Eating and Drinking in Croatia | The Turquoise Collection (2024)

Discover local Croatian dishes and what to expect when dining in Croatia

Croatia straddles two distinct culinary cultures, resulting in avaried and distinctive choice of dishes constructed fromwonderfully fresh ingredients. Both the seafood dishes of theMediterranean and the schnitzel and strudel dishes of centralEurope come together to offer some excellent menus and interestingflavours.

A new breed of chefs are bringing an adventurous and creativeapproach to Croatian cuisine, and opening some very cool eateriesin which to sample it.

There are excellent wines produced in Croatia, some making theirmark on the world stage and winning awards, as well as a goodchoice of fierce spirits.

Croatians attach more importance to lunch than dinner, ofteneating relatively late in the afternoon. As a result, manyeating establishments offer brunch options between 10.30 andmidday. Brunch options tend to be smaller portions of thefare served for lunch, with the addition of specials from time totime.

Generally speaking, there are 3 types of establishments in whichto find a good meal in Croatia. A Restoran (Croatian forrestaurant) and a Gostina, which is also a restaurant but oftenwith more basic fare, a smaller, less expensive choice and more"rough and ready" surroundings. Lastly a Konoba (pub ortavern) often serves hearty, simple, home style local dishes andwill likely be frequented by locals enjoying some liquidrefreshment with their food.

Pizza is very popular in Croatia and most often are prepared asItalian style thin crust with a wide choice of toppings, many ofwhich are inspired by the region - in particular, seafoodpizzas.

Sharing food and drink is very much part of Croatian culture,and with such a great climate for long lazy alfresco lunches, andwonderful ingredients, both from the land and the sea, it is easyto understand why.

Breakfast

Believe it or not, eating out for breakfast is not part of theCroatian culture (the most important meal is lunch) so it is notserved in that many outlets. Where it is, it will ususally consistof; bread, local ham, cheese, some butter and jam.

Coffeeis served as a strong blackespresso and usually good quality. If espresso is not your thing,you can ask for kava sa mlijekom (ormakijato) which comes with a little milk, kava sašlagomcomes with cream, andbijela kava(white coffee) is usually like agood caffè latte.

Tea is usually of the herbal variety;if you would like a Britsh style black tea ask forcrni čajor indijskičaj(Indian tea) samlijekomcomes with milk.

OctopusSalad 'salata od hobotnice'

Octopus Saladis loved by the Croatianson the Dalmatian Coast and is usually enjoyed as a starter, sidedish or light meal.

Restaurants vary some ingredients in the recipe, butthesimple version comprises ofoctopus, onion, tomato,olive oil, and lemon juice. it is made using medium to largeoctopus and should be tender, not chewy.

BlackRisotto'crni rižot'

Black Risotto is a very popular seafood rice dish usingcuttlefish or sometimes squid and can be found on most menus alongthe Dalmation coast.

Known as crni rižot inCroatian, this dish has an intense seafoodflavour and smelland is dyed black by breaking thecuttlefishes' ink sacs onto the rice near the end of the cookingprocess

Strukli is a filled pastry dish stuffed with cottagecheese and sour cream that can be prepared by bakingor boiling.

Commonin Zagreb and the Hrvatsko Zagorjeregion,štrukliare large parcels of dough filled withcottage cheese, whilepečeni(baked)štruklithe doughand cheese are baked in an earthenware dish, resulting in a crossbetween cheese soufflé and lasagne.

Moderninterpretations of this traditional dish canalso be found made with truffles, or sweet variations with cheeseand blueberries.

Pašticadais a traditional Dalmatian dishof slow-cooked beef prepared in a rich red sweetand sour plum sauce.

usually served with gnocchi orhomemadepasta, the dish can take a long time toprepare, the beef is marinated for up to 2 days in venegar, redwine and herbs,then braised slowly with vegetables for4 to 6 hours.

Brodet (fishstew)

Brodet is aspectacular 'one pot' Croatian seafood stewfrom the Dalmatian Coast. Sometimes calledBrudet or brodeto,its is made usingseveral types of fish, andtheingredients are layered but not stirred to keep the delicatefillets intact. Usually served with polenta to soak up the delicousflavours.

Palačinkeis a thin crêpe-like variety ofpancake.There are many, manyrecipeswhich work well and the beauty ofthe palačinkeis the endlessoptions of fillings which go well with them, althoughusually served with jam, chocolate sauce or walnuts.

Rožadaor Rozada is a delicious Croatiancaramel custard pudding from the Dubrovnik region. Similartoflanandcrème brûléewith a nice hint oflemon it can be found on most menus and is also good with acoffee.

Drinking

Spirits

Rakija or Rakia (a type of fruit brandy) is considered thenational drink of Croatia. In the Istrian and Dalmatian regions ofCroatia,rakijatends to be home-made exclusively fromgrapes, where the drink is also known locally as trapa or grappa(the latter name also being used in Italy).Normally,rakijais colorless, unless herbs or otheringredients are added. The alcohol content of rakija(pronounced rah-key-ya)is normally 40% ABV, butreal home-produced rakija can bestrongerand found in many variations andflavours.

Foreign brandiesand whiskies are available pretty much everywhere,however it would be rare to not encounter a Croatianspirit during your stay, - restaurants will often serve you up alittle aperitif prior to your meal.you'll most likelyencounter 'sljivovica'(plum brandy),'travarica'(herbal brandy),'kruskovac'(pear brandy),'orahovac'(walnut brandy) or'lozovaca'(grape brandy). Maraskino/maraschinois also made in Croatia, in the Zadarregion. Other localaperitifsyou should try are'pelinkovac'(a juniper-based spirit similar toJägermeister), 'borovnica'(blueberryliqueur) and 'biska' (amistletoe-flavoured spirit fromIstria.

Wine

Vineyards were firstintroduced to the Croatian coast in the 5th century BCbythe Greek settlers and wine production hasflourished ever since. During the Homeland War, many wineries andvineyards were destroyed but the winemaking industry has come onleaps and bounds in recent years.

Croatia now produces up to 700 wines, some of excellent quality.Purists may scoff, but Croatian's have the habit of diluting theirwine. In the south, they call it 'bevanda'(white or redwine mixed with plain water) and in the north, theycall it'gemist'(white wine and fizzymineral water).

Whilethere are plenty of decent-quality Chardonnays,Cabernets and Merlots in Croatia, it's really the indigenous ornear-indigenous grape varieties that are worthexploring. Labeled according to their origin, thereare 300+ official wine regions divided generally into coastal andinterior wines. The majority (67%) of wine is white and produced inthe interior while 32% is red and produced along the coast. Rose isrelatively rare. Some of the most famous Croatian wines include thered'Plavac Mali'from the Peljesac Peninsula and thewhites 'Posip'(Korcula/Peljesac Peninsula);'Grk'(Korcula);'Malvazija' (Istria); and 'Grasevina'(Croatian interior).'Prosek'is a sweet dessert wine, most common in Dalmatia.

Beer

Ožujsko(also knownas Žuja) is the most popular beer in Croatia,with 10 bottles being consumed every second. Ožujsko has a golden color, isrefreshing, has smooth taste & fine bitter flavor. It is bestserved at 5°C with rich and compact foam. It has won numerousgold medals and awards for its quality.

Most Croatian beer is of thelight lagervariety. Best knownareKarlovacko (brewed inKarlovac - hence the name),OzujskoandPan. You may also encounterOsjecko(first brewed in 1697 and fromOsijek); the dark beer Tomislavandthe Slovenian producedLasko.