Eating out in Dalmatia

Dalmatian food is Mediterranean. Not exactly Italian but much like it. Lots of fish and grilled meat for dinner and something lighter for example pizza for lunch. Most places will provide white Italian-style bread free of charge while you wait for your food.

Lunch typically costs around 5 Euro (£ 3,40). Lunch might be pizza or a salad with a soft drink or a beer.

Diner is 10-20 Euro (£ 6,80- 13,60). If your holiday takes you to one of the countless small family-run roadside restaurants, it might pay off asking what they can recommend. A son, a nephew or a third uncle on the wife's side of the family might just have caught calamari or butchered a lamb.
Prices (on everything) are higher in Dubrovnik.

Croatian wine is excellent (though mostly unknown outside the former Yugoslavia). 

Places to eat in Komarna

Komarna is a small place and options are very limited. The Villa Bili restaurant across the street from Apartment Tedo is the only official possibility. It opens mid-morning and the kitchen closes around ten at night. Later if there are customers (picture left is from restaurant terrace).

Villa Bili also has a konoba (a cave-like den used for eating and drinking). It is much cooler in there in the middle of the day and you can usually have your food served there. Do not however go in there and expect a waiter to show up. Go to the restaurant and ask if you can have it brought down there.

There is a second konoba. It does not officially exist though. An ex-navy diver and his wife run the konoba. The restaurant is basically the family living room but not a living room in the North European sense of the word. It is roofed but open and right next to the sea. It is a cosy and highly recommended place to eat (picture right is konoba at sun-down).

The husband catches the fish himself therefore you have to pre-order meals here. Preferably doing so a day in advance. Vanja (the house keeper in Apartment Tedo will show you the place if you like).

Places to eat outside Komarna

There are numerous restaurants everywhere on the road from Split to Dubrovnik as well as on the inland road to Mostar. As everywhere else in the world: Check out which places are full and which places are not. If the place is full of tourist, it might be a freak accident. If it is full of locals, that is a good indication that prices and quality are what they ought to be.

The small settlement of Duboka just South of Komarna has a good restaurant. The Villa Malo Misto is open all year but is closed on Sundays. It has good food but prices tend to be slightly higher than what you would expect.
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Klek three kilometers south of Komarna was the place to go for a holiday if you were a communist official in old Yugoslavia. The plenitude of small worn down flats and bungalows might seem like something out of the 70's but luckily the restaurants by the beach are in better shape. The Hotel Plaza has good food and attentive waiters. The Adriatic on the coastal road is good as well. And a special recommendation goes to the new restaurant Skoj on the beach. It is under good management and has a high standard together with reasonable prices.

Neum eight kilometers South of Komarna is in Bosnia- Herzegovina (remember your passport). Despite Neum's size it is a bustling market town. All restaurants and shops in Neum will accept Croatian Kuna.

There are lots of reasons why tourists on holiday and locals alike go to Neum. The main reason is lower prices than in Croatian. Cigarettes and liquor are cheaper than in Croatia. Food and most other things are cheaper as well. And then there is the relaxed attitude toward pirate CD's and DVD's.

The restaurants on the coastal road are neither good nor bad. We recommend the first one on the left after the T-junction when you come from Komarna, Restaurant Possidon. Food is always good and they have a lot on the menu to choose from.

If you drive down towards the beach by the road on the right you will find two restaurants on your right hand. They both have a good selection on the menu and a reasonable price/quality ratio. Humska Kuca (house on the hill) is the first one just after the entrance to Hotel Sunce and then there is Bonaca about 100 meter before the bottom of the road. Bonaca has excellent fish and Humska Kuca has the bigest menu card. Both are reasonable with their prices and provide a good and professional service.

Some people prefer the beach in Neum to the beaches in Klek and Komarna. Maybe it is the wide selection of souvenir shops and smaller restaurants. The restaurants are all-right and mostly coffe shops. Begging can be a hassle on this beach. Try to ignore the beggars if they bother you. There is especially a "blind" man you should watch out for. He will watch out for you if you seem sympathetic.

Going North from Komarna you head into the Neretva River Delta. Opuzen has a couple of restaurants opposite the petrol station. The Hotel Merlot has a good menu card and a good kitchen. Inside Opuzen on the central square there is Pizzeria Beso.

And further away in Metkovic there is more opportunities. Restaurant Taverna in the Mercator shopping mall complex and Restaurant Adria just before you enter town from Opuzen. There are also dozens of cafes everywhere and especially on Sportska Road by the stadium. But there is not a whole lot of reason why you should go that far.

The picture above is from a "secret" bar outside the walls of Dubrovnik old town. It is not easy to find, but do try. From the main square and church walk west through small alleys until you hit the wall. At this point turn right and look out for a sign saying "cold drinks". That's it. Through a small door you are able to get to the other side of the wall and to the bar.

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Croatian restaurants in Komarna and the area near Metkovic, Ploce, Klek and Neum in South Dalmatia