Djerdan Burek Astoria
“Their bureks are large, crispy, and with a huge amount of tasty fillings.”
“Thankfully we're on a mission to try all the cuisines of the world and it gave us just the kick to cross off Balkan/Bosnian food.”
“The gf and I were in the mood for Cevapi last night and decided to give this venue a shot.”
Djerdan Burek Astoria
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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No. Just no. I've been here 2 times now, and I couldn't even begin to tell you why. I get burek, I've had it at a few different locations. I like Burek as much as the next person, but these were not fresh. Both times I've had 1 meat and 1 spinach burek. The spinach one's always tasted fresher and flakier. Meanwhile, the meat burek tasted….old…kinda stale. Like it had been made the day before and reheated in the microwave. No thank you.
A quite affordable and tasty place. Their bureks are large, crispy, and with a huge amount of tasty fillings. The desserts are also quite awesome, and all of them are less than $3! Haven't tried their main entrees but would definitely come back next time if I visit Astoria.
I don't know what is more difficult: pronouncing the name or eating it!
Pljeskavica. I do understand that it's very traditional. The menu describes it as "traditional beef patty served on a traditional pita with red pepper sauce and chopped onions". So, I sat for a moment to debate whether the tradition would be to eat the large, unmanageable "Bosnian burger" with my hands or to do so with a knife and fork. Now, I am not sure which able bodied person of sound mind eats a burger or pizza with a knife and a fork (you're excused by the qualifiers, Donald Trump) – but I certainly wasn't about to do so. So, I looked around and saw some European looking people eating with a knife and fork, as were they for the acclaimed "Best Burek in Town" (disagree).
I still prefer the crispy crust burek to the burger, which has to be amongst the least tasty versions I've tried (neither the red pepper sauce nor the onions added anything to the taste). Concerned that I had missed something in the translation, I engaged my Bosnian doorman in a conversation on the restaurants he would recommend. Without my doing a Faux news version of "we report, you decide" (har-de-har-har!), I let him debate the merits of the 3 Bosnian restaurants in Astoria, and thankfully he validated my thoughts on the burger and the Cevapi (traditional Kababs). Djerdan is his go-to place for Bureks, though he had more love for the Albanian interpretations of these two dishes.
Speaking of Europeans, the extensive dessert menu spanned sweets that would be familiar across both Turkey and Hungary/Czech/Croatia. So, beyond the syrup accented desserts (Baklava, Kadaif, and Tulumba), one also sees the Kokos Torta (soft chocolate cake covered with vanilla custard cream and rolled over coconut flakes), Keks Torta (layers of creams & biscuit), Palacinke (crepes), and Ledena Kocka (chocolate dough covered with custard cream & chocolate). All the cakes were soft, moist, and well worth the indulgence (4 stars). I would perhaps try the Sampita in my next visit, for the tower of whipped cream was visually arresting and had me confuse it for a block of cheese!
Service was courteous, and informed. There was no language barrier. After a while even culturally I didn't feel uncomfortable – though that may have been after hearing the Euros point at the TV displaying NCAA Basketball and inquire whether this was the Superbowl!
I've sampled Djerdan's Boreks as a friend had introduced me to them a few years ago.
Had a chance to stop by Astoria to run some errands, so I was looking for something different to eat for lunch and Djerdan popped up in my mind.
I was scanning the menu and noted the Pljeskavica and Cevapi and a quick search resulted in two very intriguing things to try; especially being a big carnivore.
– Of course I started off with the classic Spinach Borek and it was legit. Flaky phyllo like layers of dough and a nice tangy cheese and spinach filling; this was certainly a nice way to start a meal. If any it made me want to order another Borek 🙂
– Big sister ordered the Punjena Pljeskavica entree. The meat was so juicy and chock fill of beef flavor; all this while being very delightfully light overall, evident by the lack of a greasy mess seen often with a equally sized sandwich/burger. In addition, the pita like bread used to contain this beast was not drenched in oil/grease; something that does happen with some hamburgers.
Not exactly sure of the meats used for the patty but reading up on the subject I definitely could taste that beef (and high quality beef at that) was the primary protein.
The Punjena Pljeskavica differs from the normal variant by adding a layer of cheese (tasted like feta) right inside the patty just like the infamous "Juicy Lucy".
Either way it was a simple preparation and that's really a good sign for Drejdan as the simpler preparation means a very small margin for error and Djerdan nailed it.
– I ordered the Cevapi entree which was excellent too with ten gorgeously grilled links of meat cradled inside the same light and toasty flat bread. These were delicious and had a very different taste and texture to the Pljeskavica in that the Cevapi was a bit more fatty and seasoned with more herbs.
These scrumptious sausages are dangerous as they're nearly bite sized, and I could see myself easily downing 10+ easily. Mind you I'm not a big guy either, so this statement really is telling.
Served alongside both entrees were fresh diced white onions and a side sauce called Ajvar (roasted red pepper sauce) which added a nice spicy element to the rich meat.
Very delicious lunch and a worthy additional to any foodie's list of foods/places to try!
Reserving that 5th star as I want to try the desserts!
I can't stop thinking about the crisp, flaky, delectable goodness of Djerdan's bureks. I went in with my sister and BroLo a few days ago while visiting them in Astoria and luckily they took me in to this fabulous, unassuming little gem. Portions are huge and rich, therefore extremely shareable. We dug in to the meat patty on pita and a slice of each of the spinach and beef burek pies (The spinach pie is essentially the Balkan version of Spanakopita). The garden out back is absolutely lovely although it was a bit too hot to sit out there and enjoy. Overall, everything was exceptional. Juicy, perfectly grilled meats, amazing dough, and a huge value for the price. Yay, Astoria!
The best Bosnian food ever. Terrible service, but who cares? I'll buss my own table for the borek. What I loved was that the chevapi was not too salty like most places. We went inside to be totally ignored. Neither of us are European so we figured (after a long wait) that we had to get up, place our orders and get our own drinks. The woman making the food and manning the register looked annoyed by my bf asking questions about the food. I ordered what I knew and we sat down. The burek was incredible. We mixed the meat and spinach together and it was heavenly. The chevapi and pleskavitsa were yummy. Chevapi being our favorite. Then we got up to pay, because we figured that's how it works. I'm not saying I was singled out, she was equally annoyed by everyone. So I chocked it up to (that's how it is here), ate some deliciously made food and left. We will be back to annoy her soon!
The burek here is pretty good. I come here when i want something different and quick.
Visited here around noon this past Saturday. I must have come on an off-day… excellent spinach burek but sort of dry/sparse meat burek. The tap water tasted like the faucet should have been run for another 10 seconds (or maybe it was the ice). I'll definitely come back to give it another shot since it's so well-reviewed and since most of the people coming in while I was there spoke the language. Fast service, excellent prices.