25 November 2025
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The center is characterized by a small harbor marked by two lanterns, while nearby sits the archipelago of Brijuni National Park, among Istria’s most enchanting locations.
Every day you can see boats and fishing vessels setting out to bring ashore the area’s exceptional seafood: sardines, mackerel, horse mackerel, and pilchards. The latter are among the stars of local cuisine, so much so that a festival is dedicated to them where not only are these fish prepared, but participants are also shown how to weave nets or use equipment when out at sea.
Just a short distance inland, Valbandon offers a place devoted to the essence of Croatian gastronomy. We’re talking about the Alla Beccaccia restaurant, whose kitchen is led by Annamaria Kolić, who runs the establishment alongside her husband and sommelier, Ivor.
Having left the seafaring tradition on the coast, this tavern celebrates the freshest local ingredients and recipes inspired by the seasons. Bread (including gluten-free) and pasta are homemade, while both meat and vegetarian options comprise the main gastronomic offerings. You start with Istrian prosciutto and pancetta, hard cow’s milk cheese, bone marrow with an herb crust, or Istrian beef tongue boiled with sauerkraut and horseradish.
The first courses include white truffle pasta, peasant-style pasta (with tomato sauce, Istrian sausage, pine nuts, and capers), or posutice (diamond-shaped pasta typical of Croatia) with cabbage, Istrian prosciutto, and Kumparička goat cheese.
Among the main courses stand out Istrian beef liver with sweet and spicy apples, slowly braised Boškarin neck, or by reservation, free-range rooster cooked under a dome. This modern Istrian konoba features a wooden ceiling and a large fireplace that’s used in winter for cooking under a dome covered with embers. In summer, a large terrace and garden allow for outdoor meat grilling.
The dome used for cooking is called a peka: the technique involves covering the meat with a bell-shaped lid that is then covered with embers. The meat becomes tender and flavorful and is left to cook, depending on the cut, for up to four or five hours.
The menu always includes game dishes such as wild boar, pheasant, or venison, while among the desserts, try the Čokooliva with chocolate, vanilla gelato, olive oil, and chili pepper.
Boškarin
The meat of Istrian, Boškarin, cattle is a source of pride for the entire region and is one of the local raw materials we have seen used and valued at the Alla Beccaccia restaurant. The name of the Istrian ox, with its long lyre-shaped horns that can reach up to 5 feet in length, is then Boškarin: it is a protected species that has always been part of local tradition and is inextricably linked to the rural world and to Istria itself.
These animals were once used to plow fields and to carry stones needed for building homes, while their meat sustained families.
Today’s Istrian cattle are descended from the Podolian breed, which spread from the Danube Basin throughout the Roman Empire via Roman legions.
Genetic analysis has shown that, despite similarities to various Podolian breeds, Istrian cattle represent a distinct breed. However, with the arrival of agricultural industrialization, the introduction of mechanization, and social changes in the countryside, in the mid-twentieth century they had to be stopped being farmed.
This breed, which reaches full maturity between six and seven years and has a long lifespan, can be used for work and breeding until age twenty. With a calm, friendly, tenacious, and modest temperament, these cattle reach a weight of about 2,650 pounds and a height of roughly 5 feet.
Today, after a period of slow decline, Boškarin farming is experiencing a revival, and its prized meat is considered a great local treasure: it is used in numerous preparations, from cured meats to ragout, to classic cuts such as steaks or carpaccio, and reigns as the star of Istrian cuisine.
