Food & Drink

Croatia's cuisine, like the country itself, is an anthology of dishes that reflect widely diverse cultural and geographic influences. Some culinary traditions are a result of Croatia's proximity to the sea and its wealth of fertile farmland, and some are the result of foreign occupiers who exported their tastes and cultures. Croatians are very proud of their gastronomic traditions, and while there are regional differences, you'll find that freshness, grilling, and daily baking are consistent across the country. You will find a distinct Italian trend in cuisine on the coast, thanks to centuries of occupation by Rome and Venice; and a bent toward dishes heavy in meat and sauces in continental Croatia, thanks to years of Austrian, Hungarian, and Turkish domination. Wherever you go, you'll find that the result is a wonderfully diverse Croatian cuisine that is rooted in family and friends, the seasons, and the bounty of Croatia's soil and sea.

Meals & Dining Customs

Breakfast & Gablec -- Breakfast (dorucak) as Westerners know it (eggs, pastries, meats, cereals) is served at larger hotels and restaurants throughout Croatia, but in smaller towns and for residents, a glass of rakija (fruit brandy), a cup of coffee, and perhaps a piece of bread or a roll hot from the local bakery -- if anything at all -- is the normal early-morning meal. However, around 10am Croatians sometimes stop for gablec (marenda on the coast), literally "breakfast eaten with cutlery." This meal is a smaller version of lunch, Croatians' main meal, but it sometimes substitutes for that meal. Sitting down to gablec around 10am was common among people all over the former Yugoslavia -- including Croatia -- because back then people started work and school around 6 or 7am, which didn't allow time for breakfast. Thus, they got hungry around 10am and a meal of home-style food like sarma (stuffed sour cabbage), goulash, or fis paprikas customarily was offered in factories, schools, and local restaurants. (People didn't have time to go home for a meal, and carryout and fast food were nonexistent.) Today gablec is still popular, but many places start serving around noon instead of 10am and continue serving late into the afternoon, which corresponds with later job starts.

Lunch -- Lunch (rucak) generally is Croatians' main meal. It often begins with a bowl of soup followed by an entree of roasted meat, vegetable or salad, potatoes or noodles, and dessert. Croatians eat lunch anywhere from 10am (gablec) to late afternoon, and if they eat dinner at all, it usually is a light meal.

Dinner -- Dinner (vecera) for Croatians often consists of a very thin-crusted pizza or a shared plate of munchies such as cevapi (spicy grilled sausage), prsut (smoked ham), and cheese or grilled sardines, usually served well after 8pm. If they aren't eating at home, Croatians dine at restorans, konobas, or gostionas, all of which serve a wide range of dishes but differ only in formality, with restorans being the most formal. In cities and large tourist areas, all of these establishments offer full menus to accommodate foreign eating habits, which frequently revolve around eating the biggest meal of the day at dinner rather than lunch.

Coffee & Ice Cream -- Drinking coffee is a social event in Croatia. You can find places full of people drinking coffee on almost every street in every Croatian town at any time of day, from early morning to late at night. Sometimes these establishments are cafes attached to restaurants or pastry shops, and sometimes they are free-standing shops that serve only drinks (alcoholic or nonalcoholic). Ice-cream shops -- almost as ubiquitous as coffee shops -- serve coffee and mostly nonalcoholic beverages plus a huge array of ice-cream concoctions ranging from basic cones to multi-layered sundaes, as well as a selection of cakes and pastries.

Tipping -- Tipping in Croatia is becoming more commonplace, especially in upscale restaurants. In the past, tipping was welcome but not expected. Today, however, in newer, upscale places, an extra 10% or 15% is considered polite. In informal restaurants in smaller towns and coffee shops, tipping is rare and not expected, but most people leave any coins they receive in change. Croatian waiters work for salaries and benefits by law and do not depend on tips for living wages.

Couvert -- Adding a couvert to the bill is a relatively new practice in Croatian restaurants and is not uniformly imposed. The couvert is a "cover charge" that is a prima facie charge for bread, which is brought to the table automatically in most cases. Menus will usually list the couvert and its cost, which can range from 5kn ($1) to 35kn ($7) or more. You can refuse the bread and escape the couvert, but once the bread basket lands on your table, you have to pay the charge.

Regional Specialties

Dining is a national sport in Croatia. Across-the-board, food is surprisingly good in all regions of the country. However, besides consistent quality and an ever-present offering of grilled meat and fish and pizza from north to south, each part of the country prides itself on specific traditional dishes.

Continental Croatia-- (Zagreb, Bilogora, Zagorje, Podravina, Medimurje) -- Food traditions in this region were influenced by a seasonal climate, fertile farmland, and the rural lifestyle of the common people, plus the lavish gastronomy of the nobility (Austrian, Hungarian, and so forth) who lived in castles dotting the terrain. Consequently, cuisine in this part of Croatia is more substantial than in other regions. For example, the need to store meat safely inspired lodrica ili tiblica (big wooden bowl), baked meats kept in bowls full of lard in cool places for later use. Smoking and drying, also methods used to preserve meats, extended to cheese (prgica), still a popular item in regional markets. Zganci, a kind of grits topped with cheese, sour cream, yogurt, or bacon, is a common breakfast dish. Turkey or duck with mlinci (baked noodles), sarma (ground meat in sour cabbage leaves), and krvavice (blood sausage with sauerkraut) are popular mains. Favorite desserts in this region are strukle (phyllo filled with fresh cheese, apples, cherries, or other fruit) and palacinke (crepes filled with honey and walnuts or jam). Knedle sa sljivama (potato dumplings stuffed with plums) are on almost every restaurant menu. In Med[croat d]imurje, prekomurska gibanica (yeast cake layered with fresh cheese, apples, walnuts, poppy seeds, and raisins) is a must-try sweet after dinner.

Gorski Kotar & Lika -- This area southwest of central Croatia (including the Plitvice Lakes) but not on the coast is a combination of forests, hills, and pastures where winters are long and summers (and the growing season) quite short. The food is similar to that of continental Croatia's, with a few notable additions. You'll see a lot of roadside stalls in this region selling homemade cheeses and fruit brandies as well as spit-roasted lamb and pork. Look for spit-roasted janjetina (lamb) or janjetina baked under a peka. Lika-style sauerkraut is another specialty that consists of marinated cabbage and smoked sausage served with potatoes boiled in their skins. Pijane pastrve (drunken trout) is fish cooked in wine sauce and served with potatoes and other veggies; while licki lonac (Licki pot) is a stew of fresh cabbage, potatoes, root vegetables, and meat.

Slavonia & Baranja -- Cuisine in this region in the eastern part of continental Croatia commonly has a Hungarian influence: The food is quite heavy and is seasoned with a lot of paprika. Specialties include cobanac (goulash made from several kinds of meat and seasoned with hot paprika, garlic, and bay leaves), ribli paprikas (paprika-based stew with a variety of fish and served with pasta), punjene paprikas (paprika peppers stuffed with minced pork, rice, and bacon), and freshwater fish grilled on a spit over an open fire. Kulen (spicy paprika sausage), rezanci (broad egg noodles topped with sweetened walnuts or poppy seeds) and breskvice (dough balls filled with walnuts, sugar, chocolate, and fruit brandy, colored red to resemble peaches) are other regional delights. And the red stuff served with meat is called ajvar, a kind of red-pepper tapenade that can be mild or hot.

Kvarner & Istria -- These two regions offer the most diverse cuisine in Croatia, perhaps because they combine both inland and coastal tastes. Here the peka (a metal, bell-shaped lid) covers food placed on a ceramic slab during cooking. The lid is also covered with hot ash during the process. The peka is used extensively for both meat and fish. In the Kvarner, try Creska janjetina (lamb from the island of Cres) and skampi (shrimp dishes cooked under the bell); or try any of the game stews infused with bay leaves that grow in the mountainous part of Cres island. In Lovran and along Kvarner Bay, maruni (chestnuts) are used in almost everything, including krostule (fried strips of dough made with flour, eggs, lemon zest, and grape brandy) for dessert. On Pag, try paski sir (Pag cheese), lamb, and prsut, all infused with flavor because of the animals' diet of local herbs. Istria has the most refined cuisine in Croatia and is also the source of some of the country's best wines. Try riblja juha (fish soup), riblji slozenac (fish stew), kuhane kozice (boiled prawns), crni rizoto sa plodovima mora (black and white seafood risotto), and any dish with tartufe (truffles). Istarski fuzi sa tartufima (a special Istrian pasta with truffles) and Istarski fuzi sa gulasom od divljaci (Istrian fuzi with game goulash) are both worth trying. Fritaja sa divljim sparogama (omelet with wild asparagus) and all sorts of snacks that include Istarski prsut (Istrian ham), ovcji and kravlji sir (sheep and cow's cheeses), and slane srdele (salted sardines), are also popular. Wines to try in this region are the whites, Malvazija and Vrbnicka zlahtina; and the reds, Teran and Borgonja.

Dalmatia -- Freshness and simplicity are the watchwords that most aptly characterize Dalmatian cuisine. Main meals typically start with prsut and paski sir, both often scattered with olives that have different flavors, depending on the Dalmatian village that grows and processes them. Kamenice (oysters) from Ston on the Peljesac Peninsula are also prized, as is anything from the sea. Riba na leso (fish grilled with olive oil) and served with blitva (boiled Swiss chard and potatoes) is a common main course, as is skoljke i skampi na buzaru (shellfish and shrimp stew). There are as many recipes and spellings for buzara as there are restaurants, but common ingredients in this sauce seem to be oil, garlic, parsley, wine, and shellfish. Pasticada (larded beef or pork roasted in wine and spices) is another good choice, as is ribe na sajur (fish grilled after marinating in olive oil and wine vinegar). Wines to seek out in this region include Bogdanusa and Postup (white); and Kastelet and Plavac (red).

Croatian Bakery De-Coder

Even the tiniest villages in Croatia have bakeries (pekara) that provide fresh bread and rolls. Some serve burek (greasy phyllo pillows filled with cheese or meat), pizza by the slice, or simple sandwiches.

Buhtle are yeast rolls shaped like bricks and filled with jam, cheese, or chocolate; they can be sweet or salty.

Pletenica (plait) is a braided roll shaped from spongy yeast dough and plain or topped with sesame seeds.

Makovica is the same as pletenica but topped with poppy seeds and always served for Easter breakfast.

Slanac is a roll made of spongy yeast dough and sprinkled with salt.

Struke are pastries made of phyllo or puff pastry and filled with cheese, cherries, apples, and walnuts. They are most common in northern and central Croatia and are similar to Austrian strudels.

Kiflice are made of a yeasty butter dough and shaped like croissants. They can be plain, sweet, or savory, and stuffed with jam, cheese, walnuts, ham, cheese, or other fillings.

Orahnjaca/makovnjaca are spongy yeast rolls filled with sweetened walnuts or poppy seeds.

Piroske is a puff pastry roll filled with cheese and ham, jam, or chocolate, then deep-fried.

What's a Konoba?

A konoba is usually a family-run restaurant that specializes in regional cuisine made with local produce, homegrown and prepared meats, family-caught fish, and perhaps even family-made wines. Any dining spot that calls itself a konoba is usually casual and traditional, with family-style service, large portions at low prices, and a lot of regular local customers. Think Irish pub or neighborhood bistro.