Interestingly, it is rather hard to find a Slovak restaurant among all the Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Indian and other eateries, so if you are looking for a real Slovak meal, head either to the Slovak Pub or the fancy and expensive Slovak Restaurant in Hviezdoslavovo square (http://www.slovrest.com/), the former being the better pick in terms of pricing and atmosphere, the latter in terms of food. A very new addition is the Pressburg restaurant in Michalska street (http://www.presburgrestau...), completing the Slovak trio with prices in the mid-range or slightly above.
Of course, junk food can be found in Bratislava, too. Try Bratislava's special form of junk food - a richman which is a big bread roll filled with cabbage and cheese and/or meat with mayonnaise. Richman stands can be found on Kamenné námestie, in front of the Tesco building, and in Safarikovo square. You can also try a sub sandwich from one of the many cafeterias in the city, a good one is found in Å afárikovo namestie. Another excellent cafeteria is on Zelená Ulica between Ventúrska Ulica and Hlavné námestie. A big sandwich, a bageta from the French baguette with cheese, ham and eggs would cost you about â¬1.50.
Another specialty in Bratislava but also available in other regions of Slovakia is treska. It is a cold salad made of Codfish with mayonnaise. There are vegetables like onions and carrots in the salad too. It has a very distinct taste, somewhere between sour and bitter - you should try it! You can buy it fresh in most "Lahôdky" shops, which means something like "delicacies", but generally stands for old-fashioned fast food shops - they sell salads, soups, etc instead of hamburgers or French fries. Treska tastes very good with rolls. If you like the taste of Treska, you can also buy it packed to take home.
If you're low on cash and want to self-cater, there's a huge Tesco supermarket on Kamenné námestie at the junction of Štúrova and Špitálska directly in the city. You could easily have lunch consisting of a couple of bread rolls, ham, cheese, fruit and maybe a cake or two, for three or four Euros. New American-type shopping malls with big cinemas and of course food courts within reach of the center are Aupark on the right bank of the Danube next to Sad Janka Kráľa park, some 10 minutes from St. Martins's Cathedral and Polus City Center on Vajnorská Street to the north of the city some 10-15 minutes from the city by tram.
You can get a nice view and can meet some local celebrities at the übercool and very expensive UFO restaurant and disco (http://www.u-f-o.sk/intro.html) on top of Nový most bridge.
In December, don't miss the Christmas market in front of the Old Town Hall. The traditional foods of the Christmas market are roasted pork or chicken sandwich burgers "ciganska pecienka" with mustard and onions, potato pancakes "loksa" with various fillings ranging traditionally from plain ones with goose fat, with garlic or goose liver to poppy seed, nut or chocolate. Bread with pork fat and onions is also popular. Also there are a few stands which offer specialities from other european countries. You can wash down the food with a cup of red or white mulled wine or a small cup of honey wine, also tea with or without rum is available, as well as grog or other "hot mixed drinks" like the Äervený medveÄ red bear.
