Destan

If you eat one thing in central Skopje, make it cevapi at Destan. This is the Old Bazaar's classic cevabdzilnica, a grill house that has done one thing since around 1913 and does it definitively. It sits on Kazandziska, the coppersmiths' street, just inside Stara Carsija from the Vardar side, and it is roughly an 18-minute walk from our apartments in Debar Maalo, across the river and into the oldest, most atmospheric part of the city.

The order is simple and it is a ritual. Cevapi come by the count: ask for 10 if you are properly hungry, 15 if you skipped breakfast. They arrive lined up on soft lepinje flatbread that soaks up the fat and juices, with raw chopped onion and usually some grilled peppers alongside. Pair it with a glass of kiselo mleko (runny drinking yoghurt) or ayran, which is the traditional foil to the rich grilled meat and the thing reviewers keep singling out. No alcohol here; this is a meat-and-yoghurt place, not a tavern.

The room is old-school and warm, walls hung with black-and-white photographs of old Skopje that are worth studying while the grill works. It is clean, fast, and almost always busy, which is the good sign you want. There is seating inside and out on the bazaar lane, so you can watch the carsija go by. Bring cash and small bills; this is a budget bazaar grill and the count works best paid in hand.

Getting there is part of the fun. From Debar Maalo, walk toward the Vardar, cross the Old Stone Bridge (Kamen Most) by Macedonia Square, and follow the cobbles up into the Old Bazaar. Destan is at the first main intersection just inside, hard to miss. The Old Bazaar is the largest Ottoman-era market in the Balkans outside Istanbul, a warren of mosques, hammams, jewellers and coppersmiths that rewards an aimless wander before or after you eat.

Go for lunch on a weekday if you can. The meat is fresh off the grill, the bazaar is alive, and you dodge the weekend crowds. It is open through the day, but lunch is the sweet spot. Worth checking hours locally if you are arriving late, since they shift a little by season.

Our move: build a half-day around it. Wander the bazaar, eat at Destan, then climb to Kale, the Skopje Fortress, for the city view, with the Mustafa Pasha Mosque, the Bezisten covered market and Daut Pasha Hammam on the way. It is one of the best things to do in Skopje, and it starts with a plate of cevapi a short walk from your door.