Presented in partnership with the Croatian National Tourist Board
Discover Dalmatia’s finest fare, where fresh Adriatic seafood, sun-ripened produce and centuries-old recipes deliver a feast for the senses
Home to herb-sewn mountains and rocky islands cradled by the Adriatic, Dalmatia has long been a land of abundance. Set along some 230 miles of coastline, it’s a region where rugged landscapes meet blended cultures, and where the food reflects a history deeply connected to the sea and land.
The ancient Greeks and Romans both settled here, cultivating vines and olives, and today wine and olive oil are still intrinsic to the local diet. They were extremely fond of Adriatic seafood, from sea bass and sea bream to lobster, oysters and octopus, and the Romans are said to have introduced the method of curing ham (salting it and drying it on the cold north-easterly wind) to make prized Dalmatian pršut, which is not dissimilar to prosciutto.
Later, much of Dalmatia came under the Venetian Empire (15th-18th century), and its influence is still seen in the region's risotto and pasta dishes, as well as in brudet, a fish casserole often served with polenta. This era also hailed the production of highly esteemed Paški sir – a hard dry sheep's cheese, akin to pecorino.
With tourism to the region booming, the last decade has seen Dalmatian restaurants reinterpreting and adapting traditional recipes, using seasonal and local ingredients to create colourful and creative dishes.
These restaurants follow global gourmet trends: for instance, stracciatella cheese from Puglia in southern Italy is in the spotlight right now, as are raw fish dishes such as tuna tartare and ceviche. Vegetarian diets are also now widely acknowledged: a visit to the open-air markets in Split or Zadar will reveal asparagus, radishes and strawberries in spring; tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, figs and melons in summer; and spinach, pumpkins, pomegranates and walnuts in autumn. And with such an abundance of seasonal vegetables, Dalmatia’s best restaurants have been inspired to create inventive, meat-free options.
Take a tour of the region’s standout dishes, below, where vivid flavours and top-quality Dalmatian ingredients capture the essence of this stunning slice of the country.
Dubrovnik
Restaurant 360
@360dubrovnik
Oysters, XO sauce, fennel cream, beurre blanc, crispy caviar
Since Roman times, the waters around Pelješac Peninsula have been famed for oysters. At Restaurant 360, they're delivered fresh daily from a family-run shellfish farm in Brijesta. They're often eaten raw, but this dish sees them blanched in their shells, and dressed with spicy XO sauce, beurre blanc and fennel foam, before being topped with crispy caviar balls made from tempura, rice flour, cuttlefish ink and dried porcini mushrooms. Open in summer.
Bugenvila, Cavtat
@bugenvila_cavtat
John Dory, smoked cabbage and clams
The daily catch always varies with the seasons. In spring, John Dory, scorpionfish and dentex abound, while in summer, it’s monkfish, turbot and hake. Head to Bugenvila in April, when the tasting menu features its signature dish, John Dory brined and lightly pan-fried in olive oil with clams and cabbage, a vegetable with deep roots in traditional Croatian cuisine and which, in this recipe, is buttered and cooked in a smoker. Open in spring.
Gradska Kavana Arsenal
@gradskakavanaarsenalrestaurant
Black risotto with cuttlefish and sage
A classic Dalmatian dish of Venetian origin, chef Tomislav Zelić's risotto is rich and creamy, and coloured with cuttlefish ink. He infuses the stock with sage and pours white wine and prošek – a Dalmatian dessert wine – over the cuttlefish and rice while cooking. Finally, he adds olive oil and grated sheep's cheese, similar to Italian pecorino, then serves the risotto with a dollop of stracciatella, fresh sage and crispy rice chips. Open all year.
Marco Polo
@marcopolodubrovnik
Octopus carpaccio
Carpaccio dishes are of Venetian origin, and at the fittingly named Marco Polo, octopus from the island of Korčula is simmered in water till soft, then thinly sliced and marinated. It’s assembled in a mould and served with cherry tomatoes and rocket and capers, which grow wild in Dalmatia, and doused in the chef's ‘secret sauce’, a balsamic vinegar and olive oil concoction. Open in summer.
Filippi, Korčula
@restaurantfilippi
Cuttlefish arancini with salsa and garlic aioli
Inspired by Sicilian arancini, Filippi's recipe is based on Dalmatian black risotto. Cubes of cuttlefish are fried with diced red onion and garlic in olive oil, doused with pošip (local white wine from the island of Korčula), then the rice and cuttlefish stock is added. Once cooked and cooled, the risotto is formed into balls, rolled in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, and deep-fried until golden and served with tomato salsa with garlicky aioli. Open in summer.
Šibenik
Konoba Vinko, Konjevrate
@konobavinko
Veal peka, prepared under a baking lid
This rustic cooking method from the Dalmatian hinterland uses a peka – a cast iron domed lid – to slow-cook meat over glowing embers. Veal (well-seasoned with salt and pepper), potatoes, carrots, onions and an apple are placed in a dish greased with lard. It’s then covered with the peka and buried under hot ashes for two and a half hours. When almost ready, it’s splashed with rakija, a spirit made from fermented grapes. The result is divinely succulent. Open all year.
Pelegrini
@pelegrini_sibenik
Local prawns, young fish, apple and fig powder
At Pelegrini, award-winning chef Rudolf Štefan is known for his use of local seasonal produce, including some lesser-known varieties of fish and shellfish. Here, škrljuna (big sweet firm prawns from the River Krka near Šibenik) are shelled and flashed in a pan, served with a potato-based cream flavoured with fig leaf powder and horseradish, along with fried whitebait. Open in summer.
Fine Food Murter
@finefoodmurter
Adriatic squid stuffed with Mediterranean vegetables and couscous
This dish combines local ingredients with influences from across the Mediterranean. Finely chopped onion, garlic, tomato, carrot, courgette, rock samphire and squid tentacles are sauteed in olive oil, the couscous then added and allowed to steep, before being seasoned with fresh herbs and mint. Once cooled, the couscous is used to stuff the squid, which is fried in olive oil and simmered in the pan, then served sliced and carefully arranged on the plate. Open in summer.
Split
Bokeria
@bokeriacroatia
Shark tacos, Dalmatian pršut, burrata and ceviche
Bokeria's appetiser selection includes artisanal Dalmatian pršut ham and burrata served with blood orange, pomegranate and pistachio. Then there's ceviche of sea bass, marinated in lemon juice, with red onion, pomegranate and fresh mint, served with sourdough focaccia, and finally tacos made with homemade tortillas and stuffed with fried shark, crispy sweet potato and drizzled with pico de gallo salsa and garlic aioli. Open all year.
Zrno Soli
@zrnosoli
Root vegetables with artisan stracciatella and macaroni filled with parmesan cream
More and more Dalmatian restaurants are catering for vegetarians, and Zrno Soli has an entire menu dedicated to plant-based dishes, called Green Revolution. This artfully presented cold appetiser combines baked beetroot, turnips and carrots, stracciatella cheese, a beet ‘cookie’ filled with parmesan cream, and a sorbet of fermented beets and carrots. It was inspired by the great French chef Michel Bras' gargouillou dish, which features 60 different vegetables and flowers. Open all year.
Zoi
@zoi.split
Ravioli filled with chicken tingul, prošek and butternut squash
In Dalmatia, tingul generally refers to a chicken-based casserole. In this version, semolina pasta is filled with a minced chicken stuffing with caramelised vegetables and prošek, a Dalmatian sweet wine. It’s served with a creamy sauce with a base of roast butternut squash infused with fresh thyme and olive oil. Open in summer.
Jeny, Tučepi
@jenyrestaurant
Lamb with aubergine, ratatouille praline and pistachio
Lamb is popular in the region’s mountainous hinterland and on the islands of Brač and Pag, where it’s normally roasted whole on a spit. At Jeny, on the lower slopes of Mount Biokovo, it’s cooked sous vide for 20 minutes and served with aubergine prepared in two different ways – pureed with burnt miso and garlic into a mousseline, and a praline made from caramelised ratatouille. Open in summer.
Šug
@sugrestaurant
Kraljevska tećada
Inspired by traditional Dalmatian brudet, a hearty casserole of mixed fish cooked with olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato, wine and parsley, this dish highlights the Adriatic's best offerings: white fish, lobster, shellfish, octopus and shrimp, plus macaroni. The fleshy bits are of course delicious, but the real joy is the sauce, best mopped up with crusty bread. Open all year.
Zadar
Foša
@fosarestaurant
Beetroot, horseradish, yogurt and chives
Foša's colourful plant-based dish combines beetroot confit with yogurt and horseradish mousse, flavoured with thyme and glazed with beet juice, agar and lemon foam, plus mustard caviar made from pickled mustard seeds, then lovingly sprinkled with chives. Open all year.
Kaštel
@hotelbastionzadar
Tuna tartare with avocado
Using the freshest Adriatic tuna, this tartare sees the fish cut into small cubes and dressed with soy sauce, lime juice, salt, pepper and local olive oil. The tartare is placed in a mould, layered with cubes of fresh avocado that give it its extra creamy texture, before being topped with caviar. It's served with a crunchy wafer leavened with Paški sir (sheep's cheese from the island of Pag) and shaped in the form of delicate, needlepoint lace, for which Pag is known. Open all year.
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