Here are the recommend restaurants in Croatia that we actually paid and visited. Tasty and high-ratings, you won’t regret!
This time our trip landed on a beautiful country, Croatia. And to be specific, we only went to Dalmatia area, which is along the coastline, meaning there’ll be a lot of seafood! We were there only for 6 days, although we couldn’t try all the restaurants, we do have some recommendations because most of them we’ve tried were quite good!
Trogir – Sv. Dominik
There are not so many reviews about Sv. Dominik, but all reviews given 5 stars. It’s a newly opened restaurant, about 3 months only when we visited. We were sitting in the garden, a little bit hot, but overall it’s a quite fine dining experience with very attentive service.
I love their food being little different than the others. They also serve lots of seafood, but you won’t find the same old same octopus salad or black risotto here.
We had a fish soup, a fish platter for appetiser, a prosciutto and truffle pasta, and a grilled white fish fillet for main course. We would love to try the dessert as well, but we were too full! Price is a bit on the high range. The food above plus 2 alcoholic drinks and one bottle of water, the bill was about 700kn.
Split – Villa Spiza
This restaurant has more than 1000 good reviews, and I had pretty high expectations! The restaurant is separated into 2 parts, one with AC, one with kitchen(means hot!), unfortunately we were in the hot side.
Overall it was good, but not great enough. Service was ok too. From my observation, the staffs only talk to locals. To tourists? They just take the order and deal with the payment.
For the food, we ordered a big salad, roasted eggplant with cheese and grilled mackerel. Food were quite tasty, nothing to criticize, they also offer fresh fruit juice which is quite refreshing!
The only downside would be no reservation, cash only and less friendly service.
Split – Bistro Ciba
On the other hand, Bistro Ciba was a great find and it’s a hidden gem! It was a little far (12-15 mins walk) from the city centre and it’s located in a residential area. But I really really like this restaurant!
First, the service is really friendly and make you feel comfortable. The owner (I guess), explained the menu to us in English patiently, because there was no fixed menu! He said the menu depends on which fresh ingredients he could get that day.
So, we had a sipa bob(cuttlefish and fava beans stew), a leso janjetina (lamb stew with mashed potato) and a basket of lepinja (balkan style flatbread). The food were very flavourful, hearty and homey and not heavy. We enjoyed it a lot! What I like the most is the owner care about the customers, interested in where do you come from, some cultures in your own country.
This restaurant is great and received a lots of good reviews, but they only open from 11:00-18:00, no dinner. I asked him: “Why don’t you do dinner as well? Your business is good!” He said:” After 18:00, I go swimming, haha!” Earning more money? There is no end to it!
Hvar – Dalmatino
Another great service + great food restaurant. Since it’s located in a golden area, I thought it’d be another tourist trap, and I was wrong.
Under the heat wave, even though it’s 11:00 in the morning, we already felt like melting. And in Dalmatino, there is an AC room! Plus 100 points! Waiters were super friendly, a bit chit-chat with us before giving us the menu, and oh yes! They offered aperitifs and digestifs also, it’s on the house!
Food was also spot on! We had a fish soup(the waiter smartly divided into 2 portions since we share it), a tuna tartar, a gnocchi with mediterranean sauce, and a granny’s homemade cake. I especially liked the tuna tartar because the sauce was really well-balance and refreshing! Given this high level of service and food, yet price are quite affordable too!
Dalmatino (they have menu online)
Hvar – Konoba Menego
It’s located on the top side of stairs, we almost missed it. What caught my attention is they have something different than the others! What’s so special? They have something called drunken figs, Dalamtian stuffed bread and Chef’s secret!
Turned out, we really ordered those specialities! This was the first restaurant we didn’t order any seafood. Honestly, after 4 days seafood in a row, time to take a break and Konoba Menego didn’t disappoint us!
Service was also great, I even asked how to make the barley with veggies and they were happy to share the recipe with me!
Oh yes, forgot to mention, they have a AC room as well, interior decoration was lovely, looks like a very old house, a special ambience!
Konoba Menego (← they have menu online and some stories to tell! )
Dubrovnik – Aquarius Tavern
In Dubrovnik, everything is pricey, but Aquarius Tavern is an exception. It is located on the east side of city wall, nearby the popular restaurant Trattoria Carmen, but the entrance is not eye-catching. Once we passed by, the staff said:”come on in, take a look! We have a nice garden!” We politely said maybe after sometime. Then we came to their other entrance, took a look at the menu and read some Google reviews, someone said the local recommended this Konoba!
Actually, the garden was kind of hidden and quiet, just under a part of city wall. Setting was simple and the service also nice.
The menu was straight forward, offering salad, soup, grilled seafood and some meat dishes. Nothing fancy. One of the highlights is, they have small portion of brodet(fish stew)! It is what I long looking for! Since many restaurants only offer big portion and usually you have to order in advance, and the price also not cheap. But we are just 2 people and wanna try the local speciality as much as possible!
Dubrovnik – Lucin Kantun
Lucin Kantun has good ratings at Google, which is why led us here. They are different from others because they offer Dalamatian food with a twist. For example they have black risotto with a little Pag cheese ice cream on top, and they have mussels smoked with super creamy sauce which goes really good with bread. These dishes are in tapas size, good to share and try different dishes.
Table setting was lovely(I love the colourful dried flowers) and food presentation was photogenic, and we were also satisfied with the service.
One of our friends LOVE Croatia who travels to Croatia every year. We asked for his restaurant tips, he said: ‘Just try to avoid those restaurants which are super nearby the sea. They are pricey. Otherwise, every restaurant is good!’ It’s true. When you search for restaurants in Croatia, almost 90% of them have good ratings. I guess, with fresh ingredients, warm service, good mood in tourists, every meal would be wonderful!
