18 Best Restaurants in Split, Croatia For All Budgets

After two months living in Split, Croatia, I got well acquainted with the Split food scene. If you’ve read any of my travel food blogs before, you’ll know that’s what I do best! Although some of the top Split restaurants were closed for winter, I still managed to find some fantastic places to eat including several suitable for vegans and those travelling on a budget.

If you love coffee, go check out my Split coffee shop guide!

SPLIT ESSENTIALS

Accomodation: Booking.com / Hostelworld

Getting there: flight / car hire / bus (Flixbus)

Food activities: GetYourGuide / Viator

Read next: the ultimate Croatia itinerary

What is Croatian food like?

I asked this question to a local who told me there’s no such thing as Croatian food. My response was ‘huh?’ but after he explained, I got it.

Croatia has been split between different kingdoms throughout history. The north is influenced by Central Europe and has links to Austrian or German food while Istria has a strong Italian influence… as I well know after gorging myself on truffle pasta there! Then, there’s the Balkan influence with tasty dishes like ćevapi (ground meat sauces) and ajvar (roasted red pepper paste).

Then, there’s the matter of the different regions. The food in Split is influenced by the fresh seafood available on the Dalmatian coast, while central Croatian areas are more likely to rely on farmland for meat, vegetables and potatoes. There’s no specific Croatian cuisine: it’s super varied and depends where you eat it.

To give you a rough idea though, restaurants in Split commonly serve seafood, pasta, pizza, risotto and meat dishes. In this guide, I’ll share what to eat in Split and where.

Heading over the border to Slovenia? See my equally huge guide to where to eat in Ljubljana

Where to eat in Split – restaurants for local food

Although there are plenty of excellent traditional restaurants in Split to choose from, I think this is my second favourite after Villa Spiza. Konoba Fetivi is only a few minutes walk from the Old Town but it feels nicely hidden away from the busy Diocletian Palace area.

From the outside, the restaurant doesn’t look like much so you’d probably pass by if you weren’t looking. Inside is a spacious courtyard with artwork and antiques displaying a rowing and fishing theme.

This list of places to eat in Split isn’t in any particular order otherwise Pizza Bokamorra would be number one. I went 8 times in 8 weeks and was presented with free shots on my last night in town!

This lively restaurant serves fantastic pizzas, made in a woodfired oven in front of you. My favourite pizzas were the cheezus (four cheese), the tartufizza (truffle pizza), the porco mio (with loads of prosciutto) and the dessert pizza with raspberry, white chocolate and pistachio.

The venue is very cool and funky (although often way too loud for dinnertime) and the staff are great. I love this place!

International restaurants in Split

Now we’ve covered typical dishes in Croatia like pasta, fish and meat, let’s cover the international food in Split. I’m a huge fan of Mexican and various Asian cuisines and, although Split isn’t the greatest city in the world for this, there are a few decent options.

Here’s where to eat in Split for sushi, Mexican and more…

This is the best-rated sushi restaurant in Split with 5 stars on Trip Advisor and, although it’s a bit expensive, the sushi is great. I can’t vouch for the restaurant or service because I only had Mini Bota Sushi as a delivery via the Glovo app.

Adriatic Sushi & Oyster Bar

This is another sushi place that I ordered takeout from. According to Trip Advisor, it’s the second-best sushi in Split but I found it comparable in quality. On the Glovo app, the platters are slightly cheaper so I ended up repeat ordering this rather than Mini Bota.

I don’t think you can go wrong with either sushi place. Although I didn’t eat at either restaurant, I’m aware that Adriatic is a cool and spacious venue with outdoor seating while Mini Bota is smaller and cosier. I guess Adriatic is better for families and big groups but Mini Bota is good for pairs and dates.

To Je Tako is closed for winter and my friends fought tooth-and-nail for a table at their April re-opening party. After living in Mexico and becoming obsessed with authentic Mexican food, there was no way I was missing soft blue corn tacos!

It’s a small but atmospheric restaurant with quirky Mexican-themed details and live music (although this may have been just for the opening party). The classic margarita was great and my friends tried the frozen mango ones which aren’t my thing but apparently tasted good.

Terminal F

What to say about Terminal F? It’s definitely not gourmet but my friends and I ended up here often when arriving back from Split day trips by boat. Even though the menu is huge and I suspect things aren’t the freshest, the American-themed food is hearty, cheesy and affordable with generous portions.

The truffle veggie burger was better than I expected and they serve Croatian wines including Merga Victa Pošip (from the Smokvica region on Korčula island) which is one of my favourites.

To be honest, this wasn’t my favourite meal in Split. It was expensive (I paid 110 kuna for a wrap and fries) and the wet salad made it soggy. Still, many other people seem to like it and it’s a change from pasta, pizza and seafood.

Sexy Cow serves Mexican wraps and there’s even a spicy one: a rare treat when it comes to Croatian food. The truffle fries were very indulgent, loaded with parmesan and truffle mayo.

It’s just around the corner from Kava2, one of my favourite coffee shops in Split.

Cheap eats in Split

The food in Split Old Town is not cheap. In fact, I was quite shocked by the high prices while living there. I set myself a challenge to find budget eats in Split and succeeded in finding some decent options.

If you’re wondering where to eat in Split on a budget, look no further…

Recommended to me by an adventurous friend, Gostionica Apollo 11 is a 20-minute walk from the Riva in a quiet residential area. Unlike the upscale restaurants in Split Old Town, it’s a modest eatery frequented by locals on lunch breaks. The food is authentic, hearty and affordable.

After reading the hand-written menu sharing the dishes of the day. I settled on roast pork with rich gravy, a huge portion of mash and a whole basket of bread. Including a soft drink, I paid around €5. Bargain!

Kogo

There’s nothing fancy about this takeaway cafe serving fresh, affordable Dalmatian food like stuffed peppers, Greek salad and meat stew. The line of locals outside means more than any Trip Advisor review!

I had octopus stew with bread for less than 40 kuna. For central Split, that’s ridiculously good value. Although most people get their food packaged for takeaway, there are a couple of seats if you wish to sit down. Just let the staff know otherwise they’ll package your food in plastic.

Kogo is cash-only and I’d recommend getting there as early as possible. When I visited at 2pm, most of the dishes were already gone.

For a cheap eat in Split city centre, Kantun Paulina is an institution. This cash-only takeaway serves tasty, no-frills Balkan dishes like cevapcici, burgers and sausages.

I had a double burger stuffed with spiced meat, ajvar paste, kajmak clotted cheese and onion. I paid 40 kuna and was absolutely stuffed!

I have a love-hate relationship with börek after eating way too much in Croatia. This flaky pastry dish is stuffed with ingredients like cheese, spinach and potato. It’s filling and tasty but often very oily.

When grabbing food on the go, börek is cheap and widely available. You’ll find it everywhere from cafes to supermarkets often for as little as 5 kuna a piece.

Try every flavour under the sun at ST Burek including sweet varieties like stewed apple. For a cheap lunch in central Split, it’s a winner. The staff were friendly and explained all the options to me in English.

Although it’s not a restaurant, I wanted to give this place a quick mention. It was easily the best ice cream I had in Split with a ton of options for 12-16 kuna per scoop. As you can see from the photo, there’s always a line outside Luka Ice Cream & Cakes. I’ve yet to try the cakes but they look fantastic.

Typical dishes in Split

Since we’ve covered where to eat, I thought I’d share WHAT to eat in Split. Here are a few typical Croatian/Dalmatian dishes I think you’ll enjoy.

• Cream shrimp soup – seafood fans should order this delicious, rich appetiser. The best serving I had was at Konobo Fetivi
• Black risotto (crni rižot) – this typical Croatian dish is made from black squid ink. Don’t be put off by the unusual look: it’s very tasty
• Chickpea octopus stew – this dish is rich and filling. You may see it called čičvarda served with added bacon and veggies
• Sarma – pickled cabbage leaves are stuffed with ground meat and other ingredients to make this classic winter dish
• Burek / börek – as mentioned above, flaky pastry is stuffed with spinach, potato or cheese, served as a ravelled rope shape or as a pie
• Ćevapčići / ćevapi– these ground meat sausages are also found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Slovenia
• Peka – slow-cooked under a bell-shaped lid, this Dalmatian meal can be made with various meats and even octopus, usually with roast potatoes and meat gravy. I didn’t see it in any restaurants in Split so it’s best to book a peka experience. This was one of the foodie highlights of my entire 3-month Croatia trip!

Cooking classes

For a unique Split food experience, consider a cooking class. I’ve taken these all over the world and always love learning from the locals and feeling like I’ve really earnt my dinner! Including a morning market visit and wine and liquor tasting, you’ll be led by an award-winning local chef. Book for €150.

Since Croatian wine tends to be produced on a small scale, it’s rarely seen on supermarket shelves around the world so I didn’t know much about it before my visit. I’m now a huge fan, especially of Plavac mali (red) and Pošip (white).

Putalj is a popular place to go wine tasting outside of Split while Zinfandels and MoNIKa’s are cool wine bars in the Old Town.

Browse all Split wine tours.