At the end of September 2021, we were lucky enough to get a break for a week. With covid certs in hand, and after a small donation to Irish rewilding project Reforest Nation to help offset our flights, we hopped on a plane to Dubrovnik and enjoyed the cultural and culinary delights of this beautiful part of Europe.
We ate well and had a good choice of places to eat, with some unexpected discoveries as well as trying out places labelled as vegan friendly.
Please check individual restaurant contact details as opening and menus may change due to seasonality and changing covid restrictions.
Vegan & Vegetarian Cafes
Urban & Veggie
Where: Urban & Veggie, Obala Stjepana Radića 13, 20000, Dubrovnik
When: 22nd September 2021
Website: https://urbanveggie.restaurant/en/
Urban & Veggie sits on the main road that surrounds the harbour in GruĹľ, one of the ports where many boats depart for tourist excursions and just down from the famous GruĹľ market. Vegetarian and extremely vegan friendly, they care deeply about the food they serve, incorporating beauty, seasonality and incredible flavour with food that is also wholesome and healthy. According to their website, Urban & Veggie is run by a triathlete that discovered the benefits of plant-based diet as well as being inspired by the ethical treatment of animals. This legend also runs cycling tours around Dubrovnik, with an eco slant, which sounds great, unfortunately, we only had time for the food, but hopefully one day we’ll make it back and go on a tour too.
We sat in the spacious sunny courtyard to the back of the restaurant, with trailing plants draping over the high walls and views of the hills beyond. The menu was extensive and well thought out. Oliver had seasonal soup and I had a trio of bean dips with home-made crackers. We both had pasta mac ‘n’ tease for our main course, and I had vegan ‘Raffaelo’ cake.
All the food was flavoursome, fresh, healthy but tasty, and presentation was beautiful. Whether garnished with nuts and seeds or patterned with coulis, there was a feeling that the food was lovingly and proudly prepared. This was my favourite place to eat in Dubrovnik and maybe, dare I say it, one my favourites, ever. If you’re even remotely in the area, I would heartily recommend a visit to Urban & Veggie.
Nishta
Where: Nishta, Prijeko bb, 20000, Dubrovnik
When: 24th September 2021
Website: https://www.facebook.com/nishtarestaurant/
Nishta, a completely vegan cafe, is nestled within the medieval streets of the old city of Dubrovnik. There are some tables outside and a couple inside. It’s very small and cosy inside.
We were happy to have found somewhere entirely vegan with an interesting menu which included raw and gluten free options too. We ordered the skewers for our starter, with tofu and mushrooms, dribbled with sriracha mayonnaise. Oliver went for a wrap and I ordered a moussaka. The food was lovely, although the wrap was on top of a dip so was soggy on the bottom. Our server forgot about our starter, so we had it after our main course and my moussaka was a stir fry, a lovely stir fry though. The food was all freshly prepared and although I personally am not gluten free or subscribing to a raw diet, I do find these options a refreshing change.
I really hesitate to put anything negative on here, especially about a vegan establishment, but this was our honest experience and maybe we just caught them on an off day.
VEGAN FRIENDLY
Restaurant Agora
Where: Restaurant Agora, Hotel Perla, Šetalište kralja Zvonimira 35-33, 20000, Dubrovnik
When: 18th September 2021
Website: https://www.hotelperladubrovnik.com/restaurant-agora/
Along the main street in Uvala Lapad, we were delighted to immediately spot Restaurant Agora, which advertised a vegan burger on its lunch menu. We had just arrived and dropped our luggage off at our hotel up the road and were heading for something light for lunch. Not knowing what we would discover, but up for the adventure. It was tasty and filling, complete with stacked onion ring and salad and fries too. My only warning is that, if I recall correctly, this was on a ‘light lunch’ section. It definitely filled us both up! To top it all off, our waiter was a really friendly local chap who regailed us with stories of working around the world and that he had been vegetarian for 40 years. It may only have been one vegan option on the menu, but along with the service and how good the meal was, was the perfect welcome to Dubrovnik.
Bonto Korean Restaurant
Where: Bonto Korean & Japanese Restaurant, Masarykov put 3c, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 20000
When: 18th & 21st September, 2021
Website: https://hr-hr.facebook.com/bontodubrovnik/
Bonto, a few minutes from Lapad beach, is tucked in a courtyard nestled between the Studenac supermarket and a cinema. Currently with tables outside in the sun, Bonto has some lovely vegan friendly options.
Clockwise from top left, we had the vegetarian bibimbap – requested with no egg, vegan poke and vegetarian steak set complete with rice and salad. All dishes were tofu based, all distinctly different with fresh flavours and paired with different vegetables. Sitting in the sun, trying the dishes was bliss, we even went back twice and brought our friend back it was so good.
Incredible India
Where: Incredible India, Vetranićeva ulica 6, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 20000
When: 19th September 2021
Website: https://incredibleindia.eatbu.com/?lang=en
In the beautiful old town area of Dubrovnik, you will find many cafes and restaurants with tables in the narrow, well-worn streets. There are all types of cuisine, somehow my darling partner was craving Indian and so we found the lovely, aptly-named ‘Incredible India’.
The menu boasts a variety of vegan dishes we went for a selection including saffron rice, chana masala, vegetable pakora and vegetable biryani. All dishes were flavoursome and the portions were very generous too. One particular boon which we don’t always find at home in Dublin, is that they could adapt each dish to be mild or hotter. We’d highly recommend this little treasure.
Restaurant Madonna
Where: Restaurant Madonna, 20000, Ul. Mata Vodopića 6, 20000, Dubrovnik
When: 23rd September & 24th September 2021
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Restaurant-Madonna-105931491143056/
A surprising little find, right next door to our lovely little hotel (Hotel Aquarius). We had the vegan spaghetti and vegan risotto, I also tried the starter with a duo of rice, unfortunately, I can’t remember what it was called! Fresh ingredients, simple dishes and authentically Italian flavours, so brilliant we went back twice in a row.
All the seating is on a lovely spacious veranda and the staff were incredibly friendly and even remembered us the second time we came. A great little surprise of a place. The photos don’t do it justice as we were sat under a red light.
Tuttobene
Where: Tuttobene, Šetalište kralja Zvonimira bb, Lapad Bay, Dubrovnik
When: 19th September 2021
Website: https://tuttobene-dubrovnik.com/
Tuttobene is a cute little fast food place along the main pedestrianised street up from Lapad Bay. We had some tasty chips, lovely for a snack, and came in plastic free packaging too.
Cocktail Bar
Where: Ritual Cafe Bar, 20000, Dubrovnik, Croatia
When: 21st September 2021
Neither of us are big drinkers, but we did keep trying a few cocktails on holiday! One particular gem was Ritual, in the same square as Bonto, We treated ourselves to a pina colada and a long island iced tea, and couldn’t help but think the other customer ordering at the bar was very cute.
Excursion
Where: 3 Islands Excursion
When: 20th September 2021
All along Ĺ etalište kralja Zvonimira, the pedestrianised street up from Uvala Lapad beach, there are a multitude of stalls selling various but similar excursions. Not sure if we were a bit unlucky, but there was a bit confusion over what we’d booked, from two different vendors. We had one excursion that was booked as 3 islands + one snorkelling stop, which was 3 beautiful islands but no snorkelling and another that was supposed to be 3 caves for snorkelling and was almost 2 caves and a beach! Communication and speaking up is key, I think both of these were a bit of a miscommunication on both trips.
However, we had a blast on both, the three islands tour also provided food and we were informed it had options for vegans. We brought a picnic just in case, but we really needn’t have. We had freshly cooked seasons vegetables, with cabbage and bread. Delicious, the sea was a bit rocky so we had the top deck to ourselves for lunch. Lots of fun!
Supermarkets
Where: Tommy Supermarket, 20000, Ul. kralja Tomislava 5, 20000, Dubrovnik
When: September 2021
One thing I love to do on holiday, is always check out the local supermarkets for exciting local brands and other options. My favourite, catering well for vegan options was Tommy’s. We found Planet of Plants, which does vegan butter, umak – delicious condiment, they had delicious hummus and a brilliant selection of vegan ice cream made by Indy & Pippa and Leone.
We had a great time in Dubrovnik, and never worried about where to eat. We found some great options in some unexpected places and can recommend Dubrovnik as a vegan friendly place to be.
Follow The Greedy Herbivore on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with my latest blog posts, reviews and ramblings, or follow through WordPress to receive notifications of new posts direct to your inbox.
The Greedy Herbivore 