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brynna
We've created a new set of mini-Fresh* guides to Dubrovnik. If you are wondering about where to go out in Dubrovnik or Korcula, there are a lot of places to get your eat on. Unfortunately, a good many are the same, geared towards tourist menus that can be carried from one restaurant and ordered from at the next.
For nightlife, you'll find the usual suspects, bars, clubs, cafe bars, squid fishing, and discos.
While the following isn't an extensive list, we've tried to name a few places that stand out. Unfortunately, some are usually a little further out from town but well worth the visit. Since addresses are almost irrelevant here, we haven't listed them. Just ask a local for directions.
Without further ado, here are some of the best places to eat, drink, and go out in Korcula, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb.
Sanja and I love to go to Mate for great food, wine, and peace. The menu is creative and serves local dishes you won't find elsewhere. The people are lovely and, yes, I do wish I were there now.
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Picture the Mediterranean and then picture Grubinac. Lovely dining terraces surrounded by olive trees, old stone walls high enough to fall from but not get injured, a view of the sun going down over Peljesac peninsula... You get the picture. Nice family run business.
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Can you imagine the owner of a restaurant picking you up and two of your friends in the middle of the winter and then driving you home again after a beautiful meal of fish, figs, and fine wine? That's Maslina. Warm people who cook a variety of dishes not found elsewhere.
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Whatever you do, don't ask for the sipak liquor. Or at least don't ask for it with a Canadian accent. Things can get embarrassing (see Croatian dictionary, section, body parts, or another name for an idiot). Actually, whatever you do, make sure you do ask for sipak liquor and take a couple bottles home with you if supplies are kind. They make a fantastic pomegranate alcohol, and it's so red. Apart from homemade inebriants, Zure offers some of the best seafood that we've had (not including those great oyster restaurants in Ston, but I digress). Again, great people whom you'd rather invite to sit with you than order from.
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Roughly translated, dnodna is the 'bottom of the bottom'. It's a fitting name for a funky bar that you might expect to find in places like Tokyo, Hong Kong, or New York. Small with a crazy interior designer. We like it for its chilled music, interesting fixtures (including the many locals who frequent the place), and friendly bar staff.
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It would be hard to quench your thirst in a more original setting. Located in one of Korcula's stone towers, this cocktail bar is a great place to drink some drinks, snap some picts, all the while worrying about how to descend the steep lawsuit inducing stairs back down to terra firma.
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With a beautiful terrace overlooking boats, nay, yachts that you will someday own, quick one more cocktail barkeep! Tramonto is the place to sip mojitos whilst the sun slowly sets.
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Where do local youth drink themselves silly? At Dos Locos of course!
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For a full listing of bars, clubs, pubs, and discos, check out our new fresh* mini-guide to Dubrovnik nightlife.
Simple menu, reliable food, great location, and decent prices makes this one of our favourites. During the season, it can get a bit more than a bit busy so be prepared to wait or try one of our other local haunts. [old harbour, old town, Dubrovnik]
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Looking for Indian food? Well, this isn't actually the place. However, good news is that the Taj Mahal is a friendly and delightful restaurant that serves a nice selection of traditional Bosnian food. Think grilled meats, some veg, and burek. Love the baked potatoes. [Svetog Dominika b.b., Dubrovnik, TEL: +385.020.322.220]
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The name of this cafe bar is appealing in its simplicity and quite possibly incorrect. No idea what the place is actual called but if you find yourself wandering the old town, you will see signs that lead you like a well-trained pet towards.... cold beer. At any rate, lovely place to catch the sun going down. The drinks are somewhat pricey but soak up the view and enjoy. You can always balance your budget later at Fresh for Happy Hour. [inside the old town Dubrovnik / outside its walls]
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Dubrovnik seems to have a connection to a certain emerald isle, or at least to a certain Irish beer. If you fancy a Guinness (and who doesn't?), there are now three Irish pubs in the old town. Irish Pub Karaka has been around longer and attracts a younger crowd. Next door, the Gaffe Irish Pub serves up great homemade burgers and international sports on a big screen TV. Katie O'Connor's Irish Pub, the new kid on the block, is a lovely place to grab a drink or three. Good atmosphere, friendly owners, plus a big screen tuned to Sky Sports and Irish sporting events. All are just a hop away from Fresh*. Walk along Stradun and keep your eyes open for the glowing Guinness signs beckoning you like a siren from the side streets. [off Stradun, old town Dubrovnik]
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A hole in the wall (literally) opens up to one of the most unique drinking settings in Dubrovnik. Less touristy than 'Cold Beer', Mala Buza is a fantastic place to sun, drink, swim, drink, talk to eccentric locals, drink, swim, drink, well, you get the idea. Highly recommended. [outside city walls, old town Dubrovnik]
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Latino Club Fuego is, well, um, one of the only places for the late night crowd (after 1am) that is consistently busy. Not particularly overwhelming, it's a bit of a basement cum meat market but worthy of some late night / early morning alcohol induced madness, if only just to keep the buzz going. There is a cover charge and the music isn't just Latin. [outside Pile Gate]
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Never thought I'd say this but there's some fine Japanese food to be had in Zagreb. It's a bit on the posh side but Japanese sushi chef Moto and his crew give hungry sushi lovers all sorts of reasons to part with their kuna. Reservations recommended.
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A tram ride from the main square, Medvedgrad is home to beer and lots of it! Judging by the hordes of students packing themselves into the copper and wooden interior of this spacious beer hall, beer prices are some of the best in the city. Great happy hour specials and tasty food make this a good place to learn the always useful expression 'jos jedno pivo molim'.
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If you hang out in Zagreb long enough, you'll notice a trend. Every evening, this little sandwich shop is the savior to many for post-drinking nourishment. Even sober, you will find a creative selection of affordable goodness.
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We spent a whole winters' evening looking for a place to have a quiet drink, the chilled music and
funky vibe of this little grapperia lured us in from the cold. We've been coming back ever since. A five-minute walk from the main square. Make sure you try the med (honey) grappa.
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A fairly recent addition to the Zagreb scene, Skola is the type of place that one might go to be seen. It's a lounge bar / restaurant with a nicely done out interior, knowledgeable staff, and interesting drink menu.
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