Cuisine of Cres for gourmets. Places for dinner - best restaurants

You can't become acquainted with Croatian culture without trying its traditional dishes. While having holidays on Cres, you can have a meal at a restaurant or visit a konoba which is a local tavern. Konoba is usually decorated in a country style and you can find it in small settlements. There is no difference between dishes in a konoba and a restaurant, the places just have different interiors. What's interesting, supper is the main meal for Croats. The second place goes to the late dinner. Some of the local catering establishments serve dishes only after 2 p.m. However, you can visit a restaurant at noon and have marenda (a late breakfast) here. It is usually a meat or a fish dish. But the portion is smaller than you can get on dinner and it costs less.

Locals love pizza. Local pizzerias serve delicious pizza with seafood. Moreover, you should try salads in pizzerias, they are usually better than you can order in a restaurant. Pizzeta is Croatian pizza. It is made on a thin dough with a delicious topping. Don’t pass by pršut, dried ham. Croats are very proud of this delicacy. Local cheese is delicious too. You can try it in a restaurant or buy it in a supermarket. You should definitely try kulen, a traditional Croatian sausage made of minced pork. Croats love light soups on chicken or vegetable broth, but you can also find various cream soups here.

Cutlet and escalope are the most popular dishes that are served for dinner. There are many meat dishes on the island. Meat can be just fried and also fried in breadcrumbs. The second type of meat is called šnicle (schnitzel). Fried meat in a dough is called Prague schnitzel and schnitzel with cheese and ham is called Zagreb schnitzel. Goulash is usually served here with pasta. Beef with plum and wine is a delicious meat dish too. Turkey with mlinci (flat pasta, soaked in roast juices) is very popular in Croatia. Be sure to try ćevapčići, sausages made of minced pork or beef with onion. Croats also love stuffed peppers. While having dinner or supper, try one of the famous truffle dishes. You can find tinned truffles and truffle paste in almost all of the shops here. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

There are many restaurants on Cres where you can order a large number of fish dishes. It is not obvious because the island is surrounded by the sea. Try a salad made of octopus or lobster. Fish is fried, boiled and baked here. The most popular white fish is sea bass, flounder and a scorpion fish. Mussels, oysters, shrimps and octopus can be found everywhere on Cres. Croatian mullus is a delicious fish which you can try at a low price. Don’t pass by bakalar (dried cod) and crni rižot (black risotto). Not only fish dishes are popular on Cres, but lamb delicacies also deserve your attention too. Ispod peke is a traditional Croatian dish. This phrase is translated as «under the bell». Ispod peke is usually made of potatoes, lamb or octopus. There is nothing difficult in the process of its preparation. You just need to put it in a stone oven, cover it with a lid and coal. You should remove the lid only when the dish is ready.

Potatoes, tomatoes, artichokes and pasta are the main garnishes on Cres. Don’t miss the chance to taste međimurska gibanica, a layer cake with apple, poppyseed, walnut and cottage cheese fillings and rapska torta (rab cake) which original recipe is secret information. Most of the local desserts are low-fat dishes. You can easily find coffee and juice on the island. The most popular Croatian hard drinks are local wines, travarica (loza with herbs), Šljivovica (plums), pelinkovac (juniper) and vinjak.