Best Restaurant in Hvar, Croatia

Prior to arriving in Croatia, I had done a fair share of research on the island of Hvar. The restaurant "Dalmatino" kept coming up as both a local and tourist favorite. A "steak and fish house" by name, I knew I had to give it a try. It ended up being one of my favorite dining experiences to date. As we walked in, the chef was picking herbs from a little garden out front that smelled delicious. After showing us to our table, the waiter presented us with a liqueur made from Carob (known in America as a "fake" form of chocolate that is commonly used in Croatian sweets) and a small piece of a Carob tree to go along with it.

When we were deciding on what wine to order, the waiter let us try their two red wines by the glass, allowing us to choose our favorite. Not surprisingly, the wine we liked best was from the same wine farm I mentioned in my previous post. This one was called Caric Plovac Ploski Barrique. I mentioned before that the grape vines in this area grow on a hill. So all the grape picking is done by hand and not by machines, enriching the quality of the wine.

The waiter, Michael, and the bartender, Dino, were great. I wish I could have recorded Michael as he explained the highlights of the extensive menu. He knew how each dish was prepared in detail, asking our preferences and making recommendations accordingly. After a ten minute description of his favorites was complete, I wanted one of everything. From them we also learned a bit about life on the island. They are two young guys from mainland Croatia who move to the island 5-6 months out of the year for the tourist season. Their boss puts them up in apartments in Hvar, and even pays for them to travel the world together in the off-season (They are headed to Thailand early next year). Seems like a good life to me! They also gave us tons of recommendations about nightlife and other surrounding islands to visit.

I feel like our time here was much too short. We really explored the town of Hvar but didn't make it to other areas of this island or the surrounding islands. The island has something for everyone and it is on the top of my list of places to come back to!

A cute vase on the ceiling of the restaurant

The traditional amuse-bouche served is a garlic bread (heavy on the garlic) but due to my gluten allergy, they served me a small caprese salad with fresh mozzarella.

Octopus Carpaccio to start - light, fresh, topped with amazing olive oil

Ariana ordered Beef Fillet "Istria" (black truffle & wine sauce) with some amazing truffle potatoes

I ordered Fish "Gregada" (Sea bass in white wine sauce) with a side of grilled vegetables

We finished our meal with two glasses (each) of a pear liqueur mixed with milk & a glass of their local sweet wine (similar to a Port wine) - all on the house!

Hvar on Dwellable