Moderna

Vietnamese iced coffee in a museum basement

Start with the Vietnamese iced coffee. It is the drink Kavarna Moderna singles out as its own, and it signals that the café is not simply running the standard espresso repertoire from a corner of a museum. The place opened in 2015 in the lower level and summer garden of Moderna galerija, Ljubljana's Museum of Modern Art, with the stated aim of raising the standard of coffee in the city, and it counts among Slovenia's early specialty rooms. The gallery supplies the setting; the coffee is what brings people back between exhibitions.

Specialty coffee and craft cocktails

The house describes itself as a specialty coffee and craft cocktail bar, and the two halves work in sequence: coffee through the day, cocktails once the galleries empty. Espresso, cortado, americano, macchiato, filter and cold brew cover the coffee side. Freshly roasted bags line the retail shelf, among them Costa Rica Linda Vista, Indonesia Sumatra Mandheling and Kenya Kevote AB in 250 gram sizes, with a tasting set built around three of them for anyone who wants to work through origins at home. Tea is there for non-coffee drinkers, and the cocktail list runs from coffee classics to signature builds. It was recognised in the 2025 European Coffee Trip awards.

Sit inside, or in the summer garden

Food stays light, which suits the room: toasts, croissants, cheesecakes and other small plates, with vegan options in the mix. Seating runs indoors and out, the summer garden being the reason to time a visit for warm weather, and the café takes laptops, dogs and takeaway orders with equal ease. Order a cheesecake with the second coffee if the visit is a long one. The best version of Moderna is the unhurried one: a cup after the galleries, a slice beside it, and a cocktail if the evening looks like going that way.