Zadar Restaurants

Eating out in Zadar concentrates on the peninsula and the Varos quarter immediately behind it. Varos is the older, narrower half of the scene: stone lanes a few minutes from Kalelarga holding konobas that cook the Dalmatian repertoire, grilled fish, brodet, pasticada with gnocchi and lamb or octopus under the peka lid, the last of which usually has to be ordered several hours in advance. Around Fosa, the small harbour just outside the Land Gate, the tables face the moored boats and the menus lean harder on whatever came off them. The city market and the covered fish market behind Narodni trg are worth ten minutes even if you are not cooking, because they set the price and the season for everything on the menus nearby.

Away from the walls the pace changes. Borik and Puntamika serve the hotel and campsite trade with pizzerias, grills and family restaurants that turn tables faster and price lower, and Diklo keeps a handful of long-standing konobas that still fill with locals. Ingredients travel a short distance here: lamb and cheese from Pag, olive oil from Ravni Kotari, salt from the Nin pans, and Maraschino, the cherry liqueur Zadar has been distilling since the eighteenth century, at the end of the meal. Most kitchens run from midday to around eleven through the season, and a good share of the smaller places close between November and March.