• The MICHELIN Guide reveals its 2023 selection for Croatia today
• 89 restaurants are part of this selection, including 11 one Star establishments (with one newly awarded), 14 Bib Gourmands (including three new ones) and 64 recommendations (including 9 new ones)
• A restaurant, particularly committed to more sustainable gastronomy receives a MICHELIN Green Star
Today Michelin revealed its 2023 MICHELIN Guide selection in Croatia, a destination that thrilled the famous anonymous Guide inspectors. No fewer than 13 new restaurants captivated their exacting sensibilities to join this new lineup in 2023.
The Korak restaurant in Jastrebarsko is awarded both a MICHELIN Star and a Green Star
A particularly remarkable gourmet discovery is the Korak restaurant, located on the wine estate of the same name. That establishment is awarded a MICHELIN Star for the excellent quality of its cuisine, and it also receives a Green Star to acknowledge its inspiring commitment to more environmentally respectful gastronomy.
With a balance of family tradition and refreshing renewal, this restaurant proposes particularly appetizing cookery highlighting ingredients from the owners’ kitchen garden and from farmers carefully selected to ensure great quality dishes. These professionals, eager to share life stories and their love for their land, strive to illustrate the changing seasons through their culinary creations. Choose between two tasting options – a five- or eight-course meal – and let yourself be swept away by this refined experience, further heightened by the first-rate reception and service of the chef’s sister.
“This year, the MICHELIN Guide inspectors observed an increasing attention to the quality of the local ingredients and a greater commitment on the part of chefs and restaurant owners to seek out farmers in their local ecosystems,” comments Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the MICHELIN Guide “Whether at MICHELIN Star restaurants or Bib Gourmand establishments, respect for good produce is a priority, and the teams are focused on offering gourmets a gastronomic exploration of their territory, bringing an artful flourish to local products and Mediterranean seafood. The country is exemplary for its true sensitivity to sustainability, and we are curious to see the inspiring ecological culinary practices that will develop there in the future.”
Three new Bib Gourmand restaurants join the 2023 selection
Beštija – Zagreb
You’ll find this understated bistro, which mingles tradition and modernity, in the inner courtyard of a downtown building. The restaurant makes use of market-fresh ingredients and local produce to present appealing, precisely cooked dishes in generous proportions, highlighting the chef’s flavor balancing mastery.
At the heart of Cavtat, near the port, you’ll discover this restaurant, which features an irresistible terrace overlooking beautiful jasmine. From the dining room to the kitchen, the crew makes a delightful dining experience their priority. The superb set menu offers remarkable value for the price, basing its selection on the seasons with fresh ingredients and the spirit of the Mediterranean. The dishes are appealing and very flavorful.
The selection and the setting are evocative of Bosnian flavors and traditions, from classic dishes to fresh grilled meats and fishes to the wine and cocktail selection. At the heart of the old town, come discover why this gourmet table is a true favorite.
Nine new restaurants have delighted the MICHELIN Guide inspectors
Marco Polo – Dubrovnik
This charming, secluded bistro is located in a private passage at the heart of the old town. Its dishes are exquisitely light, filled with colors and seasonal discoveries. The selection illustrates the Mediterranean, offering variations on the menu based on market arrivals.
Nicolo Polo – Gradac
The Marco Polo is a small beachfront boutique hotel on the Makarska Riviera. Its restaurant, Nicolo Polo, invites you to enjoy one of its airy spaces or join the bustling terrace to enjoy simple, authentic lunch dishes and more elaborate creations for dinner. The cookery playfully varies between the modernity and classicism of the Mediterranean.
Mediterraneo – Hvar
Near the picturesque port at the heart of the old town of Hvar, this restaurant features a delightful terrace and a floral dining room. Indulge in the wine selection, highlighting exquisite options from Croatia and the island itself.
BÒME – Split
Personally managed by the welcoming native-born Chef Marco and his significant other, Franciska, the BÒME restaurant features seven tables arranged in an L-shape around the open-plan kitchen. The specialties are based on a modern, gastronomic vision of the Mediterranean.
PiNKU fish and wine - Split
This little "pocket” restaurant, which was once a butcher’s shop, is located near the old fish market of Peškarija, a source of inspiration for modern seafood cookery. Take a seat at one of the indoor tables facing the kitchen’s marble counter, or enjoy a breath of fresh air at one of the six tables on the outdoor terrace.
Konoba Kala – Supetar
This intimate little establishment offers a charming terrace. Choose from two tasting menus which reflect the island’s culinary landscape with seasonal ingredients ranging from Adriatic seafood to flavorful lamb.
Otok – Supetar
Just minutes from the charming port of the picturesque island of Brač, this pleasant modern restaurant is located on the ground floor of the Osam hotel. The terrace, surrounded by venerable olive trees, is the ideal place to enjoy traditional Croatian cookery.
Balon – Zagreb
In a lush setting near the bank of the Sava River, this charming restaurant located in an all-glass building offers summertime service in-season.
The menu is authentic, offering a breath of fresh Mediterranean air enhanced by the chef’s original ideas.
El Toro – Zagreb
El Toro is a new establishment that further extends the cosmopolitan selection of the Croatian capital. Indulge in tacos, sushi, sashimi, and Hamachi tuna with Ossetra caviar. The main dishes offer a taste of South America with its famous barbecue specialties, including tasty rib eye and T-bone steaks to share.
The MICHELIN Guide Croatia 2023 at a glance:
o 11 MICHELIN Star restaurants (including one newly-awarded restaurant)
o 3 Green Star restaurants (including one newly-awarded restaurant)
o 14 Bib Gourmand restaurants (including three newly-awarded restaurants)
o 64 restaurants recommended by the MICHELIN Guide (including nine newly-recommended restaurants)
The complete 2023 Croatia MICHELIN Guide selection is available on the MICHELIN Guide website https://guide.michelin.com/en and on the MICHELIN Guide application, available free of charge on iOS and Android.
