Tips for Croatian restaurants
 

Taking the family to Croatia and will be going from Zadar to Istria.
Any recent restaurant recommendations from fellow travellers would be very welcome. Thanks in advance.

Try to see Plitvice lakes,it is on your way towards Istria and should not be missed.
At the top of our list of restaurants is Le Mandrac in Volosko, near Opatija, interesting croatian food with a modern twist. In Pula,Valsabbion was the best but is a bit expensive. 2 miles from Porec is Dvi Murve, another favourite. In Rovinj we liked Veli Joze, with an interesting interior. Try to get to Zigante,in Livade,for fab truffles. There are many more, as this part of Croatia is blessed good restaurants.

Thanks DansDelight.

Da I need to book a table in recommended restaurants?

Thank you DansDelight. I have put Plitvic on my radar. Is it ok to bring kids in all of the mentioned restaurants?

Favorite fish ever eaten in a restaurant was in Korcula; it was called "skrpina." I will never forget how delicious it was!

At Le Mandrac there is a good childrens menu and i have seen children eating at Zigante, not sure about the others.

Saki - If you find yourself in Opatija, my recommendation is Instanka - it's just up the hill from Hotel Bristol. Good Croatian food, excellent, attentative service, and great prices. Tables both inside and out. Madonnia is a good pizza/pasta place-very casual and the food is good here too. Again, both indoor/outdoor dining. ENJOY!

oops, that should be Istanka-sorry!

Booking these restaurants is advisable.

lemandrac.com 00385 (0)51 701357

valsabbion.hr 00385 (0)52 218033

dvimurve.hr 00385 (0)52 434115

zigantetartufi.com 00385 (0)52 664302

Thank you all for recommendations.
I'm thinking about going to Split for a day (or two ). Any good restaurants there?

Two that i know are,Sumica, a 20min walk from the Riva and Stellon, maybe 15min from the Riva.

We just loved Sumica, not cheap but worth it, to get there walk out past Bacvice beach. Konoba Marjan is more central and worth a visit, good food, friendly place and not too expensive.
Telephone 021 389897 for Sumica,you should make a reservation here.

Konoba Marjan. Tel 00 385 (0)98 756417

Hi saki, when are you going? Would love to hear of your adventures, especially on restaurants, as things can change so quickly.
Thanking you

We changed our route and have stayed in Istria & Kvarner region.

We were so impresed with the food in restaurants we visited.
On our first night we visited Valsabbion in Pula. Decor and atmosphere were stunning, also the food & croatian wine paring were good. As mentioned before pricey but worth it. Than we ate in Rovinj , restaurant Monte. Food combinations & presentation were interesting but flavours were not that strong and little bit clashy.
Than an excellent meal in Toklaria - Sovinjsko Polje , very romantic and interesting local food , a bit overcooked, but would recommend this "konoba" definetly.
And we finish our eating trip in Kvarner , our best food pick would be restaurant Le Mandrac , Volosko near Opatija with stunning promenade called "Lungo Mare". We ordered degustation menu , 9 or 10 little portions , with such an interesting "new way" local seafood that we spoke about the dinner 5 days after.
It is worth going only on gastronomic trip to Croatia and we are planning to come back for more. Next time we will go to Zigante, Milan, Blu, again Le Mandrac and Draga di Lovrana, and more and more.

Saki--thank you so much for your detailed report, it is great to have up to date information on restaurants. Was Toklarija easy to find? it took us ages as there were so few signs.
Thanks again

I have returned for 5 days trip to istria and I will write down my latest opinions.

We started our restaurant journey in Livade , famous for its truffle king - Zigante ( www.zigante.hr )- We were recommended this restaurant last time we were in Istria. Complete dissapointment. The service was clumsy , we had to eat something we did not order and the food was very basic with not so good products. The bill for 2 came to 2300 kn , rip off considering the quality of the meal. After bad start we returned to Pula and had dinner in Milan (www.milan1967.hr ). Food was very traditional but with good product. We were very impresed with wine list. Dessert was excellent. Comparing it to our visit to Valsabbion In Pula last time ,if we are to choose between these two. we would go to Valsabbion ( www.valsabbion.net )again even it is much more expensive.
Than we drove to Opatija and stayed 2 days. We were recommended restaurant Bevanda by hotel staff in Milenij , as the best place in Opatija. We had lunch there and the position is utterly romantic even though we were sitting inside as strong north wind "Bura" was stopping us from enjoying our lunch al fresco. We had average food but very good wine was recommended by young sommelier called Branko. If I compare again my last experience in restaurant Le Mandrac ( www.lemandrac.com ) i would choose Le Mandrac as food was top notch there and wine was perfectly matched with "exploring" degustation menu.

The truffle restaurant Zigante in Livade is off our list, the prices have gone through the roof but we luckily found a lovely place nearby offering better food with reasonable prices, the name is Konoba Dolina.

I agree on the posts about Zigante. We went there last fall and felt ripped off.

Veli Joze in Rovinj is a good restaurant, as is Instanka in Opatija.

If you are headed further south to Dubrovnik, I recommend you take a detour to Mali Ston. First of all, it's a really interesting place, with a "mini Great Wall of China" that's not listed in tour books. Secondly, Kapetanova Kuca, makes the most fabulous squid ink risotta.