Croatia has quickly become one of the most popular travel destinations in Europe. Our PR and Social Media Executive, Ellen, recently took a roadtrip across three of the countries’ most popular cities, gaining a full spectrum of Croatian cuisine;

Beginning our trip in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, my partner Sean and I dropped our bags off at our hotel and made a beeline straight for Heritage. Tucked away down a side street near Ban Josip Jelačić Square in the city centre, Heritage specialises in traditional Croatian food and has a very small brick-and-mortar location with just two tables outside and a handful of stools inside. Luckily, we snagged an available table, and asked the owner what he would recommend. We set our trip up for a good start with a couple of flatbreads packed with black truffles from the Istra region of Croatia, olive oil from Krka National Park,  prosciutto from North Dalmatia, and a selection of hard cheese from Pag island with walnuts and fig jam from the surroundings of Trogir. Of course, most of these locations went right over my head, but it was very impressive to hear our server list them off so effortlessly, and the taste lived up to the thought behind the carefully curated menu.

After lunch we visited the Museum of Chocolate – it’s important to take in the culture on holiday afterall! – where we were given a sample box to take around with us. Each section of the museum was colour coded to the sample you were to taste as you read the history of this sweet treat, starting with raw cocoa beans when they were first discovered over 4000 years ago, to dark chocolate, then milk chocolate as it was refined and sweetened, and innovative new ruby chocolate. Though my favourite period was probably the French Renaissance, when drinking liquid chocolate was popular – we were given spoons for this part of the exhibition which we could fill with melted white, milk, or dark chocolate.

Having recovered from our afternoon sugar coma, we made our way to Vinodol for dinner. This decision was based on positive reviews and mentions in a few different travel blogs, though it failed to live up to expectations in our opinion. Nothing terrible, but certainly nothing to write home about.

On Day 2 we fuelled up for the day at popular brunch spot, Melt, where Sean had a ‘healthy’ fry-up (think avocado, feta, and tomatoes instead of sausages and hashbrowns), and I had a chicken bagel with house-made cream cheese, brie, and agave. This was so good that we actually went back the following morning! Melt is also a gelato bar, so it would’ve been rude not to grab a scoop as we stepped back out into the late summer sun – the peach and pistachio flavours were particularly good.

Ready to take on the day, we embarked on a walking tour of the old town. Our guide was able to provide us with some great food recommendations, so once it was over we headed straight for one of her suggestions; La Štruk. This is one of the highest rated restaurants on TripAdvisor, but there’s a catch… It only serves one dish, štrukli. Often described as a pastry, I’d say štrukli has a closer consistency of cooked lasagne sheets. It’s a simple dough, typically filled with cottage cheese and baked or boiled and traditionally served as a savoury dish, though La Štruk also offer sweet options. We decided to try both, splitting a salted cheese one and a honey and walnut one, and both were delicious! This is one spot you don’t want to miss.

Based on how good our lunch was, we followed our guide’s other recommendations for dinner. There were a few to choose from, but in the end we opted for Stari Fijaker, as she had described that as ‘Croatian Grandma’s Cooking’, with some great examples of northern Croatian cuisine. As we were heading south the following day, it seemed only right to try northern food to see how it compared. This did not disappoint. Croatia is right on the line between beer-and-potato Europe, and wine-and-tomato Europe, with this restaurant leaning into the former style menu. Sean order ‘Peasant Lunch’, which entailed a generous portion of various kinds of meats and sausages, bean stew, and mash, while I had a ham and chicken stew in a rich sauce, served with a small mountain of gnocchi. Luckily our guide had warned us beforehand of the generous portions. If you’re extremely hungry you might be able to split a starter and have a main each, but even our appetites were satiated with just a main.

The next stop on our trip was the coastal city of Split. The first difference we noticed was how much busier the area was compared to Zagreb, packed with tourists. As a result, we had to wait roughly 15-45 minutes for a table at each of the places we ate.

To kick things off we went for brunch at Ciri Biri Bela, recommended to us by RL Senior Account Executive, Dani, and this one was worth the wait! We ordered the ultimate breakfast for two – pastries, fruit, eggs, yoghurt, and a selection of smoked and dry cured meats. Yum!

After our filling breakfast we decided we’d only need a light snack to tide us over until dinner time, so headed to Uje Oil Bar, located inside the walls of Diocletian’s Palace (the only Roman Emperor to ever retire, who then moved into his ‘retirement home’ in his home region of Dalmatia). Here we sampled several types of local cheese, with a mix of cow-milk, sheep-milk, and goat-milk, and some blended varieties. This place also offers a great selection of gifts for oil lovers. A couple of our tour guides had mentioned trying olive oil on ice cream, and although I did try this later in the trip, it wasn’t for me. The option of putting pumpkin oil on ice cream sounds much more appealing, though I didn’t get to try that this time.

In the evening we selected a restaurant more or less at random, and found ourselves dining at Fig. Also within the walls of Diocletian’s Palace, Fig is nestled in an open courtyard with steps leading up to apartments overlooking the dining tables, making for a quaint atmosphere. This made a bit of a nice break from traditional Croatian food, as Sean tucked into a Green Chilli Burrito, and I enjoyed one of the best burgers I’ve ever had, featuring blueberry and jalapeno!

Following our brief stint in Split, we continued our journey south and arrived in Dubrovnik, where we would spend most of our trip. If we’d thought Split was busy, Dubrovnik was practically overflowing with tourists, despite peak season supposedly being over (this was mid September, so I would hate to see what it was like in July!). If you’re considering a trip here but want to beat the crowds, it may be worth waiting an extra month and going in October instead. Despite this, restaurants were better equipped to deal with large crowds, with speedy service and organised waiting systems.

As we ventured towards Old Town, we decided to try our luck with Dubravka 1836, just outside the Pile Gate. We timed it perfectly and managed to get a table right next to the wall overlooking the bay area between the Old Town walls and Fort Lovrijenac. It’s worth noting that Dubravka 1836 is part of a trio of restaurants, alongside Gradska Kavana Arsenal near the Old Port, and Panorama at the top of the Dubrovnik cable car. If you eat at one, they give you a 10% off voucher to use at their partner restaurants. Dubravka 1836 also has an attached gelato bar, which will also give you the voucher, so I’d recommend grabbing a sweet treat and circling back once you have the discount! Following recommendations from our server, we split a starter portion of truffle cream tortellini, and a prosciutto pizza, both of which were delicious!

Although we didn’t manage to get a space at Panorama, we did get the chance to try Gradska Kavana Arsenal on a different day. Set under scenic arches overlooking the Old Port, this venue offers a great ambience. We were pleasantly surprised that the menu was very different than 1836, as we thought being part of a group might mean a standardised menu. Arsenal offered slightly more upscale dishes, with Sean ordering a sea bass while I opted for duck. This was tasty, however there wasn’t much of it – especially for the price – so definitely more of a nice lunch spot than a hearty dinner.

We took part in another walking tour, which took us through the centre of Old Town, which we discovered is jam-packed full of gelaterias. One in particular we noticed had an extremely long queue outside (Peppino’s Gelato Factory), so we looped back afterwards to try some and understood why the line was worth the wait. At the end of the tour, our guide recommended a couple of restaurants, but also gave us a good rule of thumb to use; when on the main street after coming through the Pile Gate, turn left, and go up at least one block. The street that runs parallel to the main street there is full of family-run restaurants which are generally good choices.

Following his recommendation, we had dinner at Lucin Kantun (translating roughly into ‘Lucy’s Kitchen’) which was right in the heart of the area he described. I set aside my aversion to seafood and ordered the white fish fillet with cauliflower cream, leek, and dried tomatoes. This was actually much nicer than I expected, and I was particularly relieved to find somewhere specifically stating ‘fillet’ of fish, so I knew I wouldn’t receive one with bones and head still attached! For dessert we shared a chocolate mousse and traditional Croatian Rozata – a creamy caramel dessert originating in medieval times, similar to a crème brulee or caramel flan, but flavoured with delicate roses.

Finally, we wrapped up the holiday with a stop at Dalmatino to try some more seafood options. We had a portion of mussels to share as a starter, cooked ‘buzara’ style with a homemade tomato salsa, garlic oil, and white wine sauce. For mains, I played it safe by ordering salmon, but bullied Sean into ordering a portion of Croatia’s famous black risotto with cuttlefish so I could try a few bites. Taking on a striking black colour from squid ink, this risotto has an extremely intense taste to it that is difficult to describe. It’s not unpleasant, but we were unable to finish a full starter portion between us due to the unique flavour. A small ramekin’s worth would have been plenty to sample this unusual dish in my opinion, though I can see the appeal for avid seafood lovers.

We washed our final meal down with a couple of cocktails, right as the heavens opened on our way to the airport shuttle bus. At least we were well acclimatised to British weather for our journey home!