Šibenik, Croatia

PelegriniAn old-town room cooking from the Adriatic

White water runs out behind the boat and the table in the cabin is already laid. On this coast the kitchen cooks what the quay brings in that morning.

Ten minutes on foot along the water from Banj beach brings you to the door, in the old town of Šibenik on the Croatian coast.

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PlaceŠibenik, Croatia

StyleFour or six courses

ChefRudi Štefan

CapacityTwenty-eight indoors

Half indoors, half on the square

Šibenik, Croatia — Dalmatian cooking, four or six courses.

The kitchen takes the cooking of this coast and makes it contemporary. Fish, shellfish, olive oil and herbs from the hillsides come from the shore and the islands around, put together the way people here have always put them together, only tighter. The menu follows the season and depends on what the quay has that day.

The tables move twice a year. In April and October, when it turns cold, only the indoor room is used and it seats at most twenty-eight. From the middle of May to the end of September the whole restaurant moves out to the Square of the Four Wells.

There is also a boat. The chef, Rudi Štefan, takes the helm for five and a half hours with four guests aboard, and the food is a basket he puts together for the trip.

A wooden table seen from above with plates set in a loose ring, each holding one or two small pieces, a white plate at the upper left with a red jelly-like dessert, a ring-shaped stone plate at the centre with several small items, stemmed glasses standing among them — A ring of plates on the wooden table

A paved stone square at dusk, brick and stone underfoot, stone walls and yellow plastered houses around it, dozens of tables filled with people and lit by lamps, pots of pink roses, a round stone well covered with an iron grate at the centre, and a strip of sea and island between two houses in the distance — The square before dark, tables full

A spread of seafood on beige linen: whole uncut lobster, oysters in the shell, fish fillets, sardines, cuttlefish, red peppers, lemons, figs and apricots, several wine bottles lying among them

What comes off the boat

Whole lobster, oysters and a few fish are spread out on beige linen, the shellfish still closed, and several wine bottles lie on their sides beside them.

Two cooks in white in the kitchen, one facing the camera holding up several long pods, the other turned away working at the counter, brick walls, tiles with a woven pattern and a terracotta floor

Behind the stove

One cook in a white jacket faces the camera holding four vanilla pods, his name embroidered across his chest. Another, in a tall hat and black apron, stands with his back turned at the pass. The wall behind them is stone, its lower half tiled in brown brick with a woven pattern.

Four wine bottles standing in a row on raised blocks of white stone, an old stone wall behind them, each label a different colour

Four bottles on white stone

Four bottles stand in a row on raised blocks of white stone, a rough stone wall behind them. Each label carries a drawing of a tree, and the names read Kuvi, Sauvignon Blanc, Vira and Pinot Noir.

A narrow paved lane, a row of outdoor tables and chairs with cutlery laid on the left and pots of plants, and at the end of the lane a stone church with a round window, a rose window and a dome

Route

Out through the stone lanes

This takes the whole evening. The old town is small and the door stands against the side wall of the cathedral of St James, so the walk back through the paved lanes does for the stroll after dinner.

A town built of stone

The old town of Šibenik stands on the Adriatic, its houses raised in pale stone, its lanes narrow enough that footsteps come back off the walls. The restaurant is at number 1 on one of those lanes, with the side wall of the cathedral of St James next door.

The sea supplies most of the menu. Fish landed that day, shellfish, olive oil and herbs from the slopes nearby are arranged again in the combinations people here grew up with, sent out one course at a time. The menu never explains what Dalmatian cooking is; the plates do the talking.

Booking, cancelling, who comes along

Tables are booked through the reservation link on the official site, and an automatic confirmation email follows. No deposit is requested; card details are held for late cancellations or no-shows.

Cancellation runs to 24 hours. Inside that, or on a no-show, a charge is made per person, and any booking made within the 24 hours falls under the same rule.

Children are fine. Say so when booking and a high chair and room for a pushchair can be cleared in advance. There is no children's menu, but the kitchen will cook something separately if asked. Dogs are not allowed indoors; the terrace takes them.

Whether it is open

The doors open at half past six in the evening, last orders at half past nine, and Sunday is closed all day. Elsewhere on the same page a notice reading temporarily closed still sits beside those hours, never taken down. A call, or a look at the site before setting out, settles which one holds.

Also worth knowing

How many courses, what to drink, where to leave the car.

Four is the floor

Four courses is the shortest menu and six is the longer one. There is no version shorter than four.

Reading the wine symbols

A flavour symbol beside each wine helps you read its character. The guide uses acidity for freshness, fat for softness, warmth and saltiness for minerality.

No wine of your own

Bringing your own bottle is not possible. Pairings come off their list and nowhere else.

No private room

There is no separate room. The whole restaurant can be taken for a dinner.

Where to park

The nearest garage is Poljana. In high season cars go to the beach car park at Banj, with the road running the whole way along the sea.

The well in the square

The well at the centre of the square is covered with an iron grate, and the tables are set around it.

Fitting a dinner here into a trip

Two addresses, four or six courses, one booking page, and a month to check before choosing.

Cuisine

Local cooking in a contemporary form. Four courses or six, and nothing shorter than four.

Booking

The reservation page on the official site is the only way in. The confirmation arrives by email.

Hours

Monday to Saturday, 18:30-21:30, last orders at half past nine, and closed all day Sunday. A notice reading temporarily closed still sits on the same page, so confirm before setting out.

Dress and diet

No dress code is listed. Children are welcome if mentioned at booking and the kitchen will cook for them separately, as there is no children's menu. Dogs stay on the terrace.

Plan this into a journey

Tell us the dates and who is travelling, and we can talk through how a night on the square fits a run down the Croatian coast.

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