The front of Ukus: mint letters on a black sign, cream and orange brick, a wide window, two wooden planters and an open door.

Ukus / Taste

Bosnian burek and ćevapi in Astoria, from a family that opened in Sarajevo in 1969.

42-08 30th Ave., Astoria, NY 11103 · Open every day 10 AM to 9 PM

Call (718) 267-8587 See the menu Directions (opens in a new tab)↗

Sarajevo, 1969. Astoria, 2006.

Dzafer and Idajeta Bektesevic grew up in the same Sarajevo neighborhood and learned to cook helping their parents. In 1969 they opened Ukus, Bosnian for taste, in a room even smaller than this one. They kept it going through the Yugoslav Wars.

In 2001 they closed up and followed their daughter and son to New York. In 2006 the family opened Ukus again on 30th Ave., with a shorter version of the Sarajevo menu. The recipes haven't changed since.

Their son Fiko owns it with them. On the day a Gothamist reporter came by he was grilling, baking, taking orders and clearing tables, talking to nearly everyone in Bosnian. The food, he said, is made “how they should be.”

From Caroline Shin's story for Gothamist (opens in a new tab)↗, May 3, 2025.

A sign reading Ukus, 42 08, Balkan Pie and Grill, under cream brick with a stepped diamond set into it. — The sign with its number, 42 08, under the brick diamond.

A slice of golden layered pie on a white plate, on a wood table, with a mug behind it.

Two hours before the doors open

Fiko makes the burek dough, then stretches it to arm's length, until you can see through it. Meat goes on one layer and the dough folds over many times.

8 AM: Dough
10 AM: Doors
Every two days: Yogurt for the burek, fermented by Fiko