The best restaurants Croatia

The courtyard terrace of the Hotel Kaptol restaurant is accessed through a porch. In the large, completely renovated room, the brasserie atmosphere is matched with traditional Croatian cuisine. If the decoration has been given a facelift, the taste of spit-roasted meats, simmered under a peka, Slavonian sausages and cheeses, cereal soups and vegetable cakes is still there. Good food, served with care and professionalism. Remember to make a reservation

Outside the city, this hotel and restaurant is nestled in the heart of a wooded vineyard. It is one of the best in the region. Inside, the dining room is housed in a vaulted cellar, while the terrace offers a panoramic view of the vineyard fields. Traditional seasonal cuisine features green and colourful vegetables, as well as meat and fish in sauce. Takeaway sale of local wines (white, red, sparkling). Choice of local menu or bistronomy formulas (cheese/cold meats + wine).

Associated with the Baltazar Hotel, this restaurant serves international cuisine. A table with salads and grills where you can eat a large piece of beef, lamb, poultry, meats cooked in the Slavonic way. The house also offers dishes based on seafood. On sunny days, we look for a table in the garden. Let the staff advise you on the menu, which changes according to market arrivals. The choice of wines is important and they will tell you which one goes best with your dish.

Pretty popular address in town. On sunny days, you can settle down in the café-bar on the terrace, but for a more comfortable meal, you prefer the large interior room, with its red brick vaults and postmodern decoration. Offers several formulas, snacking, antipasti snacking, platter of cold cuts/country cheeses, menus or à la carte. Classic Italian cuisine, complete salads, fresh homemade pasta or gnocchi in parmesan sauce, cuttlefish ink risotto and tasty grilled meats. Good wine list.

In Rijeka, with its huge fish market, you have to eat fish! In this tavern, the service is simple and the plate, honest. On the go, you can order a good portion of fried squid with grilled potatoes. More quietly, you can choose a risotto, fresh pasta with seafood sauce. But the specialty of the house is the grilled tuna steak, the rock fish platter with squid and shellfish, all grilled with local oil, accompanied by a homemade pesto (2 persons). On the spot or to take away.

In this family restaurant, the chef himself comes to present the day's catch before cooking. The platter of grilled whole fish arrives on the table (for 2 or 4 people). It is often an assortment of white and blue fish (stonefish, hake, sardines, etc.), accompanied by crustaceans and vegetables such as blitva (crushed chard and potatoes in olive oil), which is first devoured by the eyes. Meat lovers, try the pork medallion with mushroom sauce and French fries!

The stone terrace overlooks the sea, which is the main attraction of this restaurant, itself located on the prettiest pedestrian promenade in the Lapad district. A well-stocked fish and seafood menu (lobster, langoustines, salt-crusted fish...), as well as several meat dishes and a vegetarian plate. Other house specialties include stuffed and baked mozzarella, or truffle risotto with Dalmatian pršut (prosciutto). A fine list of local wines. Very pleasant service.

A bakery-sandwich shop with 24-hour service in Zadar? Here, everyone knows the famous outlet that provides this famous non-stop service. Just off the bridge, Branimir quay, a bakery that serves morning coffee, sweet and savory brunch (fresh bread, croissants, cheese or apple bureks), snack formulas (sandwiches, pizza, pastries). A few tables for eating on the spot. Beware of noise pollution at night.

Founded in 1886, Proto is one of the oldest establishments in the old town. Renovated a few years ago, it has retained its historic patina. On the walls, engravings show the plans of the Republic of Ragusa. You can also sit in the alleyway or on the roof terrace. Dalmatian classics and refined recipes are served here. For example: whole lobster with fresh pasta, white fish court-bouillon, lamb and braised vegetables. All under the direction of Croatian chef Boško Lonac.

This restaurant is a little hidden. When you enter it, you will be fascinated by the atmosphere: The rooms have style, there is a nice cellar with a vinothek, the frame is pleasant, the table well and the service is perfect and the delicious dishes. The vinothek offers 700 different Croatian wines.

A true pearl of the Adriatic, it is a romantic restaurant offering Istrie Mediterranean cuisine and a high local level. The wine cellar houses bottles from all over the world, but also the best bottles of local producers. Without surprises, the best French champagnes have a beautiful place like Cuban cigars.

In direct proximity to the sea, the restaurant naturally shows a preference for fisherman's cuisine! With fresh produce at reasonable prices, the dishes are simple but tasty, like the grilled fish dish served whole for one person, accompanied by southern vegetables, or the essential blitva, mashed potatoes and green shoots, steamed and drizzled with olive oil. Very easy to digest! Attached to the street of the same name, this family-run establishment also offers bed & breakfast.

Opening in 2021 in the Središće district, this restaurant (ex-Food Division) could appeal to the international public visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art just across the street. Beautiful minimalist-style dining room but, too bad, no terrace. Inspired by Japanese cuisine, dishes are served in black bowls, plates and trays. The menu is concise: beef tartare, savory dips, grilled meat or fish accompanied by Indian bread(naan) or savory waffles, Asian noodles, tempeh tofu, sushi, vegetarian bowls. You name it, we've got it.

You'll have to find the wooden door and then go up to the second floorto find this chic restaurant and enjoy the terrace with its breathtaking view of the port. The dining room is also pleasant with its exposed stonework and design decor. During the day, you can order drinks, with or without alcohol, a cocktail at the time of the aperitif. During the summer season, restaurant service is available all day long. On the menu, a careful cuisine with Mediterranean influences. Very nice wine list too.

This large fish and shellfish restaurant remains one of Dubrovnik's most popular tourist spots, not least because of its location. The atmosphere is friendly and the setting beautiful, just behind the Rector's Palace, with a view of the small boats coming and going in the old port. As for the quality of the food, you'll surely find better in town. Fried or grilled calamari, marinated mussels, tuna pâté and octopus salad... you'll find all the region's great classics here.

There are few restaurants on Dvernik Veli and it is very good like that. We therefore rely on reliable values, such as this konoba on the heights of the small port. The visitor can enjoy the panoramic terrace overlooking the sea, the weather pleasantly slowed down around a cold or hot drink or a meal. On the menu, salad, grilled meats, fish of the day. For octopus cooked under peka, you must order the day before. A café-bar is more expensive than on land, but the relaxed atmosphere on this part of the island is unmistakable.

For Tex-Mex aficionados, the Santa Maria might be a good choice, even if the Mexican recipes are seasoned with Croatian sauce! In this rustic, colorful and kitschy interior, the parakeet adds to the exotic decor. The restaurant offers fajitas and chili con carne, tacos, tortillas, burritos but also pizzas, pastas, salads and vegetarian plates. Local dishes, also, grilled fish and meat, a seafood risotto and shellfish, which resembles a paella latina. Reservations are recommended.

This address is to be deserved, the path is stony but the reward is at the end of the road. On the Smrč plateau, south of the hamlet of Postrana, take the small road that goes down to the bay of Defora. The stone property facing the sea is surrounded by lemon, pomegranate and fig trees. The vegetables from the garden accompany the grilled meat and fish. When in season, at the end of summer or in autumn, you can try the house specialties, the recipes based on Dalmatian cabbage (zelje). All of this is accompanied by wine from the estate.

The term buffet or buffe in Croatia refers to a popular restaurant with large tables that serves home-cooking. The Šimun, near the bus station, which is popular with tourists, attracts fewer locals today but still offers good value for money. Unpretentious but hearty fisherman's cuisine (octopus salad with beans, shrimp risotto, goulash, grilled or gratin squid, stuffed peppers, etc.). For kids, homemade breaded chicken fillets should do the trick! Good for lunch.