What to eat in Dalmatia: a food lover's guide

Dalmatian food is the cooking of people who lived between stony hills and the sea: olive oil, fish, lamb, wild herbs, and not much fuss. It's simple, seasonal and very good. Here's what to order along the coast and on the islands — and what each thing actually is.

From the sea

Fresh fish is usually sold and cooked by the kilo, simply grilled with olive oil, garlic and parsley. Look for brodet, a slow fish-and-tomato stew served with polenta, and the dramatic black crni rižot (cuttlefish-ink risotto). Mussels (na buzaru, in white wine and garlic) and fresh oysters from Ston on Pelješac are worth a detour.

From the land

The signature dish is peka — meat or octopus and vegetables cooked slowly under an iron bell covered in embers, usually ordered hours ahead. Don't miss pašticada, a sweet-and-sour braised beef served with gnocchi that's the pride of Dalmatian Sunday tables, and the cured ham pršut with sheep's cheese from the island of Pag.

Olive oil, herbs and bread

Dalmatian olive oil is some of Europe's best — peppery and green, often pressed from ancient groves. It turns up on everything, from grilled fish to soparnik (a thin chard pie from the Poljica region near Omiš). Wild rosemary, sage and bay flavour the lamb and the air alike.

Something sweet

Finish with fritule (little rum-and-citrus doughnuts), rožata (a Dubrovnik custard like crème caramel), or arancini — candied orange peel, nothing like the Italian rice balls of the same name.

Pair it with a glass of the local stuff — see our wines of Dalmatia guide — and base yourself somewhere the kitchen matters, from our hotels for food lovers.