Restaurants On The Kornati

Restaurant Fešta 

Kornati restaurant Fešta enjoys reputation of fine food, stunning archipelago view, safe anchorage and peace and serenity

Restaurant Fešta belongs to one of the most prestigious places on Kornati but also the Adriatic coast. Located at the waterfront inside Golubovac lagoon on the island Žut – a tiny island featuring steep yet indented coast dotted with Robinson-like coves providing safe shelter for fishermen and small sailing boats. Ever since 1993 this has been a family-run catering business founded by Mirko Mudronja and inherited by his son Krešimir. Nestled between hundreds of years old olive grove and cypress shade this restaurant surprises with open wood fire, stone bread oven and two fish tanks hence exceptionally interesting for yachtsmen would be berths supplied with electricity and water with capacity of 30 boats free of any charge for restaurant guests. Visitors have options of enjoying on one of two spacious terraces. Restaurant interior wears old Dalmatian tavern style. A whole range of fishermen and farmers tools, cutlery and traditional costumes are exposed here – a genuine regional collection. A team of young caterers under leadership of Krešimir Mudronja takes care of fine food. Restaurant offers daily fresh fish, seashells and frutti di mare. Fish is prepared á la Kornati fisherman way, special delicacies would be white fish Carpaccio, conger eel pâté and swordfish tartar. One can savour more than thirty kinds of cold appetizers and desserts. Food is prepared with extra virgin olive oil originating from island olive groves and produced ecologically. Pasta and bread are homemade. Wine list is impressive encompassing champagne, white, rosé and red wines from Dalmatia, Istria, Continental Croatia but also numerous International wines. Wine menu symbolizes long-lasting investment in knowledge, relationship with wine producers, wine-growers, suppliers and guests and keeps in touch with trends therefore it contains many wine sorts including those rare ones originating from Croatia or the world. What makes this restaurant different from others is its own eco system. The restaurant owners built a powerful solar system and use desalting device producing 800 l of drinkable water per hour and invested in aquatron. Restaurants offers also a few rooms and apartments providing relaxation and cosmetic treatment and massage. Children can have fun at Aqua Park. A petit sandy beach is also at hand. Island dwellers do not live there the whole year around. Fishermen, cattle herder, olive growers and fig collectors from Murter come there seasonally, so visitors can also take part in any of these activities or simply stroll along the island. Make sure on your sailing route across Kornati archipelago to visit this fish restaurant, inhale peace, feast your eyes on olive groves and narrow paths and wrap your day up with amazing view over Golubovac lagoon.

Opat Tavern

Sailing from Šibenik to the Kornati takes you to the Opat Bay and the Opat tavern where you are greeted with a big smile and positive energy. Ante Božikov, also known as Dolphin, is the soul of the tavern and an incredibly brave and creative head chef who is discovering the magic of cooking in his creek. Lucidity is yet another of his traits so you can definitely expect a big surprise for your palate. ‘After a whole day of sailing and bathing around the Kornati come the people who like to eat well. They look for big bits of fish and lobster, like lobster risotto with saffron or grilled lobster with hollandaise sauce prepared with olive oil. We cook a lot of broths from redfish, dusky grouper, and turbots à la Kornati. It’s specific because it’s made ‘cold’ by adding ingredients in the bowl, pouring oil over them and stirring. It is most important to guess the amount of water needed since more can’t be added during cooking. That’s how the fishermen cooked and I find this way the best. We receive home-made polenta from a mill in Imotski, that we cook for two–three hours and then it becomes a real meal’, Ante Božikov explains. We recommend that you try out the John Dory carpaccio with truffles, tuna, John Dory, and scampi tartare that are worth your attention since they are mixed with mint and lime crust. We also recommend the warty venus with pine nut, a drop of olive oil and pinch of home-made cheese. Don’t overlook the tuna, John Dory and warty venus sashimi smoked with Kornati plants such as strawflower, rosemary, sage and lavender.

Žakan Tavern

To dock in Žakan means to arrive at a place where everything is completely different, new, but still completely immersed in the 21st century. The top-notch approach applies for all segments of this tavern, since, when you enter it, you can’t believe that you’re on an island and in the Kornati, except when you sit down and take a look at your surroundings. The gastronomical approach is also modern, but the with atmosphere matching its location. ‘If you are first time visiting Žakan, it’s best to relax and try something from the taster menu that comes in multiple sequences according to the strength of taste, with a choice of excellent wines. We kick off with John Dory carpaccio and raw scampi, shrimp salad, marinated scampi, risotto with saffron, poached gilt-head bream filets on black polenta and olive oil emulsion and end with anglerfish in lobster sauce with one of many refreshing desserts’, explains Nikša Bakulić, the head chef and manager. The John Dory marinated in ginger and lime caught our eye. It’s a really refreshing small bite, but of rich taste. The wide choice of fish and herbs allows for ‘experimentation’ in the kitchen and the lobster salad really impressed us. Green salad, cherry tomatoes, arugula, capers, lettuce, yellow onions, all from the garden next to the tavern, in addition to olive oil, vinegar and lobster. It’s a really refreshing meal of juicy and rich flavour that is an equal to the king of crustaceans — lobster.