This is a time when the whole world is looking for quick, cheap and attractive ways of packaging fast food to satisfy the appetites of busy people with too little time to eat a healthy, tempting and tasty snack.

However, the Croatian gastronomic supply is still trying to distance itself from these unhealthy dietary trends and to nurture the tradition of good quality, slow-food meals.

Croatian restaurant owners believe that eating is not just a means of survival, but a medium that connects people, a source of joy and relaxation. In many Croatian restaurants and Dalmatian konobas, especially in recent times, you can savour traditional home cooking, which includes food prepared from high-quality local ingredients according to ancient recipes.

Croatian cuisine is generally defined by the traditional characteristics of each individual area, which depend on the soil, climate, vegetation, and the pace of life and the work tempo of its population, as well as on the customs of nomads, foreign tradesmen and foreign armies, which have also left their traces in the everyday activities of these parts, including the cuisine.

In many respects, Croatia still rightfully holds the title of gastronomic paradise, with a rich variety of sub-cuisines. This overview is divided by region into five different cuisines: the cuisine of Dalmatia and its hinterland, the cuisine of Istria and Kvarner, the cuisine of Slavonia and Baranja, the cuisine of Zagorje, Međimurje and Posavina, and, finally, the cuisine of Lika and Gorski Kotar.

The cuisine of Dalmatia and its hinterland is one of the most appreciated cuisines in Croatia. It is mostly based on fish and seafood dishes which have made Croatia popular throughout the world. In fact, Croatia is renowned for its still unpolluted sea, its untouched nature where herbs and spices grow wild, as well as for its lamb. One of the special features of this cuisine are dishes seasoned with first-class, pure virgin olive oil from Croatian olive groves. We recommend the following dishes:

Fish and seafood dishes:

• A variety of shellfish from the area of Ston Bay - particularly Ston oysters
• Freshwater crayfish sautéed in its own sauce (buzara) and eel and frog brodetto - from the special cuisine of the Neretva Valley
• All types of high-quality fish - John Dory, anglerfish, seabass, seabream, dentex, which can be served as brodetto, or can be grilled or boiled
• Fish soups, octopus, cuttle-fish or musk-octopus salads
• Grilled squid from the Adriatic
• Shells or scampi sautéed in their own sauce (buzara), lobster
• Salted sardines and anchovies
• Marinated blue fish with side dishes
• Octopus baked under an earthenware lid (pod pekom)
• Viška pogača (a kind of savoury pie filled with anchovies, tomatoes, onion, olives and capers)

Meat dishes:

• Dalmatian prosciutto and pancetta (smoked bacon)
• Lamb from the islands of Cres and Pag - best on the spit or baked under an earthenware lid (pod pekom)
• Boiled beef, pašticada (marinated beef sautéed in a special sauce) 

Other dishes:

• Paški sir - a renowned sheep cheese from the island of Pag
• Dubrovačka rožata - a dessert, similar to crème caramel, a specialty of the Dubrovnik area
• Dried figs

The cuisine of the Istrian peninsula and Kvarner Bay is a variation of Dalmatian cuisine with some specific features such as dishes seasoned with white and black truffles - a special kind of mushroom that can be found in Istria and only in a few other places in the world. Many dishes here are made with tasty Istrian wild asparagus and seasoned with local wild herbs. We recommend the following dishes:

Fish and seafood dishes:

• A variety of shellfish from the area of the Limski Kanal fjord in Istria
• Scallops au gratin
• A variety of high-quality fish - brill, sole, John Dory, anglerfish, seabass, seabream, dentex... in brodetto, grilled or boiled
• Fish soups, octopus, cuttle-fish or musk-octopus salads
• Grilled squid from the Adriatic
• Anglerfish or stockfish paté
• Shellfish or scampi in its own sauce (buzara)
• Lobster with rigatoni
• Kvarner Bay Scampi
• Salted sardines and anchovies
• Octopus baked under an earthenware lid (pod pekom)

Meat dishes:

• Istrian prosciutto
• Smoked ombolo (pork fillet)
• Braised poultry or game (žgvancet) with polenta
• Home-made rolled pasta (fuži) in game sauce
• Lamb from the island of Cres baked under an earthenware lid (pod pekom)
• Hare under the lid 

Other dishes:

• Fritule, kroštule (fritters and doughnuts)
• Grobnik cheese
• Lovran chestnuts
• Truffle cheese
• Bobići - Istrian thick soup
• Jota (a dish with sauerkraut, beans, potatoes and dried meat) or fritaja (omelette) with wild asparagus
• Istrian pesto

The cuisine of Slavonia and Baranja is known for its very spicy, rich and substantial diet that comes from a flat, fertile terrain that enjoys a continental climate. The major part of the cuisine consists of meat dishes, although there are also freshwater fish specialties and various dishes based on local game. Slavonian cuisine is also known for its generous servings. We recommend the following dishes:

Meat dishes:

• Kotlovina (a mix of meat and sausages, slowly braised in a special kettle)
• Grilled dishes
• Pork on the spit
• Venison with cranberry sauce
• Goulash and game stew (čobanac)
• Knuckle of veal with side dishes 

Fish dishes:

• Fish stew with paprika (paprikaš)
• Carp on a roasting fork
• River fish - pike, catfish, sturgeon

Other dishes:

• Slavonian kulen (cured sausage with paprika), sausages, bacon, ham
• A variety of mushrooms
• Fresh cow's cheese
• Čvarci (pork rinds)
• Kulenova seka (a type of cured sausage)
• Orehnjača (walnut roll), makovnjača (poppy-seed roll), fresh cow's cheese strudel 

The cuisine of Zagorje, Međimurje and Posavina, intended mainly for labourers living in the poor villages of hilly areas, used to be very meagre. Nevertheless, a cuisine also existed for noble families in their manor houses. Today, the cuisine has been transformed into gastronomic specialties for select palates, prepared in a specific manner. We recommend the following dishes:

Meat dishes:

• Roast Zagorje turkey, duck or goose with mlinci (a special kind of boiled dough)
• Krvavice (blood sausages) with sauerkraut
• Knuckle of pork
• Meat preserved in spiced lard
• Stuffed chicken, stuffed breast of veal
• Cutlets and kotlovina (a mix of meat and sausages slowly braised in a special kettle)
• Sarma (mince meat rolled in pickled cabbage leaves)
• Liver with hashed potatoes
• Tripe
• Fried offal
• Grilled sweetbread

Fish dishes:

• River fish - trout 

Other:

• Prge cheese (cheese seasoned with paprika)
• Fresh cow's cheese and sour cream
• Fresh cow's cheese with red paprika
• Goose pate
• Štrukli (boiled dough rolls with fresh cheese) from Zagorje
• Strudel
• Thick soup from Zagorje
• Corn mash with onion and lard

The cuisine of Lika and Gorski Kotar is based on the abundant resources found in the forest and numerous mountain rivers of this area. The food is of excellent quality, and the variety of game provides a wide range of dishes for the most demanding connoisseurs of game cuisine. We recommend the following dishes:

• Bear prosciutto
• Venison goulash
• Bear steak with cranberry sauce
• Breaded and fried frogs' legs
• Lamb and suckling pig on the spit
• Venison in prosecco (a type of sherry)
• Game goulash
• Horse-meat dishes
• Ostrich-meat dishes 

Fish dishes:

• River fish - stuffed trout

Other dishes:

• Lika soup
• Pancakes with blueberries