Local restaurants in Dubrovnik and Zagreb

Hi.

We were in Croatia in May.

In Zagreb, our Air BnB host recommended http://www.starifijaker.hr They serve traditional Croation fare, and it is very good.

In Dubrovnik, our best meal was at a brand new restaurant in the old town. I don't imagine it's a "locals" place, but I had the best lamb chops of my life there. https://mediteraneo-food-wine-bar.business.site

Thank you so much. I checked the menu of each and will definitely give them a try. Are the prices considered high, low or average?

In both cases, I thought the prices were reasonable, but I don't have experience with enough restaurants in either place to say if they were average or not.

In Zagreb we always eat at Vinodol. Also, any place on Tkalčićeva Ulica, pedestrian only street, is fine.
In Dubrovnik try Dubravka right outside the Pile Gate. You can’t miss it. They have beautiful views and are not expensive. Oh, and the food is good too. In the Old Town try Gradska Arsenal. It is near the Ploće gate at the end of the Stradun, across from the Church. You can sit on the terrace or walk through and sit on the back terrace overlooking the port. We’ve sat on the terrace, people watching, just eating cheese/crackers and a glass of wine. They do not rush you. One visit, before Covid, we watched a wedding at the church. Also Kamenice at the bottom of the main staircase is good. Good a little early cause they usually get crowded quickly.

Barbara you seem to have become my go to person. First the transport and now the restaurants. Thanks for the multiple suggestions and descriptions. Sounds like exactly what I’m looking for.

How’s your trip going? Just curious

Thanks for asking but I leave on Friday. I join a tour group on Sunday so a good part of the tour is set. We also go to Sarajevo and Ljubljana. We get quite a bit of time on our own as well and many of our meals are on our own. That’s what prompted the restaurant question. Of course I will gladly take suggestions for the other 2 cities as well.

Marion, I can recommend a restaurant in Dubrovnik. It’s called Kazbek. Our tour director took our group there for our final evening in Dubrovnik. It was the best meal we had in Dubrovnik. They have a lovely terrace that only added to the wonderful evening! https://www.kazbekdubrovnik.com/dining

Thank you so much. It is beautiful and what a fabulous menu. Definitely a place to go.

The best restaurant in Dubrovnik is not really a restaurant. It's a born-and-bred Dubrovnik denizens home. Her name is Marija and she cooks on her terrace for visitors. She cooks peka, which is slow-roasted meat that cooks under a bell-like lid. It's amazing. It's not exactly cheap, but the whole experience last for hours with multiple courses and you get to see how a Croatian really lives and cooks and eats.

Also worth a visit is Pantarul. It's not in the Old Town, but worth checking out, as the owner is a food writer and cookbook author who helped take a bunch of old Croatian recipes and update them.

One of the best restaurants in Old Town is Azur, which has a menu of Croatian and Asian fusion fare. It sounds weird, but it's nicely executed.

Avoid at all costs the restaurant-lined street Prijeko ulice in Old Town, which locals nicknamed (in German for some reason) “Banditen Strasse”—Bandit Street—because it’s the street where tourists go to get ripped off by bad food and bad restaurants (that have a history of scamming tourists).

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I left on July 12. Hopefully this information will help another traveler.

For food I can only recommend restaurant Orsan, It's not expensive and in my opinion it's really good (please let me know if you eat there and think I'm wrong).

My go to butcher is "Taj Butcheraj" and the meat there is really good so check them out. (once again if you go there and the meat is bad please let me know)

As for fish I usually buy it at the fish shop called "Malo More" but I cant be a fair judge since my uncle works there and makes sure we get the fresh goods.

As for going fishing I only know of "Maritimo Fishing" but I've only heard of them.

Last time in Zagreb, we ate at Restaurant Purger. It's on a side street in the old town area. The food is Austria-Hungarian - the stuffed peppers reminded me of Tante Elsie. Also stuffed cabbage, other MittelEuropa dishes. Prices were reasonable.