Restaurant Pojoda

Don Cvjetka Marasovica
Kut, Vis, Croatia
Ph: +385 (0) 21 711 575

FOR me, the best thing about travel is the dining experiences that come with it. So before my recent jaunt to Croatia I did a bit of internet research to see what the Dalmatian coast had in store for my palate.

Surprisingly, Google revealed not much. Regardless of how many “dining+Croatia” combinations I put into the search engine nothing seemed to jump out. In fact, there was only one restaurant that had more than a couple of mentions and it wasn’t even on the mainland but on the tiny island of Vis. Oh well, one is better than none so I printed out the info and made a point of seeking out Restaurant Pojoda when I was in the area.

While at Vis, our boat was docked in the main port so to eat at Pojoda we had to catch a taxi to the town of Kut, on the other side of the island. As it turned out, it was lucky we did because I think it may have been of a challenge finding the restaurant without some local knowledge.

Pojoda is owned by chef Zoran Brajcic, who also runs cooking classes for men who work on the many local chartered yachts and want to cook their guests traditional Croatian dishes.

When he’s not teaching others how to master his dishes, Brajcic is found in the tiny kitchen of his restaurant, where his selection of traditional Croatian dishes feature fish and plenty of chickpeas, lentils and vegetables.

On the night I visited, our party of six was keen to sample some of the fresh fish Pojoda is known for (which the waiter had presented to us at the table so we could choose the particular snapper we liked the look of) but the fish was a bit pricey so instead we decided to order a selection of Brajcic’s traditional dishes to share.

With some guidance from our waiter we opted for a seafood cocktail with prawns and scampi and topped with olives, tuna in caper sauce, yellowtail with capers, a fish broth and a barley broth with lentils and herbs.

Most were about 60-70 kuna (about AUD$15-20) and all were sumptuous. A seemingly never-ending supply of bread meant we were able to soak up the tasty juices and by the end we were all too full to fit in dessert.

While Restaurant Pojoda doesn’t seem to have much competition from other Croatian restaurants offering a high-end dining experience, I think it would hold its own even if it did.

8.5/10

- Zoe

Croatia

As is the case with any tourist-orientated country, dining in Croatia can be hit and miss.

Score a hit and you’ll find yourself in a family-run “konoba” with a plate of fresh fish or a wood-fired pizza with a topping of local Dalmatian ham (above).

Score a miss however and you are more likely to be dipping into a risotto that is more like a soup with granules of rice floating in it or a pizza covered in little more than flavourless cheese and imported seafood mix.

During a recent three-week stint in Croatia I dined in Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and many of the country’s islands. I had my share of misses but luckily they were outweighed by some pretty memorable hits.

Croatia hugs the Dalmatian coastline and is across the Adriatic Sea from Italy so the Italian influence - pizza, pasta and gelati - is everywhere.

For the majority the pizzas are cheap and tasty meal option, particularly in Zagreb and Split where the pizza-by-the-slice outlets are on many street corners with slices selling for about 8 kuna (AUD$2).

You have to be a little more discerning when choosing pasta however and I found a good rule of thumb was to avoid the main touristy areas and search for a restaurant a few streets back from the harbour. That’s what we did on the island of Hvar and the “frutti de mare” spaghetti and risotto were cheap, simple and up there with the best meals of our entire trip.

On the flip side, the worst was at Split where I decided to try the Croatian delicacy of black or squid-ink risotto. Unfortunately this dish fell into the soup-with-granules-of-rice category and I think I ate no more than two mouthfuls (a rarity for someone who a/loves her food and b/is such a tightarse can’t bear to leave anything on her plate, let alone 99 per cent of the dish)!

If you’re planning a visit to Croatia and really want to sample some local cuisine it’s worth jumping on a ferry and exploring the islands such as Hvar, Korcula, Vis or Brac. These picturesque holiday spots are full of fishing ports and the seafood selection is usually first class.

At Vela Luca (Tony Santic’s home town) on the island of Korcula I dined on sea bass, which was cooked before my eyes on an open flame and served with a drizzle of olive oil and a simple salad of salted potatoes and wilted spinach.

Put simply: superb. As I savoured every mouthful in the restaurant’s vine-covered courtyard with the sound of the ocean in the background I realised a restaurant doesn’t need a Michelin star (or three) to offer an amazing dining experience.

-Zoe

8/10