Restaurant in Celje, Slovenia
Michelin-recognised Slovenian cooking, no premium price.
Gostilna Francl is a neighbourhood gostilna in Celje with back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) and a 4.6 Google rating across nearly 2,400 reviews, all at a €€ price point. For explorers who want credible regional Slovenian cooking without the cost of the country's top-tier restaurants, it is a reliable and practical choice.
If you are deciding between Gostilna Francl and one of Celje's more polished city-centre restaurants, the address alone tells you something useful: Zagrad 77 is not a central dining room dressed up for tourists. This is a neighbourhood gostilna — a Slovenian inn-style restaurant — that has earned back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 while staying rooted in regional cooking at a €€ price point. That combination is rare enough in Slovenia that it warrants serious attention from anyone planning a meal in the Celje area. For explorers who want depth over atmosphere theatre, this is a more honest bet than many of the country's flashier options.
Gostilna Francl operates in the gostilna tradition, which means the physical environment prioritises function over spectacle. Expect a layout built around communal comfort rather than architectural drama , the kind of room where tables are spaced for conversation, not for Instagram. That spatial modesty is part of the value proposition. You are not paying a premium for a designer interior; you are paying for regional cooking that has impressed Michelin inspectors two years running. For diners who find the self-conscious staging of higher-end venues tiring, the straightforwardness of the space is an asset. It also means Gostilna Francl is a practical choice for groups who want to talk across a table without shouting , a detail worth noting if you are planning a longer evening. For a broader picture of what Celje's dining scene offers in terms of setting and style, the full Celje restaurants guide is worth reviewing before you finalise your itinerary.
The cuisine type is listed as Regional Cuisine, which in the Slovenian context means dishes built around local produce, traditional preparation methods, and the cooking logic of the Štajerska (Lower Styria) region surrounding Celje. This is not fusion, not modernist plating, and not the kind of creative menu that changes weekly to chase a trend. The Michelin Plate designation , awarded to restaurants where inspectors find good cooking worth knowing about , signals that the kitchen executes its register with enough precision to be noticed at a European level. Comparable Michelin Plate venues in the regional cuisine category, such as Fahr in Künten-Sulz and Gannerhof in Innervillgraten, suggest a profile of cooking that is disciplined, ingredient-led, and deeply local in reference. That framing should calibrate your expectations correctly: if you arrive hoping for the tasting-menu ambition of Hiša Franko in Kobarid, you will be comparing the wrong things. If you arrive ready to eat well in an honest register, the probability of satisfaction is high.
At €€, Gostilna Francl sits in a price tier that makes the Michelin Plate recognition feel like strong value. Slovenia's most celebrated restaurants , Milka in Kranjska Gora, Grič in Šentjošt nad Horjulom, Gostilna Pri Lojzetu in Vipava , operate at €€€€ and deliver a different kind of experience. Francl is not competing at that level of ambition or investment. What it offers instead is credible regional cooking at a price that leaves room in your budget for a second dinner elsewhere. The Google rating of 4.6 across 2,399 reviews reinforces this: a score that high, at that volume, is a reliable signal of consistent satisfaction rather than occasional brilliance. For the explorer who wants to move across multiple restaurants in a region rather than committing everything to one headline booking, Gostilna Francl at €€ with a Michelin Plate is a sensible anchor in a Celje itinerary. Pair it with a visit to LALU Bistro for a contrasting modern approach within the same city.
Regional Slovenian cooking in the gostilna tradition does not typically translate well to delivery formats. The dishes rely on temperature, texture, and the context of the room , a slow-cooked regional preparation served in its own space reads very differently than the same dish in a container forty minutes later. There is no booking or delivery data in the available record to confirm whether Gostilna Francl offers off-premise options, and claiming otherwise would be speculation. What the category tells you is that if you are considering takeout as your primary mode here, you would be working against the format. The Michelin Plate is awarded to the in-house experience. That is where the value lives. Plan to eat in.
Booking difficulty is rated as easy, which is consistent with a neighbourhood gostilna at a €€ price point rather than a destination restaurant with a waiting list. That said, the combination of Michelin recognition and a strong Google review base means demand is real, particularly at weekends. Book ahead by at least a week for weekend evenings to avoid the risk of a full house. The address , Zagrad 77, Celje , places the restaurant outside the immediate city centre, so factor in transport: a taxi or car is the practical approach rather than assuming walkability from central Celje. No phone or website is available in the current record, which means your leading approach is to contact the restaurant through a local booking channel or arrive during off-peak hours to confirm. For context on what else the Celje area offers while you are planning, the Celje hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are useful companions. If you are travelling more broadly through Slovenia, Pavus in nearby Laško and A3 in Brestanica are worth adding to the same trip. For a longer journey into the country's top-tier dining, Restavracija Strelec in Ljubljana, Hiša Denk in Zgornja Kungota, and Hiša Linhart in Radovljica represent the wider ambition of Slovenian fine dining if you want to calibrate Francl against the country's ceiling. For wines to accompany your explorations, the Celje wineries guide is worth consulting before you travel.
Book Gostilna Francl if you want Michelin-recognised regional Slovenian cooking at a price that does not require a significant financial commitment, and if you are prepared to travel slightly outside central Celje to get it. It is the kind of restaurant that rewards explorers over occasion-seekers: the experience is grounded, honest, and consistent rather than theatrical. At €€ with two consecutive Michelin Plates and a 4.6 rating from nearly 2,400 guests, the risk of disappointment is low. Skip it if you want a destination dining event with tasting menus and wine pairings , that is a different conversation, and Slovenia has venues better suited to it.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gostilna Francl | €€ | Easy | — |
| Dam | €€€ | Unknown | — |
| Hiša Franko | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Milka | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Gostilna Pri Lojzetu | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Grič | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Celje for this tier.
Gostilna-format restaurants in Slovenia are typically laid out for communal dining, so groups are generally workable. That said, check the venue's official channels before arriving with a party larger than six — a Michelin Plate venue at €€ with a neighbourhood address (Zagrad 77) is unlikely to have private dining infrastructure, and space at peak times may be limited.
Within Celje, options at a comparable price tier are limited, which is part of what makes Gostilna Francl's Michelin Plate recognition useful as a filter. If you are willing to travel, Hiša Franko in the Soča Valley and Gostilna Pri Lojzetu near Vipava represent Slovenia's top tier of regional cooking but come at significantly higher price points and require advance planning. Gostilna Francl is the practical choice if you are already in Celje.
Booking difficulty is low relative to destination restaurants, consistent with a €€ neighbourhood gostilna rather than a reservation-driven tasting venue. A few days' notice should be sufficient for most visits, though weekends and local holidays warrant earlier contact. No online booking system is documented, so plan to reach out directly.
It works for a low-key celebration where the meal itself is the point rather than the setting or ceremony around it. The Michelin Plate recognition for both 2024 and 2025 gives the cooking credibility, and €€ pricing means you are not committing to a high-cost evening. For a milestone that calls for formal service and a grander room, Hiša Franko or Grič would be more appropriate.
No dietary policy is documented in available venue data. Regional Slovenian cooking tends to be meat and dairy-forward, so vegetarians and those with specific allergies should contact the restaurant before booking rather than assume flexibility. At a gostilna format with a regional menu, options outside the standard repertoire may be limited.
No tasting menu is confirmed in the venue data, and a traditional gostilna format does not typically run a structured tasting progression. Expect an à la carte or set menu built around regional Slovenian dishes. If a multi-course tasting format is what you are after, Gostilna Pri Lojzetu or Hiša Franko are better-suited options.
At €€, yes — the Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025 signals cooking that clears a documented quality threshold, and that recognition at this price point is rare in the region. You are not paying destination-restaurant prices, which means the value case is straightforward for anyone already in Celje. If you want Slovenia's most ambitious cooking regardless of cost, Hiša Franko is the ceiling; Gostilna Francl is the practical alternative.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
