The local dining scene in Dubrovnik is starting to offer the culinary quality and variety that should be expected of such a famous tourist destination, with many places offering simple, wholesome dishes at wallet-friendly prices. The most popular seafood dishes ordered in many Dubrovnik restaurants are octopus salad, fresh seashells, black squid risotto and grilled fish, accompanied by some of Croatia's fine wines.
Recommended restaurants in Dubrovnik
Recommended restaurants in Dubrovnik Riviera
- Konoba Konavle, Konavle
Gastronomy - general info
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; arambašiæi - 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
Restaurants - Good to know
There are more than 60 restaurants in Dubrovnik, offering a great variety of dishes.
In general, restaurants offer traditional Dalmatian cuisine, Croatian continental cuisine, and international cuisine, including a Mexican and a Japanese restaurant in Dubrovnik. 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 customary, however, 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.
Dubrovnik Region Specialties - secret recipes revealed
Black Risotto
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Ready in: 30 Minutes
- Serves: 6 people
- 500 g cuttlefish or whole squid
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 410g Arborio rice
- 810g fish soup
- 500 g shrimps
- 500g shells (different kind)
- 3 teaspoons chopped parsley
- 3 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 3 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 dl white wine
Directions:
Clean the cuttlefish by removing eyes, beak and transparent quill. Remove and reserve ink sac. Cut the cuttlefish into strips. Sauté garlic in the oil until translucent. Add the cuttlefish and cook over moderate heat until golden, stirring from time to time. Add salt, pepper, parsley, and tomato paste and reduce heat. Add the rice and stir briefly over high heat to blend flavors. Add the ink from the cuttlefish sac, and then little by little the fish soup. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Add white vine, stir briefly until the risotto boils. Stir once more and serve.
Lobster Salad
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Ready in: 45 Minutes
- Serves: 4 people
- 2 kilo lobster
- 2 medium head garlic
- 2 spring onion
- salt to taste
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon vinegar
- black pepper to taste
- 4 teaspoons cappers
Directions:
Cook a lobster in a large bowl for 15 minutes. Cool it, cut its shell horizontally, take the lobster meat out (tail), chop it. Chop garlic, spring onion, and cappers. Place the lobster meat in a large bowl. Add garlic, spring onion, cappers, salt, olive oil, vinegar, and pepper; mix until ingredients are combined. Put the mixture back into lobster shell. decorate and serve.
Motar Salad
- Prep Time: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Cooling time: 120 Minutes
- Ready in: 15 days
- Motar is Adriatic plant that grows at the rocks near the Sea. It is served with Dalmatian smoked ham and cheese, or it can be served as a salad.
Directions:
Wash motar and put it into salted water. Cook it for 20 minutes. Cool it and put into vase in which you previously added water and vinegar. Keep it for 15 days in a cold and dark place. After that time it is ready for serving.
Dubrovnik's Rozata
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Cooling time: 120 Minutes
- Ready in: 3 Hours 5 Minutes
- Serving: 6 people
- Ingredients:
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 liter of milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar with water, stirring, until melted and light brown. Pour into a pan or cake mold, tilting to coat the bottom of the pan. Set aside. In a bowl, gently whisk together evaporated milk, condensed milk, and egg yolks and mix. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place baking dish on towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake in preheated oven 45 to 50 minutes, until set. Let cool completely. To unfold, run a knife around the edges of the pan and invert the rozata onto a rimmed serving platter. Refrigerate 2 hours and pour with Caramel Sauce before serving.
Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup heavy cream
Directions:
In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a deep caramel color and has the consistency of thin syrup, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cream, return the saucepan to the high heat, and boil the sauce until it regains the consistency of thick syrup, about 2 minutes. Cool it.