While in Dubrovnik at the start of our family holiday we booked a dinner at Nautika to belatedly celebrate my mum’s 60th birthday. The setting was spectacular and the food was equally impressive. All of this was matched by excellent service, making for a wonderful evening all round.
Nautika is located just outside the city walls by the main gate, with views to both the fortress and the city walls. We booked well in advance which enabled us to get a front row table which was pretty incredible. We got to watch a very pretty sunset, as well as plenty of passing boats and kayakers. A gorgeous setting for our dinner, that’s for sure!
The staff at Nautika were professional, friendly and incredibly helpful. They talked us through the wine and food options, and provided my sister and I with additional vegetarian dishes to consider. We started with a round of local Croatian sparkling while we perused the menu which was delicious!
For entree I went with the vegetarian cream soup which was not only beautifully presented but equally delicious. I loved that they adorned the bowl with tiny cubes of the vegetables used to make the soup!
My sister chose the salad with goats cheese, which was a fresh, crisp affair topped with a dijon dressing. I loved the way this salad was presented, and apparently the goats cheese was particularly delicious.
For my main I selected the tagliatelle with black istrian truffle flakes which was expertly paired with a local white wine. It’s fair to say they didn’t skimp on the truffle flakes on this dish, the pasta was covered in them! There was also a light, creamy sauce which was delicious and provided some great balance to the dish. I’m not one to automatically be drawn to truffle dishes, but this was absolutely delicious. The pasta itself was also spot on – a winning dish all round.
Despite not particularly needing it, we also ordered some desserts to share. The staff at Nautika then brought out another one with candles and happy birthday written on the plate for my mum which was a lovely touch. Apparently I didn’t photograph all the desserts, but here are the two I did!
The first was called ‘Orange meets Prosek’, which is a sweet Croatian dessert wine. It was used to make the jelly on the plate, and the orange cake was layered with mascarpone. It was a sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, dessert that we all really enjoyed. I particularly loved the crunchy, toffee nuts scattered on the plate!
The second dessert I did photograph was the mini fig cake, a speciality of Croatia. This was a dense cake packed with dried figs and served with cream. It was slightly nutty, not too sweet and incredibly tasty. My dad polished off most of this one as it was right up his alley!
Overall we had an incredible evening at Nautika. It’s certainly not a budget night out, but we all felt that the experience was worth it. The entire evening was relaxed, beautiful and most importantly, delicious. If you find yourself in Dubrovnik and looking for a special evening out I highly recommend booking a table at Nautika.
Have you been to Nautika before?
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!