Walking along the waterside in Hvar Town, I was beckoned to sit down on a bench by a male in the late 20s or early 30s. I was a bit unclear about his intentions - could he be touting me for a tour or trying to lure me into a brothel given the off-season had just started? He started asking where I was from and what I was doing in town. He introduced himself as a local and proceeded to give me information about the place - sites to visit, directions to walk, recommended times of day to go to places, even directed me to a place to have my sunglasses fixed. Part of the conversation naturally included food, and he suggested For restaurant for simple local food that people eat at home.
Thanking him for his recommendation I went past several hours later and noted the menu included Gregada, which I was specifically determined to try. Gregada is simply recommended described online as a type of fish stew that originated and thus is best eaten in Hvar.
For's version was a locally caught Gilt-Head Bream HRK116 for 290g (recommended choice by the waitress) braised on sauce with olive oil, onion, white wine and potatoes. It came with a refreshing bowl of salad HRK15 (mala sezonska sala) and bread to soak up the juices. The flavour combination (as you can gather from the ingredients listed) is certainly not unique as I'm quite sure various regions of Europe have influenced each other. The sauce was surprisingly mild with light fishy taste accentuated by a hint of white wine. The fish was fresh with soft flesh easy to eat. I savoured every part including the cheeks.
Next time I would order the Gregada although with more people a larger meatier fish could be used. Additionally the price of Gregada at For is approximately 30-50% cheaper than other places, especially those restaurants along the port and the more upmarket/expensive ones behind on the other side. There is a good selection of other seafood dishes, pastas and risotto also to try.