Kornat (Zadar, Croatia) 08/2018

By now we have eaten at dozens of Croatian restaurants. The food has always been fresh and varied from haute cuisine to generally reasonable home cooking. Venues have been characterised by their simplicity. Many have had incredibly beautiful views from sea side or port side settings. Some have had elegant crockery and glassware and some food has been served with extreme attention to detail and presentation. What has been absent, so far, has been a truly attractive and elegant venue. Kornat is the exception. From the large white clothed tables,

to the comfortable chairs, the solid cutlery and the fine Rona glassware, the uniformed waiters, the bar showing silent Charlie Chaplin movies on a wide screen 

to the art nouveau decor including the attractive glass ceiling 

and the Klimpt toilet decoration 

it speaks everywhere of thoughtful good taste.

They have terrace dining but we were fortunate to get a table opposite the bar. Actually we were fortunate to get a table at all. If you want to go, to be safe, make a reservation.. 

The emphasis of the menu is on fish. We didn't know what to order so, to make it easier for us the waiter brought out a tray of fresh fish. The lobster was still alive and walking off the platter!

Sandra chose a Grouper, the red fish at the front.

The meal started with an amuse bouche of chick pea and olive. 

I chose muscles for an appetiser. 

Most of their fish are offered by weight - x Kuna /100 gm. The mussels were 15 Kuna, about A$3.50 per 100gm. Sandra had a selection of raw seafood.

The cooked fish (baked or grilled) was brought whole to the table 

and then boned by the waiter and served.

The most popular side dish here is Swiss Chard, with or without potato. I chose the Konat thick, rich fish soup. 

We finished the meal with a dessert, initially we were encouraged to take a mille fleur 

which fell apart on presentation and we asked instead for chocolate cake. 

Our young waiter, a son of the proprietor, kindly replaced it without charge. 

So what about the food? The raw fish platter was extremely fresh and helped by the small piles of spicy wasabi. The muscles had not been bearded properly and, despite being tasty, were unpleasant to eat. The grouper was a bit dry and the only sauce available was olive oil. This turned out well as there was no bitterness in the oil they gave us. The soup was rich and delicious with enough fish in it. The langoustine, or what ever it was, was hard to eat but worth the effort. It was fantastic, sweet and moist.

We didn't taste the mille fleur but the chocolate cake was also excellent.

With coffee and three glasses of wine and water the bill came to approximately A$250.

Score 16.5/20