Work through the list in order. Hide the notes when you know what to do.
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Try black risotto (Crni rižot)
Dalmatian rice cooked with cuttlefish, using its ink sack to stain the grains pitch-black and impart a rich, savory brininess. Finished with garlic, white wine, parsley, and olive oil.
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Order Dalmatian pašticada with gnocchi
A festive beef round larded with garlic, cloves, carrots, and bacon, marinated in vinegar, then braised for hours in sweet prošek wine, prunes, and figs. Served exclusively with homemade potato gnocchi (*njoki*).
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Try meat or octopus under the bell (Peka)
An ancient slow-cooking ritual where veal, lamb, or octopus is roasted with potatoes and herbs under a heavy cast-iron dome (*peka*) buried beneath smoldering wood embers.
Peka takes hours of slow braising, meaning almost every konoba requires ordering it at least 3–4 hours or a full day in advance.
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Order scampi na buzaru
The culinary pride of the Kvarner Gulf: sweet native scampi tossed in a bubbling sauce of olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley, tomatoes, and dry white wine. Eating with your hands is expected.
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Try Adriatic fish stew with polenta (Brudet)
A robust fisherman's stew made from at least three types of rockfish, eel, or scorpionfish simmered with onions, vinegar, and tomatoes. Traditionally ladled over warm, creamy polenta.
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Taste Zagorski štrukli
A comforting staple from the Zagorje hills and Zagreb: stretched pastry filled with fresh cottage cheese, eggs, and sour cream. Served either boiled and topped with toasted breadcrumbs or baked in heavy cream.
Zagreb features dedicated specialty spots serving strictly štrukli in both savory baked styles and sweet interpretations with berries.
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Sample Paški sir sheep's cheese
A world-renowned hard sheep's milk cheese produced on Pag island near Zadar. Fierce coastal winds dust the pastures with sea salt, seasoning the wild sage and herbs grazed by the hardy local sheep.
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Order Istrian fuži with truffles
Handmade Istrian pasta diamonds folded into quills to capture rich sauces. Tossed in melted butter and cream, then blanketed with shaved white or black truffles from the Motovun forest.
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Try Poljički soparnik chard pie
A UNESCO-protected flat chard pie from Dalmatia's Poljica region. Finely chopped Swiss chard and red onions are baked between paper-thin dough sheets directly on a stone hearth beneath wood ashes.
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Taste Dalmatian pršut
Dry-cured pork ham salted with sea salt, cold-smoked over beechwood, and cured by the icy northern *bura* wind for over a year. Sliced paper-thin and paired with local olives.
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Slurp fresh Ston oysters
European flat oysters harvested in the pristine Mali Ston Bay near Dubrovnik, where nutrient-dense freshwater springs meet Adriatic brine. Best enjoyed raw on ice with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
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Order a Zagreb steak (Zagrebački odrezak)
A Zagreb bistro classic consisting of tender veal cutlet stuffed with smoked ham and melting cheese, rolled, breaded, and fried until deeply golden and crisp.
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Eat ćevapi in flatbread
Grilled skinless minced meat sausages tucked inside a pillowy pocket bread (*somun* or *lepinja*). Served strictly with chopped raw onions and rich clotted cream (*kajmak*) or pepper relish (*ajvar*).
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Taste coastal fritule Desserts and pastries
Delicate bite-sized Dalmatian yeast doughnuts scented with lemon zest, raisins, and a dash of rakija or dark rum to keep them from absorbing frying oil. Dusted heavily with powdered sugar.
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Try Samoborska kremšnita custard slice Desserts and pastries
A revered custard cake originating in Samobor near Zagreb: a generous slab of jiggly, warm vanilla-egg cream sandwiched between two flaky layers of puff pastry.
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Order Dubrovnik rožata Desserts and pastries
A silky medieval custard pudding from Dubrovnik akin to crème caramel. Its unmistakable floral aroma comes from Rozalin, a rare local liqueur infused with fragrant Dubrovnik rose petals.
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Crunch on traditional kroštule Desserts and pastries
Crisp ribbon-shaped carnival pastries twisted into loose knots, deep-fried until light golden, and dusted with powdered sugar.
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Experience Croatian coffee culture (Kava) Non-alcoholic drinks
Coffee is the cornerstone of Croatian social life. Order a *kava s mlijekom* (espresso with milk) at an outdoor cafe terrace and savor it slowly for over an hour like a true local.
Coffee is invariably served with a complimentary glass of tap water.
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Order an iconic Cedevita Non-alcoholic drinks
An iconic Croatian vitamin drink ubiquitous since the late 1960s. In bars, it is served as a branded glass of ice water alongside a single-serving packet of citrus granules that you mix yourself.
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Drink a refreshing Gemišt Non-alcoholic drinks
Inland Croatia's ultimate summer refresher: crisp dry white wine (typically Graševina) mixed half-and-half with sparkling mineral water like Jamnica.
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Sip artisanal herbal travarica Local alcohol
A traditional grape brandy macerated with a dozen wild coastal herbs including sage, rosemary, wormwood, and mint. Often poured ice-cold as a digestive welcome in konobas.
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Taste indigenous Plavac Mali red wine Local alcohol
Dalmatia's signature red grape and an ancestor to Zinfandel. Grown on steep, sun-drenched coastal slopes, yielding robust, full-bodied wines bursting with notes of dried figs, blackberries, and scrub pine.
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Taste authentic Zadar Maraschino liqueur Local alcohol
Zadar's storied clear cherry liqueur crafted since the 16th century by distilling native Marasca cherries along with their crushed stones, aged in ash wood vats.
