No booking
Standing or seated
For a bite at the counter there’s no need to book: walk in, choose from the display and eat right there, standing if you like. If you want to sit down for the caldaia or for dinner, better give us a call.
Buffet and counter
The Triestine buffet, from our counter.
In Trieste a “buffet” isn’t self-service: it means caldaia, mustard and horseradish, eaten standing up if you like, even in a hurry. At our place, that spirit lives at the counter.
A Trieste tradition
What is a Triestine buffet?
Trieste’s buffets were born when the city was the port of the Habsburg Empire: simple places where dockers, clerks and traders stopped for a hot plate and a glass, without wasting time.
The heart of a buffet is the caldaia, the pot where the pork cooks: traditionally porzina (pork neck), cotechino sausage, tongue, frankfurters and ham. They’re sliced and served hot with mustard, grated kren (horseradish) and sauerkraut or potatoes. Around it, a counter full of breaded and fried things.
Then there’s the rebechin, a word nobody knows outside Trieste: a snack at any odd hour, mid-morning or mid-afternoon, eaten at the counter over a chat.
La De Jure is an osteria, not a historic buffet. But that tradition is at home at our counter: the caldaia, the display of breaded snacks and the option of stopping by just for a bite.
At the counter
What you’ll find here
The photos are of our own display case and kitchen. What’s on display can change: if you’re after something in particular, call us first.
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The caldaia
Boiled pork cuts, served hot with mustard and a generous heap of grated kren. Ours comes with patate in tecia, the way the city’s osterias have always served it.
It’s a dish to eat sitting down, taking your time. Go easy on the horseradish: the first bite will warn you.
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The breaded snacks
Breaded aubergines and courgettes, pork loin, breaded chicken and breaded creamed cod: the display case is the most Triestine corner of the osteria.
Ombolo, for those who aren’t from here, is pork loin. Breaded and fried, it’s one of those flavours people from Trieste miss when they live far away.
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The meatballs
Breaded and fried, lined up behind the glass with their label. One is a snack at the counter, two make a lunch, three go to the table to share.
How it works
Stopping at the counter
Hours
From 8am to 11pm
The osteria is open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 11pm; closed on Sunday. Hours may change on public holidays: if in doubt, call +39 040 265 0413.
To drink
Coffee and draught beer
At the counter there’s the coffee machine and the beer taps. The rest of the drinks list, wine included, is at the table.
A review
“A relaxed place […] where the dishes are simple, tasty and genuine. What more could you want?”
Find us
Via Giulia 51, Trieste
Look for the red sign in the lunette above the awning. Street parking is free, but not always easy to find.
- Where
- Via Giulia 51, 34126 Trieste
- Hours
- Monday–Saturday 08:00–23:00, closed Sunday
- Phone
- +39 040 265 0413
- Payment
- Cards and contactless
Come by
A breaded bite and a chat.
For the counter, just walk in. For a table, especially at dinner, just give us a call.