Inspired by our friend Sara from Noa Yachting’s top ten list of her favourite restaurants in the Dalmatian islands, we thought that we would give you a run down on our favourite places to eat in our adopted home. Heavily influenced by local produce, family-owned businesses, traditional dishes and incredible locations, you can really tell that dining out is a huge part of the experience that we offer you here at 45 Degrees Sailing.
Konoba Galicija, Milna, Brač
A local favourite, this humble konoba (tavern style restaurant) is hidden away from the main promenade of restaurants on the waterfront. Up a short incline, you will know you have arrived at the right place due to the buzz going on in the alfresco dining area! Serving hearty summer Croatian fare, with many of their dishes simply “grilled” on the Dalmatian style outdoor fire/bbq, the portions are large, the flavors are local and the seafood is freshly caught!
45D recommends: We love the octopus salad here with the robust local ingredients and, for seafood lovers, you have to try their salted anchovies!
Šakajet, Maslinica, Šolta
This restaurant is designed to impress. It is one of the higher priced restaurants on our list, and worth every penny in our opinion! Their menu is full of sophisticated versions of Croatian classics and their food presentation is almost too good to tuck into. Enjoy being right in the heart of summer village life and splurge on a high quality gastronomic experience.
Note: Depending on your family’s palate, this may not be the place to take young kids. If you have any questions about the substitutions they are able to make for young children, feel free to ask us directly.
45D recommends: Black pasta with sea urchin or the stuffed peppers.
Agroturizam Baro, Okuklje, Mljet
This konoba, this family and this bay was the beginning of my love affair with Dalmatia. Located in a picturesque bay with the village scattered around the waterfront, Baro and his family welcome you warmly from the moment you tie up to their dock. They take pride in serving you fish freshly caught from the bay, vegetables sourced from their garden, bread baked in their open fire oven. Their humble konoba, located on the terrace looking down over the docked yachts and the crystal clear bay, feels like you are dining with friends in their home.
45D recommends: Makaruni (hand rolled and served with a garlic sauce that is TO DIE FOR) and a whole fish cooked on the grill and drowned in olive oil. Ask Baro what is best and what he recommends. He knows best!
Konoba Maha, Žrnovo, Korčula
This place comes highly recommended by our land crew!
Don’t be fooled into thinking that this intimate family-fun konoba is just like many others. They utilise their gardens and locally-sourced items in their dishes, as well as in their house-made cocktails. As you can see from their food presentation on their website, they pride themselves on combining traditional dishes with innovative cooking techniques to create a very high quality dining experience.
Note: This restaurant is located inland and requires a car or a taxi-ride to get there.
45D recommends: Try their vegetarian Žrnovski Makaruni (translated as “traditional handmade pasta from Žrnovo, the village they are located in) or the incredible octopus dish that they serve with courgette and potatoes. And don’t forget to talk to them about the in-house cocktails that they flavour match to each dish!
Boccadoro, Vis town, Vis
Tucked away behind the Kut Riva where many of the boats dock in the summer, this lovingly adorned restaurant is hidden down a narrow alleyway, behind a stone wall of the ruins of an old Venetian house. A house that must have been very impressive in its’ day! In fact, the whole restaurant is an al fresco dining experience IN the crumbling walls of these ruins. Strategic lighting and tasteful decor really help to set a very whimsical ambiance. The service is warm (you will highly likely meet Ive, the owner) and the food is beautifully presented.
45D recommends: The tuna tatake is a refreshing and marvelous take on the fresh fish offerings here in Dalmatia. And
Frutarija, Vis town, Vis
Ok so Frutarija isn’t technically a restaurant but they do serve coffee, cocktails, craft beer, wine, breakfast and snacks in an absolutely break taking location with unmatched ambience. Can you tell I am a HUGE FAN of this coffee spot/cocktail garden?!
Maja and Antonio have poured their hearts into this garden bar with a sea view, and boy does it show! Between their live music sessions during the season, their fresh cocktails and the constantly updated snacks menu, I promise you will have a hard time leaving this place. Just like I do!
45D recommends: A hugo cocktail, a mali (small) macchiato, and smashed avocado on toasted bagel. What a trio!
Mareta, Nečujam, Šolta
Their Facebook page boasts “An amazing fresh food with beautiful panoramic view” and that certainly does sum up this family run restaurant. Located to look down over a small bay, popular with anchoring boats, this terraced restaurant has fabulous seafood dishes on their menu, subject to what is fresh and available. Booking ahead is a MUST, as they only have a certain number of covers per night. Watch our video, meet Kristijana and drool over the amazing view… Of the bay AND the food!
Click HERE to check out a video we made to show you just how stunning this place is! Click subscribe, watch the video, meet Kristijana and drool over the amazing view… Of the bay AND the food!
45D recommends: what do we recommend?!?!
Hora Farm, Stari Grad Plains, Hvar
This farm and the wonderful people who run it have a special place in our hearts. Hora came highly recommended by friends of ours Jo and Colin who were also working as crew on-board yachts here and visited Hora every week with their guests. They introduced us to the team at Hora back in 2017… And the rest is history.
Located in the middle of a working farm on UNESCO protected land, you have 360 degree views of the vineyards, lavender fields, vegetables growing and the original stone walls created by the original Greek settlers. All dining is al fresco, and everything that is brought to your table is sourced either from the farm itself or, where this is not possible, like with the marinated anchovies, the items are sourced locally from the island.
45D recommends: PEKA! Hora does an incredibly well-priced package that includes dinner and wine. Stay for the whole experience. It’s definitely worth it!
Gostiona Milina, Milna, Hvar
It was the setting of their al fresco dining that drew us to this restaurant. Set down from the road where the kitchen is, the open-air patio is set amongst the rocks and looks out across the bay. You get a front row seat to the water lapping at the stones on the beach.
It was the warmth of Julia, Pero and their family that kept us coming back! Because this restaurant is family-owned and -operated, they know what is good, they know what is fresh and they LOVE to share their cuisine with their guests. In addition to their regular menu, they often have daily specials based on whatever fresh ingredients they have been able to source locally. We often forget what is on the menu, as we always ask, “What did Mama make today?”.
Emphasis here is on ethical, high quality meats, vegetables and other ingredients. And it shows in the quality of the food that gets served to your table!
45D recommends: Mama’s cakes. Whatever cakes she has baked recently, order that for dessert. She makes amazing carob cake. That is one of our favourites. And anything she bakes is delicious.
Trica Gardelin, Vrboska, Hvar
Located in the heart of Vrboska, Trica Gardelin is a family run restaurant with al fresco dining and a wonderful warm welcoming vibe. Serving typical Croatian fare, from freshly caught fish to wood fired pizza’s, traditional dishes such as local black pasta and the kind of fried calamari that melts in your mouth and shuts EVERYONE up! Pero, the matriarch of Trica, greets everyone who wanders up and down the waters edge with warmth and in so many different languages my mind boggles. He works alongside his adult children Milena, Niki and Tomislav to create the buzz that hooks many of us and brings us back wanting more.
With freshly caught fish (check their Facebook page. THEY are out there doing the catching!), woodfired pizza bread and deep dark green olive oil on their tables, this place is a gem in the heart of Vrboska.
If you visit, be sure to tell them that you’re there on Mahina and Nick’s recommendation.
45D recommends: Fried calamari and the black pasta with lobster…! Complete with a cute little outfit. Anyone who has been there with us will know exactly what we mean!
