Croatia Online - Food and Drink

If you like plain and simple cooking, Dalmatia is for you. Grilled meat and fish are the standard fare in restauraunts, or you can book ahead for lamb "under the bell" (peka) which smoulders in hot ashes for a few hours. Italian restauraunts are fairly common and Pizzas are good. Blitva, a bit like spinach, seems to be the favourite vegetable and chips are ubiquitous. Fish is of course a favourite, though the quality and price varies considerably and you can expect to pay at least 20% extra on some of the islands. It's sold by the kilo so just watch out that you don't get something a bit bigger than you need. It's hard to find anything more varied that the standard grills. All in all though it's good value and a main meal with a bottle of wine and a coffee will set you back a tenner a head. Croatian wine is fine but if you're not a connoisseur make sure you ask for the house wine which will normally come in a carafe. The local liqueur is Travarica or Rakija which will definitely warm you up on a cold night. Orahovica, a liqueur made from walnuts is another local speciality and Prosec, a pink desert wine, is a great aperitif for those with a sweet tooth. In general we've rarely had a problem with restaurant bills, the exception being Hvar Town on Hvar island where "selling up" to tourists seem to be fair game.

If you're shopping, the markets are the best bet for fruit and vegetables but choose your vendor carefully and be prepared to haggle once you've researched prices. The large supermarkets now have a much wider range of products and you should be able to find most things if you hunt around. We only miss, tea, marmite and English bacon.

Dobartek! (bon apetit)