The best seafood restaurants Croatia

Since its beginnings in Mali Ston, this oyster family has conquered Dubrovnik, Split and even Zagreb. Next to the oyster park, the company started by opening this quiet terrace overlooking the harbor. The flat oysters made its reputation. They are served plain, with a dash of lemon or, more surprisingly, grilled. The house also prepares sushi and Mali Ston popara , a kind of bouillabaisse of rock fish cooked in a court-bouillon. Finally, you must try the amazing Ston cake with macaroni!

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.

The whole Ficović family is involved in this small restaurant opened in 2005. Katarina cooks, Jadranko and the two sons take care of the fish and oysters, while their daughter Karla manages the customer reception. The prices are very reasonable for local, quality dishes. Fresh products for a fisherman's cooking, well presented in the plates. In addition, a beautiful terrace and a small private beach with showers and toilets. Reservation recommended in summer.

You'll find Komarda just outside the city walls, about 50m past the Ploče Gate, taking a right turn just before the Eastwest Club. This restaurant has been set up in a former park with a tiered terrace. It is reached by steps down to the establishment and then onto the rocks facing the old port. So much for a superb view from most of the tables. Authentic, the Mediterranean cuisine is of high quality, the meats, whole fish and vegetables grilled just right have the taste of good home cooking. Popular with Croatians.

A superb setting with a beautiful terrace facing the ramparts for this gastronomic restaurant. The menu is classic and the cuisine is meticulous. Fish, lobsters, octopus and shellfish are presented at the beginning of the meal. The fish of the day, sold by the kilo, is interesting to share in group. The cooking on the stone barbecue, on which the chef grills meat and fish, reproduces traditional methods but the accompaniment, steamed or grilled vegetables, is a little too little. A meal with a rather high price tag and a pleasant refined atmosphere.

Just at the entrance to the town through the gate to the mainland, the restaurant's terrace has a breathtaking panoramic view of the channelled Zadar (Foša) inlet and the bay. Romantic setting for one of the city's most famous fish restaurants. It is therefore essential, as you can imagine, to book in high season. Its menu, a mix of traditional and modern Adriatic cuisine, features grilled regional fish, southern recipes with olive oil... Tasty and healthy.

To reach the Panorama, if you don't have a car, you'll have to call a cab or go directly to the restaurant when you reserve your table (recommended), and we'll pick you up in town (free service). The view from the terrace at sunset is superb. On one side, Mount Biokovo, imposing and so close. On the other, the seaside town, the coast, the archipelago... In the kitchen, traditional Dalmatian recipes, grilled fish, meat and vegetables, pašticada, gnocchi and, last but not least, gourmet desserts. Good local red wines.

Far from the hustle and bustle of the harbor, this restaurant is one of the most recommended in Baška. It is a quiet place where you can take your time on the terrace, at the tables set up on the pier. The best time is at sunset. The presence of fishermen and locals is a good omen. Here, we do not look for originality but for the best of the Adriatic. On the menu, meat, but especially grilled fish and fresh shellfish accompanied by the inevitable chard and potato purée (blitva), grilled southern vegetables and the house wine

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 restaurant takes advantage of several spaces to serve. On the waterfront, facing the bay, there is a pleasant tiered terrace, where a few tables are sheltered under a palm roof. It can be accessed by boat. Another terrace under a canopy and a rustic dining room also welcome guests. In the kitchen, fisherman's plates, swordfish carpaccios, grilled fish and vegetables, risottos with squid ink, crayfish flambéed with grappa, fresh pasta with shellfish, pizzas, etc. During the day, the restaurant becomes a beach bar.

One of the best fish restaurants in the area. This thirty-year-old local institution is at the forefront of the riva, next to the many pizzerias and konoba bars that have sprung up since then. It owes its longevity to its generous cuisine, with fresh products prepared on the barbecue with the catch of the day, often saint-pierre, sea bream, tuna, shrimps, langoustines, octopus and more rarely lobster, squid. There is also pasta with truffles, risotto from the sea and very good desserts as well.

On the marina, in a rustic setting, all wood and stone, the Konoba Vapor is a good restaurant. You will be served on the terrace, after the preparation of the cuisine of the generous Dalmatian fisherman. On the menu, smoked tuna as a starter, octopus salad, fresh fish, squid accompanied by southern vegetables, all grilled to perfection and drizzled with olive oil. There is also the black seafood risotto, coloured with squid ink, tagliatelle with mussels and shrimps or lobster. Service well done and smiling.

Located on the Lungomare, near the Borik marina for about fifty years, the restaurant of the Hotel Niko remains one of the best rated in Zadar. The dining room has kept its bourgeois furniture, the grand piano and the antique mirror. The large aquarium, a lobster tank, also gives it a certain cachet. Appreciated for its careful fisherman's cooking, the family house has everything of the hotel tradition. It offers classic, comfortable rooms (air-conditioning, free Wifi, minibar), some with a balcony and a panoramic view of the sea and the historic city.