A boating vacation is mostly sea, sun and wind: but not only that. Increasingly, in fact, organized packages of wine and food tours by boat can be found online, where the food is the pretext and the boat the medium. A perfect combination that adds to the magic of spending fun days surrounded by nature the pleasure of the senses.
That is why we want to offer you five of the best and best known konobe in Croatia, precisely those in and around the Kornati Islands. The itinerary, designed for us by the editors of Barcheyacht.com, the website dedicated to booking and creating boating vacations, takes us through the flavors of Croatian seafood cuisine starting in Murter and then passing through Smokvica Vela to Kornati Island with two planned stops in Opat Bay and Striznja.
THE FISH ACCORDING TO FABRO
The starting port is the Marina Hramina in Murter, a fishing village and a well-known holiday destination. The facility has about 400 berths available for boats up to 50 meters. There are plenty of restaurants in the small bay, but one of the best is undoubtedly Restaurant Fabro(+385 (022) 434-561), which overlooks the seashore in a very picturesque atmosphere. There is availability of mooring and dead bodies. The private wharf, equipped with electricity and water, can accommodate a fair number of boats and is T-shaped with 24 +15 m in length and 2.60 m in width while the depth of the seabed is 3 meters at the entrance and 2.5 near it. Prices are medium-high, about 45 euros for a full meal, but it is worth it because the dishes, both raw and cooked fish, are prepared with refined passion for cooking and good flavors. If you are dry of English or Croatian you can rest assured because the waiters speak perfect Italian while if you want to share dishes with your friends in Italy indulge in photography, the restaurant has free wifi.
DINNER IN THE GARDEN AT KONOBA PICCOLO
Navigation can continue in the direction of the Kornatiislands to stop at theislet of Smokvica Vela, on the south side of Kornati National Park, precisely in Lojena Bay. Here we can sample the delicacies of Konoba Piccolo, one of the Kornati’s most renowned small restaurants and offering lunch or dinner in the shade of the trees in its small inner garden. There is a small pier, however, devoid of dead bodies and with a shallow bottom consisting of limestone slabs, so mooring is very complicated. The restaurant is family-run, and taking care of the details of the dishes are the Turcinovs, fishermen who prepare spaghetti with spider crab, brodetto and grilled fish. Highlights include tuna pate, stew, pasta with lobster, and “Small” pijat. All of this is seasoned with homemade extra virgin olive oil. Open all week (+385 98 183 2283 – konobapiccolo@gmail.com).
AT KONOBA OPAT THE FISH IS YOUR CHOICE
Heading up toward Kornati you can stop at Opat Bay, a very large inlet with numerous buoys, many of which belong to the two restaurants in the area, and a jetty with dead bodies and electric current and a bottom of about 3 meters but bad tenor. It is perfect for a rejuvenating bath but also for spending a quiet night. As anticipated here we find Konoba Opat, a delightful little restaurant (+385-) 091 473 25 50), which can only be accessed by sea, housed in beautiful stone building with a rustic gazebo. It is for this reason that the venue provides its customers with about fifteen moorings and a floating dock with the possibility of using electricity (usable, however, only when the venue is open). The strong dish is baked fish cooked in large pans and accompanied by potatoes and tomatoes. Shellfish and lobster pasta are also excellent. Before you choose your favorite dish, the owner, Mr. Ante Bozikov, will escort you to the large refrigerators in the kitchen so you can directly choose the fish you would like to eat.
THE MAGICS OF THE DARKO FISHERMAN
Sailing further north, one arrives at Striznja Bay. Here, before stopping at one of the two restaurants that welcome tourists, the konoba “Four” (+385 91 7549420) with three concrete piers and the konoba “Darko” (+385 98 9409 755, +385 98 435 988 – kornatidarkostriznja@gmail.com), with a pier and dead bodies(seven), one cannot help but indulge in a walk on the path leading to the top of Mount Melina (237 meters) to admire the amazing view of the sea. If the former is a konoba loved and preferred mainly by powerboat owners the latter is purely for sailors. The owner of the latter restaurant is a “sui generis” character; his name is Darko and he is a hardcore fisherman. You will see him always wandering around with a glass of wine in his hand. Accompanying him in running the restaurant is his wife Branka and two daughters. Highlights are sea bass, sea bream,redfish but also delicious are fresh squid and lobster. The wild card dish, however, is the lamb, which, however, should be ordered a little in advance.
Has your mouth been watering? Then all you have to do is satisfy this urge by starting to choose the right proposal from the hundreds of boat vacation ads on Barcheyacht.co.uk.
