Did you know that there is an airport in Lesce? Well, ‘airport’ is a slight over exaggeration, airfield, to be more precise – the Lesce Alpine Flying Centre (Alpski letalski center). It offers panoramic flights above the Julian Alps, glider flights, skydiving and parachuting (more here – http://www.radolca.si/en/adrenaline-in-the-air/). I’m told that in the past there also used to be scheduled direct flights to Dubrovnik. What a shame that is no longer the case!

Moreover, you can now also get first-class food there that doesn’t break the bank, which is not something that can often be said of airport food! However, this is no ordinary ‘airport’ restaurant. The Na Kležnk restaurant, which opened last year, has brought a much-needed revival to the centre, and it’s range of high-quality dishes and delicious desserts, are just the ticket!

I was interested to know where the restaurant’s name hails from and found out that it comes from the name of a farm that used to be located in the area where the airfield now stands.

During the warmer months you can sit outdoors on the terrace and admire the views of the Julian Alps and the Jelovica plateau.

My visit on a damp February evening wasn’t exactly conducive to admiring the outside views, but instead I was able to sit in the warm, pleasant ambience of the restaurant and admire the indoor views – mainly of the cakes!

Na Kležnk  has its own in-house patisserie, where delicious cakes are baked daily and can also be purchased to take-away, or they will even deliver if you have a sudden urgent craving for cake – it happens, you know!

With such a wide range of cakes on offer, it was a tough choice, so I had a slice of this raspberry meringue cake to start, well I don’t mean as a ‘starter’ but as my ‘starter dessert’!

And later a piece of the delicious, and highly addictive, banana mudcake ‘to go’!

Oh yes, and I also ate some seriously tasty and imaginately presented ‘real’ food too!

Starters include cheese ravioli with a pesto sauce and parmesan, and, as seen below, shrimp tails with crab pate.

For my main course I chose a dish from the specials menu – pork fillet with onion sauce and bread dumplings.

And my friend ordered the sea bass which came looking like this.

And inside looked like this!

Apparently, though, word is already out and, particularly if you go at the weekends for their popular Saturday and Sunday lunches, reservations are required. Now I too know why and am already looking forward to my next visit. It is to be hoped that Na Kležnk will also join Taste Radol’ca later this year.

© AdeleinSlovenia 2016