The local dining scene in Dubrovnik offers the culinary quality and variety that should be expected of such a famous tourist destination.
The most popular seafood dishes ordered in Dubrovnik restaurants are octopus salad, fresh seashells, black squid risotto and grilled fish, accompanied by some of Croatia's fine wines. Dubrovnik restaurant prices are generally higher than elsewhere in Croatia, ranging from 8-10 € for a light lunch to over 100 € for a fine-dining menu. However, you can still find budget-friendly options offering simple, delicious meals.
In general, restaurants in Dubrovnik offer traditional Dalmatian (Mediterranean) and Croatian continental cuisine. Dubrovnik's dining scene also features Mexican, Bosnian, Korean, and Japanese cuisines. The working hours of most restaurants are from 11.00 - 24.00. A restaurant's menu is shown at the entrance, as well as the signs of the credit cards accepted (most major credit cards are generally accepted). The price includes taxes, but the service charge is almost never included and is not mandatory. It is a however customary that the guest who is satisfied with the service leaves a tip for the waiter, 10% of the total amount is usually a fair tip.
Here are some of our personal recommendations for restaurants in Dubrovnik.
Gastronomy of Croatia
The cuisine of Dalmatia and the islands follows the trend of modern nutritional norms. The brief thermal preparation of foodstuffs (mainly boiling or grilling) and plenty of fish, olive oil, vegetables and self-sown herbs found near the sea is why this cuisine is considered to be very healthy.
Dalmatian wines, like olive oil and salted olives, have been highly esteemed since ancient times, which the present names of some of the indigenous grape sorts reveal (Grk : Greek, from the island of Korčula; Prc from the island of Hvar). Famous wines include Dingač and Postup from the Pelješac Peninsula, then there are Pošip and Grk from Korčula; Maraština from the island of Lastovo, and also Prošek (a sweet dessert wine), the very strong grape (loza) and herbal brandies (travarica, grapes with medicinal herbs).
Although even today every area has its own way of preparing certain dishes, the cuisine of the islands represents a separate world, their distinguishing features having been discovered only recently, such as the cuisine of the islands of Hvar, Korčula, Brač (vitalac, a dish made from lamb offal wrapped in lamb gut and spike-roasted), Vis (spike-roasted pilchards, as during the Ancient Greek period; flat cake with pilchards from Komiža and Vis, related to the modern-day pizza).
Fresh sea fish (dog's tooth, gilt head, sea-bass, grouper, mackerel, pilchards) grilled, boiled or marinated; then there are mollusks (squid, cuttlefish, octopus), crustaceans (shrimps, lobsters) and shellfish (mussels, oysters, date-shells) boiled in a fish stew or as a risotto.
Of the meat dishes, prosciutto is unarguably unrivaled - pork leg smoked and dried in the bora (from Drniš), served with dry, mostly sheep's cheese (famous sorts of cheese are those from Pag and Dubrovnik) and salted green and black olives, capers and pickled onions. Lamb is also very highly valued, especially boiled or baked on an open fire (Franjevačka begovica from Visovac, or lopiz from the island of Iž); also, dried mutton (kaštradina), roast beef, Dalmatian stew (pašticada) with gnocchi, offered by many restaurants.
Lightly boiled vegetables are also favorite dishes (Swiss chard with potatoes, tomato sauce) often a mixture of cultivated and self-sown vegetables, spiced with olive oil and wine vinegar, or served with meat (manestra - pasta with minced meat; arambašići - stuffed vine leaves).
Regions with an abundance of fresh water are famous for their frog, eel and river crab dishes (the Neretva valley, Trilj and the Cetina basin). Typical Dalmatian desserts win the heart with their simplicity. The most usual ingredients include Mediterranean fruit, dried figs and raisins, almonds, honey, eggs (rafioli, mandulat, smokvenjak, the gingerbread biscuits from the island of Hvar - rozata).
source: Croatian National Tourist Board
Interested in whipping up some tasty Croatian dishes at home? Check out these Easy-to-Make Croatian Recipes.