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HG001London Feb 6th, 2012 12:34 PM

Croatian Food
 
just wondering what people think of Croatian food. We recently visited Korcula for a week and Dubrovnic for just one night and came with low expectations re the food as we had read a lot about it being not very good. But i still cant stop thinking about how very good it turned out to be!!

I can still taste the grilled squid and yummy local ham (i cant think of the name -persut maybe?! but i preferred it even to serano and parma) as well as surprising good pasta and gnocci. We were really taken back by the quality of the food we ate in Korcula and even in tourist central Dubrovnic we had nothing but tasty delicous food. Figs with goats cheese were also lovely as well as prawns in brandy.

The choices were a bit limited in Korcula but every place did things a little different and was so impressed.

Anyone else have good/bad experiences of Croatian food.

Delaine Feb 6th, 2012 12:41 PM

I enjoyed Croatian food, although I didn't find it that different than some of the food I've eaten in Italy.

The ham you are referring to is prsut (a Croatian variant on prosciutto); I enjoyed that too. I had a really delicious pizza in Korcula that had prsut, a type of bleu cheese and some other slightly unusual toppings.

HG001London Feb 6th, 2012 12:49 PM

i think i may have had that same pizza choice...along the waterfront main stretch in Korcula town there is a pizza place which we thought was very good and had something very similar

it seems common sense to me after i got back that it would be very Italian style but before we left we just kept hearing horror stories "ohh croatia is very pretty but terrible food" etc etc so when we found it to be be actually quite good we were very happy. We went to 3/4 out of the way "restaurants" in some cases families gardens! where no one spoke a word of english but the food was lovely

prsut- thats it, we took a load back with us and enjoyed it for days!

yorkshire Feb 6th, 2012 12:49 PM

I thought it was outstanding, though I am quite spoilt for choice at home, so at times I can find it lacking in variety. That said, the grilled fish is tops. The pizza is usually very good, and I also like the bread and pag cheese.

HG001London Feb 6th, 2012 12:55 PM

yeah agree yorkshire, the choice issues were the only think that could have been a bit more developed.

Agree re pizza too, one of the best pizza's we have had on our travels (and we have been to that place in naples everyone always talks about "da michele" i think)

Ackislander Feb 6th, 2012 01:00 PM

Strongly agree on seafood and especially pizza. Inland, nearer Zagreb, the food is much more what you think of as Balkan, with a strong Turkish component like Greek or Lebanese food. Delicious, but different from the food in the former Venetian areas along the coast.

One thing I did not get to try was any of the pig roasting on spits outside country taverns. It looked fantastic to an old NC BBQ fan, but I was passing through too early in the day.

HG001London Feb 6th, 2012 01:03 PM

ah, that is interesting to know thanks Ackislander...we will have to head inland next time to compare and contrast.

Arhh ive just had my dinner but am craving the seafood again!!

Judy Feb 6th, 2012 01:18 PM

We really enjoyed dining in Croatia. Like the OP, we were pleasantly surprised. We started in Dubrovnik and worked our way north. By the time we got to Rovinj we almost felt like we were in Tuscany but with more seafood.

Delaine Feb 6th, 2012 01:27 PM

HG001London,

We probably ate at the same place. The place I ate was called Pizzeria Tedeschi, near the end of the shaded waterfront promenade toward the Great Land Gate. It was delicious and completely packed the evening I was there.

HG001London Feb 6th, 2012 01:30 PM

Delaine...that is the very same place :-)

ellen75005 Feb 6th, 2012 02:02 PM

We also loved the salads in Croatia and the rest of the Balkans. I think many of the menus call it "chop salad". Very colorful and fresh ingredients. We were also pleasantly surprised by Croatian wine :).

HG001London Feb 6th, 2012 02:08 PM

hmm yes, we had a lovely lovely cold octopus/red onion/ and garlic salad (ok some might not call in a salad as such)...it had lovely fresh herbs and a really yummy vinegarette.

wine also excellent...and very good value we found.

We also had some of their sweet treats from a place in korcula- yummy almond cakes with lovely fillings.

kja Feb 6th, 2012 04:44 PM

I had several excellent meals and some lovely wines. And as expected, the cuisine varied in different parts of Croatia as a function of historical influences, climate, etc. Anyone who is interested can see my notes here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rant-notes.cfm

Dee_Dee Feb 9th, 2012 04:01 PM

I had the absolute best fried calamari I've ever eaten anywhere in an outdoor restaurant on the waterfront in Dubrovnik. It was so good, I went back 3 nights during my week stay there. The same restaurant also had lovely and huge salads with the absolute best tomatoes I think I've ever eaten. They must have been an heirloom variety the likes we can't get in the US. Every summer I grow my own tomatoes trying to find that same taste. I haven't found it yet. I need to go back to Croatia!

kismetchimera Feb 9th, 2012 04:14 PM

I enjoyed the fresh seafood and fresh fish in Dubrovnik.

My daughter and I spent 8 days there and every night we had excellent dinners.

Fresh mussels, shrimps, various types of fish..we had a feast every night..We never ordered any other types of food while we were there.

kismetchimera Feb 9th, 2012 04:15 PM

PS. Calamari..I forgot to mentions them..

HG001London Feb 10th, 2012 02:14 PM

ooh reminds me of the yumm scampi....which is nothing like scampi you get in the chippy!

scampi buzaro is yummy...delicious in tomato sauce with garlic....so good for bread dipping!!

we had several different ones and each was uniquely done by lovely as tasty sauce to mop up!

coolcamden Feb 14th, 2012 04:44 PM

I am reading up for our trip to Croatia and your posts are making me salivating. Can you guys give the exact names of some of your fav restaurants?

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...t-too-much.cfm

Dee Dee, do you remember the name of that place in Dubrovnik?

Dee_Dee Feb 15th, 2012 02:40 PM

Coolcamden - It was Lokanda Peskarija. I went the first week of September 2006. I thought it prudent I do some reading on tripadvisor before telling you the name. I'm sorry to say some of the recent reviews are not exactly glowing. From what many reviewers are saying, I definitely wouldn't order the risotto. Hopefully the fried calamari is still good though. I also had a sea bass dinner at Nautika 2. I remember that meal to be pricey & the service to be a bit pretentious, but quite good overall. Another restaurant I enjoyed was Proto. I dined on the upper terrace which was quite nice. The swordfish was quite good. I didn't take the time to check them on tripadvisor to see their current reviews. Hopefully they are still good. If you've been reading up on Dubrovnik, I'm sure you've read about the Buzza Bar. Don't miss it. One of the highlights of my stay in Dubrovnik. I hope you enjoy Croatia. I know I did.


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