Restaurants in Dubrovnik are usually expensive! Considering that Dubrovnik is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the top Croatian brand town, sometimes high prices can justify this title.
Many restaurant owners in Dubrovnik, sometimes count on fact that many tourists are just passing through (like the cruise passengers) and will not return to increase unjustly food and drink prices.
The truth is, Dubrovnik is expensive, but if you think that the exaggerated prices are reserved exclusively for the summer months, you are wrong. Prices in bars and restaurants are the same throughout the year, but like everywhere else, vary depending on the location.
The first advice to keep in mind is that prices outside the city walls are more lower. It is not surprising that a coffee on Stradun costs thirty or more kuna (about 4 Euro). The only place where coffee is more expensive (5 euro) is St. Mark’s Square in Venice.
Why instead looking for a place to eat on the Stradun, don’t take a stroll among the Old City side streets, where you will find plenty of cafes to enjoy a good coffee (for 9 to 11 Kuna), a good meal or just a snack.
Prices in bars and restaurants in Dubrovnik
Once you enter inside the walls of the old city you will find out that prices of some restaurants in Dubrovnik exceed the prices of the best restaurants of Nice or Cannes.
Thank god, today tourists are very well informed and many will check TripAdvisor, before they visit Dubrovnik. Despite of the fact that Dubrovnik is unreasonably expensive (particularly old town), it doesn’t mean that there are no places affordable where you can eat and drink in Old Town.
It’s time to look for places where you can drink coffee or eat something delicious, without fall into unconsciousness when the bill comes.
If you are looking for a good coffee than a small coffee bar ‘Fontana’ is a right place for a a good macchiato for 9,00 Kuna or a small Karlovac beer for 13 Kuna. Is it expensive? This bar is just few meters from Stradun street, in Izmedu Polaca 12, street. Find it on the map !
If you have a limited time in Dubrovnik, perhaps a good sandwich will be a solution. But not any kind of sandwich! At Antuninska street N° 1 only few steps from Stradun, there is an small buffet ‘Skola’ offering sandwiches of homemade bread with ham and cheese.
And if you happen to be there in the morning when a hot bread is just removed from the oven, it will be perfectly clear why these sandwiches enjoy cult status among the people of Dubrovnik and their guests.
Another place, a kind of urban institutions is a Gradska Kavana (City Café) located in the old town. It’s a city restaurant with a terrace which offers a wonderful view to most prestigious Dubrovnik attractions like Stradun, Orlando’s Column, Sponza Palace, Church of SS. Blaise and small Onofrio Fountain.
Prices are somehow higher than in the bars in the side Stradun streets, but still significantly less than those that are located directly on Stradun. Recently renovated is very popular place of local people.
Gundulic Square market is a best place to buy your beach picnic food, situated in the heart of the Old Town. The market opens every morning and closes in the afternoon, but if you would like to buy a fresh food, you should get up pretty early. People offer here fresh local products grown in the fields just outside the Town (mostly from Konavle region).
Near this market don’t miss to drop in Kamenica restaurant (meaning ‘oyster’) that offers fresh, tasty, good value seafood, overlooking the open-air market.
One of restaurants in Dubrovnik very much appreciated by locals for its limited menu of plain Dalmatian homemade seafood dishes. It’s always very crowded but it’s worth visiting. Oyster (Kamenica) is one of the traditional restaurant in Dubrovnik that serves dishes such as octopus salad, fried squid, mussels (mussel) prawns, black risotto and it can not be missing, fresh Ston oysters.
This restaurant is commonly recommended in Dubrovnik, and it may look like too touristy place but I found prices rather fair compared to the other in the old town.
If you like pizza, only a step from Kamenica, there is Pizzeria Castro, Gundulic Square 5. Most locals will tell that Castro is, among pizza restaurants in Dubrovnik, the bestplace in old town. Considering affordable prices, excellent service, delicious pizzas and a great location are sufficient reasons when you decide ‘it’s time for pizza ‘.
When you want an ice cream or maybe the best crepes in the city, than Dolce Vita, a pastry shop in Naljeskoviceva street 1a, is right place for you.
This pastry shop offers pancakes (palacinke in Croatian) with various fillings, ice cream, chocolate, nuts, vanilla or jam. For two pancakes you’ll pay less than for a small coffee with milk anywhere in Stradun.
Luckily, among restaurants in Dubrovnik you can find also vegetarian & vegan restaurants. Rosa and Gildas, Croatian/Swiss couple run one at Prijeko street n° 30. It’s name is Nishta.
As far as I know it’s the only vegetarian restaurant in Dubrovnik. It offers 100% vegan dishes, raw and more and more popular dishes without gluten. Prices are acceptable and there are no main courses that exceed 100 Kuna.
This small restaurant is located only a step from the main Stradun street , in Prijeko street, also known as the most expensive street after Stradun.
Fish restaurants in Dubrovnik Old Town
I haven’t visited all of them but I recommend two fish restaurants that everything they offer is guaranteed to be fresh.
On the dockside next to the peskarija (fish market), Lokanda restaurant serves cost-effective traditional Dalmatian seafood dishes at outdoor tables sheltered by big white umbrellas, overlooking Dubrovnik’s old harbor, under the St.Ivan tower.
With its lovely waterside location, ideal for an informal lunch, but also quite romantic at night, with flickering candles on the tables.Young waiters serve food wearing blue-and-white striped sailor shirts.
This is one of Dubrovnik restaurants always crowded and sometimes you need patience to find a table, particularly in high season. The average price for two courses meal including house wine, is about 350 Kuna (two persons).
Proto restaurant located in the center of the Old Town, in Siroka street n° 1. Established in 1886 is one of the oldest fish restaurants in Dubrovnik. Traditionally offers fish specialties prepared according to the old recipes of Dubrovnik fishermen.
This is a traditional and old-fashioned place where you will eat well but you’ll also pay for it. For a two-course meal for two with a bottle of wine, the bill will be around 1.000 Kuna (134 Euro).
TIP: When you order a fish meal ask the waiter to bring you the fish to see it before. Pay attention on fish eyes and gills. The eyes should be bright, not blurry and gills must have a clear red color.
Romantic restaurants in Dubrovnik
What are the standards for one restaurant to gain the epithet as a romantic place? One of the most important conditions is a sea view and a look at the old town.
When looking for romantic place nothing is allowed to distract you from the only two things that matter – the food and the view. Dubrovnik has many excellent restaurants but the most of them are in the very city center and only few looking out at the Adriatic sea.
If you are planning to visit Dubrovnik, here are some of the most attractive and romantic restaurants in Dubrovnik, where the food and the view make difference. Of course, to have all this, the price will be rather salted.
Nautica – Top end romantic restaurant
Nautica is considered the “best restaurant in Dubrovnik” and it is where Pope John Paul II dined during his visit to Dubrovnik.
The restaurant is near the Pile gate to the Old Town and it boasts views on the Old Town walls and Lovrijenac fortress. The seafood and service is first class but it’s also considered as one of the most expensive restaurants in Dubrovnik. Reservations are highly recommended.
Hotel Excelsior romantic restaurant
Foodie heaven awaits you in Dubrovnik, where five-star restaurants sit side by side with traditional taverns, serving the freshest and tastiest cuisine. It’s five stars Excelsior restaurant with the dramatic vista of the old harbor and walled city from one side and green Lokrum island from the other.
This restaurant is a 5-10 min walk from the Ploce gate ( the main eastern entrance of the Old Town). It is an Italian restaurant. You dine on a terrace with great views of the Old Town. Reservations is highly recommended.
Restaurant Victoria
This restaurant is a part of luxury Villa Orsula Dubrovnik hotel. This is the first Peruvian restaurant on the Adriatic with Roberto Chavez, the young head chef of Victoria Restaurant & Lounge Bar.
The romantic Restaurant Victoria is probably the prettiest restaurant I have ever been to. The eye-catching view of Dubrovnik’s walled Old Town is unmatched, and the elegant, flower-decorated terrace is stunning. You can have a very romantic dinner here while the sun is setting over Old Town and the Adriatic. What could be more romantic?
The restaurant 360° is located in the Old town of Dubrovnik, 1 min from Ploce gate It has just a superb location at the end of the city walls overlooking the old harbor.
Ekvinocijo Restaurant (Konoba) is an excellent little, hidden restaurant. It’s unique among small hidden romantic restaurants in Dubrovnik.
This family-run restaurant serves tasty Dalmatian dishes such as lobster soup, fresh seafood and locally produced sausages. Outdoor tables are arranged on a small terrace. It is opened from May to mid-October.