(Zadar, Croatia)
A surprise for us was what appeared to be an unassuming restaurant down an unassuming alleyway that we would sometimes pass when we’d meander through the narrow streets of Old Town. As Grant and I try to eat at various places, we settled on this restaurant one evening after checking out the menu and realizing the prices were reasonable. In Europe, it is typical for a restaurant or cafe to post their menu outside so you can make up your mind whether to eat there or not without having to sit down at a table or ask for a menu beforehand.
On this evening, Grant settled for a pumpkin and mushroom risotto and I chose a steak and truffle pasta with cream sauce. The first bite of my pasta made me satisfied I had ordered the right dish. This pasta was one of the best cream sauce pastas I’ve had in a while. They didn’t skimp on the truffles and the flavor of this mushroom permeated the pasta and left a noticeable impression in the sauce. It was very creamy and the pasta was perfectly cooked. Grant’s risotto was super tasty. He didn’t know what to expect based on the ingredients but the creaminess of his risotto came from the texture of the pumpkin. The bacon added just enough flavor of smokiness so as to not to overwhelm the sauce.
The waiter surprised us with two shot glasses filled with liqueur from a local company called Maraska, which has been in business for over 500 years. This is the origin of the maraschino cherry, which was originally called the marasca cherry, and is native to Croatia. The glass on the left contains a cherry brandy, called Kirsch, and the one on the right is a cherry liqueur, called Wishniak. The cherry liqueur was sweet and tasty, but the cherry brandy was strong and bitter.
We enjoyed our meal here very much. I later looked up this restaurant on trip advisor and noticed one person’s comment:
“I didn’t think Zadar was a city for foodies to get good food but I’ve since changed my mind after eating at this restaurant”.
And we would have to agree. Along with Bruschetta, we highly recommend this restaurant. The atmosphere is nice and modern and the wait staff are all very professional. This restaurant serves the standard pasta, pizza, burgers, steak and also quasi-Mexican food items such as tortilla wraps and chimichanga rancheros. I didn’t have a chance to try the latter but Grant has had the pizza and says it was very good; the pizzas come in a thin crust.
I still feel Bruschetta is fancier, and my top choice as far as restaurants in Old Town Zadar go, but 4 Kantuna is a close second, with the food prices being slightly cheaper.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017