It’s been a while since my last post, and I honestly started this post back in December of 2021 but I put it on hold and then fully forgot all about it till right now. So, I thought, why not now? It is starting to feel like fall here finally and I can now look back at this HOT and overly humid June in Dubrovnik and laugh instead of cry about the amount of sweating we did. I am also back on full on travel planning mode and having a bit of an inspiration moment. So yes, Now seems like the perfect time to revisit this post and hopefully plan out some more.
Before we get into the food, I think it is important to let you guys in on a little bit of a secret. Dubrovnik, especially when talking about old town, is picturesque as hell BUT does not take very long to see all that you want to see. We stayed there for a week and wish we cut that in half. Old town was absolutely beautiful and we loved the views and the photos we got, but just would have preferred to not be there as long as we were. We also went in the heat of summer which is great if you are planning to do beach things and whatnot but, as I learned this trip, my partner is not a ocean person. So if you are also not an ocean person I recommend a shorter stay and maybe visiting any time that is not the summer.
Although we preferred our time in Zagreb over our time in Dubrovnik, we still had some pretty good meals there. Don’t get me wrong we absolutely ate at a few flop restaurants as well where the views were perfection but the food not so much. However, that is not the case for the places in this post. Some of these places did have fantastic views but their food was not lacking and absolutely made up for the less than spectacular meals we had beforehand. There were a handful of disappointing meals we had in Dubrovnik but also quite a few stand out places.
Now, on to what you’re really here for, the food reviews:
Taj Mahal Old Town
First up on the places that surprised me, in a good way, is Taj Mahal Old Town. Located in one of the side street areas in old town (it’s really easy to miss if you’re not using a map service of some kind) was a fun little Eastern European restaurant. It was the perfect area for a nice escape from the sun with shaded outside seating available as well as adorable interior seating. We loved everything we ordered and I still dream about that mint tea.
Restaurant Panorama
Up next on the stop of favorites is Restaurant Panorama. As you can tell from the name, this one came with a view. The drinks are typical touristy drinks but still delicious and refreshing after a long day in the sun. We got carbonara as an appetizer, literally one of my favorite things is to have pasta for a starter, and each got different dishes to get the full experience. The food was presented in a whimsical artsy plating style which really added to the fun of it all.
Peppers Eatery
This restaurant was near the docks area and was really fun. It had a wide range of food items and was the only place we ate at that served us a big pitcher of water for free, absolutely unexpected but very welcomed on such a hot day. The owner was quite friendly and the atmosphere was relaxing. Highly recommend if you’re looking for somewhere chill to eat outside of old town.
Orka Restaurant
Now for what I was looking for: somewhere with squid ink risotto. Orka Restaurant, located just down the road from peppers eatery, overlooks the water, and apparently someone’s swimming pool area. Our main dishes were perfectly fine but fell short to the starter of squid ink risotto. Next time I’d like to try something different and maybe experience it later so the sun wasn’t quite so hot. Did I mention we went when it was super hot? I feel like I have by now.
Mystery restaurant across from the airport
Our last place of favorites was an accident. So we had this problem where our checkout was around noon but our flight didn’t leave till about 7pm. Because we drove ourselves from Zagreb to Dubrovnik we still had our rental car and could have driven elsewhere until it was time to get to the airport. But parking was so hectic in Dubrovnik that I didn’t want to deal with it at all. So we thought we could just turn in the rental car and find something to eat in the airport. We have never been more wrong. Because it was such a small airport, our 7pm flight was the first flight out for the airline we were flying. Which meant we couldn’t check in till almost 6pm. Which also meant: no food. So we walked out with our bags after already giving up our rental car and found this HUGE CUBAN SANDWICH. I don’t have the name of the place but it was just the little café attached to the gas station down the street from the airport.
I hope this inspired you to plan your next trip and maybe even stop by some of these places. I went when it had just opened up from Covid so my photos may reflect a more empty Dubrovnik than you might experience. Either way, it’s worth a stop.