook at home? You’ll need about 100 euros per month per family member. That’s how much we spend, and I don’t see a reason why your expenses would be different. For a family of 3, we spend about 300 euros per month on food in Montenegro — that’s 100 euros per person.

Can you spend less money on food in Montenegro? Yes, you can. First, we buy quite a lot of sweets. Doesn’t sound too scary, right? But spending 1–2 euros a day ends up being 40–50 euros a month. Second, we buy some semi-finished products like dumplings. Making dumplings yourself would be cheaper.

So, if you don’t worry about restrictions and ways to save, you’ll need about 100 euros per person per month for food in Montenegro. If you think about how and where to save, you can spend less. I think I explained it clearly?

Food prices in Montenegro

As you understand, I won’t provide a detailed manual with prices for food in Montenegro — that’s unrealistic — but I will give a few examples:

Wine (Montenegrin, Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, Bosnian): from 2 euros per bottle
Njeguški prosciutto – from 1.5 euros per 100 grams
Cheese – from 3.5 to 8 euros per kilogram
Potatoes – from 0.49 euros per kilogram
Bananas – 1 euro per kilogram
Pork – from 4 euros per kilogram
Eggs – 1.2 euros per dozen
Lemons – 2.5 euros per kilogram
Apples – 1.5 euros per kilogram
Cucumbers – 1.3 euros per kilogram
Cabbage – 0.90 euros per kilogram
Cherries – 3.5 euros per kilogram
Strawberries – 3.2 euros per kilogram
Apricots – 2.90 euros per kilogram
Carrots – 1 euro per kilogram
Onions – 1 euro per kilogram
Garlic – 3.5 euros per kilogram
Tomatoes – 1.5 euros per kilogram
Peaches – 2.9 euros per kilogram

Prices were copied today in a nearby store. They are current as of the date of writing this article — today is June 4.

Do food prices increase during the season

Unfortunately, yes — during the season, food prices in Montenegro do increase. Naturally, not for everything — some fruits and vegetables become more abundant in the season, and their prices go down. But on average, prices do go up — although not significantly, and it doesn’t really hurt the budget. What’s more noticeable is that there are fewer promotions in supermarkets during the season. At other times of the year, food chains in Montenegro compete by offering constant promotions, during which food can be bought cheaper — sometimes significantly. In July and August, such promotions are rarely held.

Where to buy food in Montenegro

First, I’ll tell you where and how I shop, and then we’ll talk about where you can buy food in Montenegro in general.

We do big grocery shopping about twice a month, going to the outskirts of the city where there are two of the largest supermarkets in our region. We buy a lot of food at once so we don’t have to go every day. Sometimes, if we go to Trebinje (Bosnia), we shop at the Bingo supermarket — spending 50–100 euros. Prices in Bosnia are lower than in Montenegro. Also, foreigners can get VAT (15%) refunded, and the selection is slightly different — you can buy something not typical for Montenegro.

In addition to bulk shopping, we of course regularly need to buy small things. I do this near our home. Within a 2–3 minute walk, we have two supermarkets — “IDEA” and “VOLI”, a small grocery store “Naja”, and two bakeries. That’s where we stock up. In Naja (again, a small shop) we buy only fruits and vegetables, because they are the freshest there. We try to buy everything else in supermarkets — it’s cheaper there.

I rarely go to the market or butcher shops — usually we buy everything in supermarkets. The exception is watermelon and melon — on the market, they are the tastiest and cheapest. Sometimes we go to bakeries — not so much for bread, but for when we feel like pastries, burek (meat pie), or cakes.

So that’s where I personally shop for food in Montenegro. Let’s now talk about the options available in general.

As you already understand, most food in Montenegro is best bought in supermarkets — they offer a wider selection and better prices. Supermarkets in Montenegro are represented by several chains. The biggest and most popular ones are Idea and Voli — they’re everywhere in Montenegro and in large numbers. There are also several smaller grocery chains.

In addition to supermarket chains, food can also be bought in small shops. Their selection depends on their size, and prices are usually higher. But sometimes it makes sense to go — as I mentioned, I personally buy fruits and vegetables in such a shop near my house because they’re fresher.

Is it worth going to the market? Personally, I can buy everything sold at the market at “Naja” near my home, so I don’t really need the market. As I said, I only go there for watermelon or melon. Whether you need the market depends on the infrastructure near your apartment. Maybe you have a market two steps away — I have to drive.

Bread, cakes, pies, and other baked goods can be bought in both supermarkets and bakeries. There are just as many bakeries in Montenegro as there are supermarkets — almost in every part of the city.

You can go to a butcher shop for meat, although supermarket meat is just as good.

The only thing not found in supermarkets is fresh fish — only frozen is sold. For fresh fish, go to a fish market (ribarnica).

National dishes of Montenegro

Montenegrin cuisine doesn’t have a very distinct national character — many dishes are borrowed from other countries. For example, pizza and pasta are sold everywhere. Still, there are a few dishes that can be considered Montenegrin national dishes. Though I have questions about this — for instance, Montenegrins consider burek (meat pie) a national dish, but isn’t that Turkish?

Here are a few national dishes of Montenegro:

Pleskavica – a round, flat patty, popular in Montenegro, Bosnia, Serbia, and Macedonia.

Jagnjetina ispod sača – baked lamb under a bell. All tourists love this dish — try it. Of all the people I know, I’m the only one who doesn’t like it.

Burek – meat or cheese pie.

Pita – pie.

Restaurants and cafes in Montenegro – personal impressions

National restaurants in Montenegro, where traditional food is served — maybe not all, but at least some — do exist in the country, but they’re not that many. Most restaurants are international — they serve various types of food that are popular around the world.

Prices for most dishes are quite reasonable and lower than in many other European countries. Of course, it depends on what you order — there are expensive dishes that can cost 20–30 euros, but there aren’t many of those. “Regular food” costs acceptable money.

So how much does food cost in restaurants? I won’t write a detailed review — just a few examples. Of course, prices vary between restaurants, but I decided not to write “from” and “to.” I found the menu of one restaurant online and copied the prices of some popular dishes. Here’s what I got:

Pizza – from 4 euros
Veal soup (teleća čorba) – 3.5 euros
Jagnjetina ispod sača 200g – 8 euros
Ćevapi (traditional Bosnian meat dish) 300g – 7.90 euros
Cheese omelet – 3.5 euros
Coffee – 1 to 2 euros
Serbian salad (250g) – 2.5 euros
Apple pie (250g) – 3 euros

As you can see, restaurant food prices in Montenegro are quite affordable.

That’s it, friends. This is the end of the overview of food in Montenegro. I would appreciate it if you share this article on social media and leave comments — but only do so if you really liked the article.