Hvar Gastro Experience: The best dishes you should try on Hvar

If you’re looking for unique and authentic dishes from the island of Hvar, look no further than this text. I have prepared (cooked, I almost wrote) the perfect guide for a gastronomic experience you won’t easily forget. For ages, the island has been known for its quality and substantial cuisine There were fancy foams, reductions, deconstructions, or the like, but rather simple dishes that today showcase the authentic way of island life from the past. Actually, I enjoy those simple dishes more than modern versions – does that make me a food dummy or a true connoisseur of good food, remains to be determined

We start with the local cheese produced on Hvar’s family farms, and among them, goat cheese holds a special place. Goats are perfectly suited for breeding on the island, as they can find a patch of grass even on the most barren land, and their milk is enriched with the scent of aromatic herbs. In small island dairies, this milk is transformed into delicious cheeses. Although there are several farms on the island, you can only get the cheese if someone directs you to where to buy it. The Lupi family’s stand is located at the Hvar market, and in Svirče, you can buy cheese from the Mate Vranković family farm. Don’t miss the opportunity to try homemade cheese at the Kod Kućera farm in Zastražišće.

The world be upside down if we were not to continue with dessert. This interesting cake first appeared, where else but in Velo Grablje, a village that breathes and lives lavender. The Zbondini tavern in Velo Grablje has been serving this dessert for years, and since they are right at the source of the brilliant ingredients – lavender and cheese – it would be a shame to miss out on trying the original cake of the island of Hvar. You can also find it at the Sweet Pastry Shop in Hvar. The pastry shops in Jelsa use lavender in their ice creams, which are excellent.

I’m not exactly sure how wild boars arrived on the island, but one of the stories says that they swam over from the mainland driven by a fire. Regardless, wild boar specialties are something you definitely have to try, and the only place I know that prepares wild boar meat delicacies is Konoba Kokot in Dol. This place is popular among locals and serves fantastic wild boar burgers and sausages, grilled octopus, and excellent homemade cheese. This year, they have also added wild boar pate to their menu, which is a must-try.

The people of Dol have always been special. There is a local legend that says Queen Illyria, Teuta, lived here. She built numerous houses, buried hidden treasures, and the “Maroccans” guarded her closely. Now, this might sound confusing, but this is not a history lesson or about hilarious island nicknames. It’s a story about a dormouse that is celebrated every summer with a festival. Dormice meat is considered a true delicacy, so it’s not surprising that the tradition of hunting for puh (puffball mushrooms) is extremely old and dates back to the time of the Roman Empire. The Romans used to prepare dormice sesoned with honey, and keep them in “dolia” containers, fattening them with walnuts and chestnuts. People of Dol grill them on skewers, and you can enjoy them in the middle of August at the Puhijada festival.

In the past, there wasn’t an abundance of food on the island. People ate what they had, and meals were simple but sufficient. According to my father’s stories, my great-grandfather would receive only one bag of flour for the entire harvest from his fields. There was no corn, but there were fishing nets, boats, and fishermen. This is how the Hvar gregada came to be, an interesting dish that reflects the heritage and rich history of the island. It is believed that this fish stew has been prepared here since the time of Greek colonization, from which the recipe and the name of the dish (Grego – Greek) originated. Originally, it was a humble fisherman’s meal prepared with simpler fish varieties. However, today, when it is prepared with a variety of high-quality fish, gregada can rightfully be considered one of the gastronomic highlights in the offer of Hvar. You can find it in numerous restaurants, but we recommend trying it at Konoba Luviji Rooftop in Hvar, Restaurant Davor in Zavala, and Restaurant Mengehello in Palmižana.