As you walk the street of the historic city passing one stodgy village dining room after another, Defne located on the terrace of the Pucic Palace is a welcome sight with its stylish awning and all-white eatery that's one of the best in town if not for food than by simple appearance. Adorned with plants of wild jasmine and canopy of shade trees, visitors arrive to the all day dining room known for its mix of eastern and western cuisine in a stylish sanctuary of visitors and moneyed locals. During colder months the dining scene shifts indoors to a more formal setting that lures off-season's more mature crowd of diners and guests.
The Food
A nightly dinner menu is divided between Croatian, Italian, Spanish and Middle Eastern cuisines. Appetizers of octopus salad, regional oysters, cheese in oil, prosciutto with melon, hummus with eggplant mousse and olive salads offer a sampling of the kitchen’s wide cooking range as well as the clientele’s varied tastes. Heartier starters include grilled meatballs, Dalmatian shrimp, deep fried calamari and stuffed octopus. Squid ink risotto, homemade ravioli and fusili pasta with black truffles compliment more sizable main courses of Adriatic frogfish with arugula salad, seafood paella and grilled veal rump with pesto sauce.
Last Word
Alfresco dining room at Pucic Palace offers exotic menu of eastern and western specialties with late night scene of water pipes, Turkish coffee and freshly brewed mint teas.
