41 Best Restaurants in Zagreb and Environs, Croatia

Guests looking to unplug in a rural setting away from city life can head 15 minutes northwest of Kumrovec or eight minutes southwest of Veliki Tabor to Sumak, where the loudest noises aren't caused by freeways or crowds of people - but by frogs. This serene restaurant-slash-mini-villa sits in a traditional house with dark wooden shutters and elements surrounded by well-landscaped gardens, including a fish pond covered by a small bridge, among which classic lunch, dinner, coffee, and drinks are served. The owners will happily point visitors to local attractions, depending on their interests.

This old-fashioned restaurant with vaulted ceilings, wood-paneled walls, and crisp white table linens was the first one in Croatia to earn the certificate of Croatian Authentic Cuisine. The menu features carefully presented traditional Croatian dishes not easy to find at other restaurants—especially those native to the Zagreb region—such as Zagorska juha (Zagorje-style potato soup with ham and mushrooms), pečena teletina (roast veal), and punjene paprike (stuffed peppers). This is a place beloved by locals and tourists alike, so recommendations are recommended. The restaurant is just off Ilica, a five-minute walk from the main square on a cobblestone side street. 

On the road between Zagreb and Sljeme, this restaurant is renowned for game and traditional Zagreb dishes and desserts. The wine list is excellent, and the interior design is marked by trophies, hunting weapons, old paintings, and big chandeliers. Stari Puntijar is adjacent to a hotel, and both are run by the Puntijar family.

Popular demand has helped this fast-growing chain expand to 11 locations around Zagreb, including this one on Frankopanska near the main square and two other more central spots on Tkalčićeva and Bogovićeva. The restaurant offers a range of all-natural burgers with locally procured toppings, including tasty vegetarian options as well. Don't miss out on the truffle fries.

The menu of this chic restaurant offers everything from sushi—both traditional Japanese rolls and American-style varieties—and teriyaki to wok dishes and specialties that merge Asian and European cuisine. Black chairs, black place mats, and cherry-tone wood floors set the scene in one of the glittery glass-walled spaces in this Lower Town hot spot. The drinks menu—including sake, of course—is extensive.

In the village of Železna Gora, some 5 km (3 miles) south of Štrigova along a country road to Čakovec, stands one of the area's best restaurants, where you can dine on everything from poultry to pork to wild game to seafood. The restaurant is in a lovely 19th-century country villa with wood-beam ceilings. A spacious terrace overlooks the area's sweeping vineyards, and on a breezy day you'll hear the clackety-clack of the windmill just outside.

Sitting five minutes south of the main square by foot, this airy modern restaurant sits prettily in the atrium of Zagreb's Youth Theater. Chef Filip Horvat, who trained in Michelin-starred establishments, serves up various European cuisines with healthy ingredients, from Mediterranean seafood dishes to Austrian meat plates to pastas, all with his own creative touches. 

Superb food and friendly professional staff are hallmarks of this quaint unpretentious restaurant. The menu changes frequently, depending on the seasons and what's fresh at the morning market, but you can expect a variety of Mediterranean main courses, as well as a selection of wines that includes all of Croatia's best varieties.

If you need a dose of sugar to perk you up, try some authentic Samobor kremšnita, which can be tasted at its best at this otherwise small and smoky café with a large outdoor patio. It's one of the original spots in town to make the traditional dessert.

This combined restaurant, winery, and villa is a 15-minute drive south of Krapina and offers wine tastings, traditional Zagorje food (duck with mlinci, anyone?), and unbeatable views of the vineyard-carpeted hills. A straw-covered terrace, open hearth, and classic dark wooden elements complete the ambience, and there's also a "picnic bar" where visitors can recline on the grass in lawn chairs as they sip on house-made wine. For those who want to extend a stay, the property has some airy apartments simply decorated in the alpine Zagorje style (one has an outdoor hot tub), and a pool area is available as well.

If you want to strengthen the body and nourish the spirit with seasonal organic fruits and vegetables in a vegan haven, walk a few blocks west from the main square to Zrno, which offers fresh vegetables, tofu, seitan, warm sourdough bread, biodynamic coffee, tea, juice, smoothies, and shakes. All ingredients are delivered each day directly from Croatia’s first 100% organic farm of the same name.