The best seafood restaurants Istria

In this street, the many cafes-bars-restaurants make the walker hesitate. The Puntulina, with its three terraces, its tables on the rocks, above the sea is very pleasant to have a drink. You can enjoy a cool drink during the day, an aperitif or a last cocktail with this soothing view of the sea without any opposite. As for the cuisine, the Istrian and Mediterranean menu is well thought out, with fresh pasta, grilled fish and meat, roasted vegetables, etc. The bill is higher than elsewhere, but it's a great experience.

In Croatia, Istria has the largest number of restaurants. Competition obliges in Rovinj, one feels that here the chef seeks originality. He plays with tradition and even reveals some of his recipes to interested customers. The house celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022. His specialties: ravioli with truffle flavored sauce, spaghetti with seafood, tuna carpaccio, filet of sole in sauce. The platter with fish, octopus or whole lobster (offered by the kilo) is more expensive than the platter with fried fish (sardines, cuttlefish, anchovies, squid).

This small tavern (konoba), 4 km from the city centre, is worth the trip. An authentic place to eat fresh fish, finely sliced or grilled whole. It is the specialty of the house since the boss is also a fisherman. The menu therefore depends on the catch of the day. His wife, who works in the kitchen, makes ample provision for antipasti, including small fries, a plate with marinated anchovies, squid and sardines, carpaccio (tuna, place) and grilled white fish as a main course. Besides, here, desserts are not neglected. Don't forget to make a reservation.

If you're looking for an authentic restaurant where you can meet the locals, go to Fish Food More. The locals come here because they appreciate quality, inexpensive fisherman's cooking. It's all the more enjoyable to get a glimpse of Croatian life. The menu offers a choice of grilled fish platters, accompanied by rocket salad or mashed potatoes and green shoots(blitva), seafood, shellfish pasta and home-made marinated sardines. For a cuisine that focuses almost exclusively on the sea.

Let's call it a restaurant-pizzeria-grill rather than a simple bistro! The establishment has been run since 1994 by a family from Poreč. In the vicinity of Juraj Dobrile Park and the Euphrasian Basilica, it's well placed. It's easy to recognize the two-hundred-year-old building that houses it. Here, you can enjoy a drink and a quiet meal on the terrace. The menu features seafood, lobster and grilled fish, as well as fresh pasta with truffle sauce, risotto, pizzas, full salads and grilled meats.

A tavern popular with locals, where the owners are at the stove, which is a good sign. Here, we love local dishes, recipes prepared with fresh produce and cooked over a wood fire in the pure Mediterranean tradition. Grilled meats, but above all whole fish accompanied by homemade polenta, sautéed potatoes or mixed platters of fish and seafood in sauce, scallops in sauce, squid ink risotto, all accompanied by a white Istrian wine. High price, however.

In a pleasant setting, a family-run hotel-restaurant with eight comfortable rooms, arranged on the first floor, doubles, a triple and a suite. Some of them have a view of the sea. The restaurant is well known in Rabac. It offers fisherman's cuisine, seafood, scampi, squid and grilled fish, fresh pasta or shellfish risotto, as well as meat dishes, such as beef filet with white truffles or veal piccata with lemon.

During the summer season, dinner at Roman Matika's fisherman's house is indicated by the Batana boat eco-museum. Spaccio or spàcio, in the Rovinj dialect, indicates a konoba (tavern), with its basements, where wine was stored, which were places for socializing. Here, people drank, ate together in a fisherman's kitchen, then sang or played cards. Today, the place is a tourist attraction, with large tables for groups and a banqueting atmosphere, accompanied bysea shanties (Marco Garbin cultural artistic society).

Right on the harbor, this elegant restaurant is one of the city's top-rated eateries. It plays on the concept of new Mediterranean cuisine. A la carte dishes include Motovun soup with mushrooms and white truffles, white seafood carpaccio, whole grilled fish of the day with blitva (mashed chard and potatoes), scallops with saffron rice, fillet of beef with the chef's sauce. Among the desserts, try the ice cream... with truffles. Good regional wine list too.

At the entrance to the historic town, between the old tower and the ancient city walls, this family-run restaurant and wine bar makes the most of its tree-lined terrace. It's a pleasant place to dine on carefully prepared dishes. On the menu, Mediterranean and traditional Istrian specialties: seafood platter, oven-grilled fish in a salt crust, fresh pasta with shellfish, all accompanied by a selection of the best Croatian wines. There's also plenty of dancing and festive atmosphere during the evenings, with live music provided by guest bands.