Showing posts with label Croatia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Croatia. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Sebastian (Dubrovnik - Croatia) 08/2018

 Recommendations from local residents here are likely to be directed towards supporting their friends business. I suspect that was the case when we were directed to Sebastian. The plump proprietor stood outside hoping for business while her attractive waitress served her customers.
It's a typical Dubrovnik restaurant with inside/outside dining.  The small menu is displayed on a board outside so patrons know the dishes and prices.
We chose to sit inside 

to escape the heat.
A few paintings around the walls 

seemed incongruous to me.
We really wanted to try the fish so, after a soup

one fish,

and one vegetable,
we had our fish dish, grilled Sea Bass. It was very good as were the accompanying vegetables.
I had a steak, which was not very tender but tasted fine.
 
This is very like good home cooking. Now, having read some reviews, my impression is that the dish to go for is the tuna.
Score:13.5 /20

Sunday, August 12, 2018

360 Degrees (Dubrovnik, Croatia) 08/2018



Michelin starred restaurants are not too common in Croatia but there’s one in Dubrovnik. Right on the edge of the Old City harbour it’s terrace seating look over an ever changing scene as ferries and other boats constantly come and go.
The scenery is second to none. Also available are cubicles, equipped with fans, if one does not wish to sit outside. Table settings are simple and attractive.
Cutlery

and glassware are excellent.


From start to end this is a classy restaurant.
Their menu is remarkably flexible. They have two five course degustation menus. One ‘Retrospective’ Mario, the chef’s, best dishes over the last decade and ‘Mario’, his current best dishes. They have remarkable flexibility. Two people at the one table can each have a different tasting menu and beyond that they also allow one change per patron which allows avoidance of an undesired product or choice of an item not on the selected menu.
There is also an à la carte menu.
We chose to have both tasting menus.
Starting with the traditional amuse bouche

Bread comes with two butters - one a foie gras flavour and the other truffle flavoured!
the menu continued as follows:
RETROSPECTIVE
RED PRAWNS
Carpaccio / Citrus emulsion / Sour turnip.
MACKERAL
Bonito dressing / Chimchurri / Celery purée / Cucumber
We swapped this for a beetroot risotto
OCTOPUS
Fennel / Lime ravioli / Fish soup
SEABASS
Cream of garlic and potatoes / Cuttlefish / Lemon cream / Green sauce.
This was some sort of palate cleanser!

COFFEE
Chocolate and coffee granache / Cocoa nibs crumbs / Marscapone cream / Vanilla ice cream.
MARIO
CARROT
Slow cooked / Cream & chips / Black garlic / Pine nuts
SCAMPI
Kadaif / Jerusalem artichoke / Scampi cappuccino
TURBOT
Cauliflower cream / Clams / Dark fish stock

BLACK PORK
Neck / Sour onion tart / Pork skin chips / Sweet potato / Cream of mustard
CHOCOLATE
Coffee / Chocolate mousse / Orange / Raspberry sorbet 

The meal was completed with an offering of hand made sweets/chocolates,

including some surprise inclusions.
Comments: These are adventurous menus in which it is inevitable that some dishes will not meet expectations, indeed it is possible that none of them will! Everything was very good but, in my view, they are lucky to get a Michelin star and might struggle to keep it. As always presentation was excellent. Some dishes were rather tiny, e.g. the scampi but overall they were adequate. 
Score: 17/20