Dubrovnik Restaurants and Dining

(Dubrovnik, Southern Dalmatia, Croatia)

Dubrovnik's Old Town is the place for the best selection of restaurants which range from upscale to local dining. There is a wide selection of eateries mostly offering locally-caught seafood together with a few typical meat dishes.

Venues include upscale gastronomic experiences, whose high prices reflect their high rents, and somewhat cheaper tourist eateries. Everything on offer is fresh and nicely prepared, although the dining menus in general can rarely be described as exciting. Pizzeria restaurants are always popular in Dubrovnik, being the traditional wood-fired kind.

What to Eat, and Where

Overall, prices are high, but the Old Town is just about the only place in Dubrovnik where you can be guaranteed to get a meal, as there are few restaurants outside its walls. The Lapad area is a fairly reliable bet, with a number of decent restaurants lining its main thoroughfare, the Setaliste Kralja Tomislava.

One enjoyable dining experience well worth searching out in the summer months are the outdoor eateries which spring up each year, tucked into the walls of the narrow cobbled streets, with the candles lighting their tables reflected in the high polished walls of the surrounding houses. Between November and March, most of the upscale restaurants close down, leaving a far less inspiring choice for hungry winter visitors.

Croatian cuisine follows the modern trend of fresh ingredients, lightly cooked and flavoured with herbs. Dubrovnik is no exception to these preferences, with ultra-fresh crustaceans and various kinds of fish, lightly grilled or boiled with the addition of locally grown herbs and olive oil.

Traditional dining specialities from Dubrovnik and the offshore islands include 'vitalac' - roasted offal of lamb wrapped in lamb gut, roasted pilchards, leg of pork - smoked, dried in the Bora winds and served with delicious sheep's cheese, shellfish - either in a stew or a risotto, and virtually every variety of fish and crustacean that you can think of.

To accompany any restaurant meal in Dubrovnik, the famous local wines are well worth trying. Appreciated since ancient times, Dingae, Babic, Malmsey and many more are served here, with the sweet dessert wine of Prosecco being a great way to finish off a meal. Further essential taste thrills are the local varieties of grape and medicinal herbal brandies, as well as the delicious cherry liqueur named Maraschino.