Why is Ima Dana restaurant priceless?

Ima Dana restaurant (Photo: Višnjica)

Presidents, ambassadors and sheiks were coming from all continents just to feel the spirit of that restaurant. It was impossible to enter the restaurant without a reservation, which sometimes had to be made six months in advance. Cobblestones around it, the old music and bohemian atmosphere in it, rich menu and details from all around the world, all that and much more had made Ima Dana restaurant, part of catering company Višnjica, one of the most famous cafes in Skadarlija, the Bohemian Quarters of Belgrade.

Ratko Uljarević, the Chairman of the Managing Board of Višnjica, speaks in an interview for eKapija about the best days of the restaurant, its similarities to Maxim in Paris, the reasons why Ima Dana is priceless, and about Tito's wish to order burek from the bakery on the top of Skadarska Street at 6 AM.

Ima Dana restaurant was opened on December 22, 1969. The opening ceremony lasted for three days and it was attended by the most significant guests from political and cultural circles and large number of media representatives.

The architect who drew the plans for the restaurant is Uglješa Bogunović who also drew the plans for the famous Avala Tower. The author of the interior is Mario Masciareli, an academic painter and, it is said, the last modern bohemian of Skadarlija. The entrance to the restaurant is decorated by Jaša Ribnikar's sculpture, which resists the spirit of a new time for years.

The name of this catering facility, although semantically simple, seems to ring in the ears of anyone who hears it at least once. The restaurant was named after the song sang by Vojkan Tasić who was performing in the restaurant for many years. According to Ratko Uljarević, he was a permanently employed tavern musician.

(Photo: Višnjica)

- He was a pivot of our music ensemble and one of the reasons why people from all parts of Serbia and the world were coming to the restaurant for years.

Nowadays, just like "in the last century", only the tones of the old music, ballads and romances can be heard in the restaurant.

Time when everything was possible

There were always Mercedes vehicles in front of the restaurant, which were used by the guests who dined there and slept in Metropol and Jugoslavija hotels. The Belgrade Chronicles show was always reporting on the events in the restaurant, while special attention was paid to celebrity guests.

- The guests from Madrid and London, sheiks and presidents, were coming to the restaurant to have a lunch or dinner and returning home the same day, and we were organized that well that we knew in advance who would sit on which chair - Uljarević remembers.

According to him, the period between the opening of the restaurant and 1980 and Tito's famous letter was the peak and golden age of catering business in Belgrade.

It was the time when the restaurant could have asked for as much money as it wanted for its services. "New York Times" dedicated a whole page to our restaurant and compared it to famous Maksim in Paris and Skadarlija to Montmartre. When in Paris, one has to visit Maksim and Montmartre, and the same is the case with Belgrade as well.

Many people come to Belgrade only to feel the spirit of Skadarlija and bohemian atmosphere in its taverns.

If you don't know who we are, ask your guides

(Photo: Višnjica)

After the text was published in "NewYork Times", a U.S. senator and a group of about 60 guests contacted Atlas agency in Dubrovnik and expressed a wish to visit our restaurant.

- The Director of the agency was a bit arrogant and said: Who are you that the U.S. senator says he will come if I make a dinner reservation with you? And our answer was: If you don't know who we are, ask your guides, they know that perfectly. When we realized that he must come and visit us, we gave him a "decent" price, and he replied that he would come the same evening to see who we are and what we are doing here. After the dinner and fun until the dawn, the only thing he said was: There is no price I won't pay for this.

At that time, Rafaelo Blam, a professor at the Music Academy, was playing the piano in Ima Dana. When he started playing, older Americans stopped eating and drinking and they were listening to him for half an hour completely fascinated, after which one of the oldest American guests stood up, kissed him and said: Did I have to come to Belgrade to listen to the music of my youth?

It was the first restaurant in Yugoslavia with its own souvenir record with "Ima Dana" song on it. The record was produced many times and it went to all continents. This restaurant was also the first to have its own flag and to put flowers and candles in its open-air section. With girado hats on their heads, waiters were singing for the guests and giving carnations to female guests.

- It was the spectacle that, in my opinion, can not be repeated ever again.

Taverns write destinies

When they come here, the most famous singers can not resist singing, actors start reciting, while politicians often fall into a romantic trance.

- The hall of Ima Dana restaurant is small, so that it helps spirit and body become one, and then all guests feel as a big happy family. People who do not know each other are connected by that magic and they soon become friends – says the first manager of the restaurant.

(Photo: Višnjica)

Many people waited for the dawn here. But we have always taken care of the privacy of guests. It was impossible for anyone without a reservation to enter Ima Dana restaurant. In that way, the privacy of guests was protected.

- We were flooded by criminals, but we also had an agreement with the police on special measures. We even "forced" the U.S. Ambassador to make a reservation although there was enough room in the restaurant... Monokl nightclub, one of the most famous disco clubs in Europe at the time, which is now a dining hall in this restaurant, was a jet set place of Belgrade. You could have asked anything you want for Monokl's membership card because it was the real exclusiveness.

Only the selected guests witnessed Tito's bohemian life and they remember, for example, when he, at 6 AM, after a long night, asked for a hot burek from Spasojević bakery on the top of Skadarska Street.

The menu of Ima Dana restaurant used to include the specialties of many European cuisines. Mushrooms were stuffed with caviar, French cognacs and wines were drunk heavily, but national dishes were served as well, some of them cooked and prepared for three days.

Survival of bohemian spirit

And who are the guests of Ima Dana restaurant today?

- Number of guests has dropped significantly, but the restaurant still operates very well. There are still those who come here regularly, "people who have their own tables". Ima Dana has its regular guests. Foreigners are coming, but not as much as before. There are no city and state protocols any more, important managers, who can attract "famous and strong" persons like before. Decrease in number of guests led to the change in structure.

We asked the Chairman of the Managing Board of Višnjica, who himself waited for the dawn at 38 Skadarska Street many times, if there was still bohemian spirit in our country and whether it survived the invasion of some new waves?

(Photo: Višnjica)

- Bohemian spirit exists, but only when a good company gathers, or when musicians stay after 2 AM and create an atmosphere for themselves. What once was is never going to be again, but I do not look upon that with regret. Instead, I am thankful and happy for having had a chance to experience that.

Satisfaction of all senses

People in Ima Dana restaurant are guide by the idea that they can make anything a guest imagines. But one should know what to fancy and have the culture of nutrition. According to eKapija's interlocutor, certain time must pass in order for the people who have money to learn how to behave at the table.

- They have money, but they don't have habits. That can be easily seen in a restaurant by the way when something is ordered and what goes with what. The table culture is the bas of every culture in the business world.

The restaurant has about 120 wines in its offer, exhibition showcases and tables. The restaurant's slogan says that they "satisfy all senses: eyesight - with the interior, hearing - with the music, taste - with the food, touch - with all that together...

Soul has no price

In the end, we ask Ratko Uljarević, the Chairman of the Managing Board of catering company Višnjica, where does Ima Dana restaurant stand, in his opinion, among numerous restaurants that that company owns.

- It is at the head of all of them. This is the restaurant with both heart and soul. My ideas were used when Devetka restaurant was being built on Košutnjak, and we fought for each detail in it. That is still one of the best restaurants in Serbia, but it will never have a soul that this restaurant has. One Russian asked me how much Ima Dana restaurant cost. I told him: And how much does your soul cost? The soul has no price, he replied. Then this restaurant has no price either, this is my soul.

J.Đ.