- Lignje na zaru HRK45
- Steak od tune HRK120
Picking a dinner place in Hvar Town was difficult. There really isn't much information online to separate places from one another. The best restaurant region seemed to be up the stairs to the eating streets behind the Park Hotel.
Passarola was not my first choice - in fact I didn't even have it on my list. Given that it was the start of October (and that many restaurants shut when September ends including Marinero and Lucullus) the first places I tried were closed. Dalmatino is Tripadvisor #1 and was open but the menu was quite remarkably more expensive than the others around. The last on my list (slow-food restaurant Golden Shell aka Zlatna Skoljka) was in fact open and had a delicious sounding lobster tasting menu. However because they had no guests, the chef wasn't even in the restaurant. The manager recommended Passarola as an excellent place for quality seafood similar to those I had been looking at.
I later discovered the chef at Passarola is well renowned for cooking fish directly over a bed of charcoal in the restaurant's open oven and won many awards for this previously having being featured in magazines.
My hunger had overtaken my brain and so I ordered excitedly and wildly.
- starter of bread with smoked fish
- Octopus Carpaccio with Sea-Urchin Sorbetto HRK90 (carpaccio od hobotnice sa sorbetom od mors) - perhaps the only disappointing dish. Ice-cold octopus (some of the centre slices were stuck together suggesting this was frozen ahead) that was nice but with a sorbet that lacked any semblance of sea urchin;
- Cream Scampi Soup with Truffle HRK40 (krem juha od skampi s tartufima) - rich scampi flavoured broth with an unexpectedly good strong truffle flavour intermittently coming through;
- San Jacques Scallops in Truffle & Saffron Sauce HRK95 (capesante u umaku od tartufa i safrana) - sweet pan-seared scallops, cooked through and accompanied by a creamy sauce with only a hint of truffle;
- First Class Fish on Grill HRK200 (riba na zaru 500g) - fresh fish of the day was tuna cooked over the coals. As I salivated and watched this cook, I was slightly concerned. The cooking time seemed much longer than I would usually expect for a fish fillet, especially as I like seared outside and rare pink inside. I should never have doubted the expert chef - the tuna was exceptionally cooked, with a charred lovely surface housing a warm but otherwise rare delicate flesh. Olive oil and red peppercorns lifted it majestically. One of the best fish dishes I've eaten;
- Paradizot (Milk, Biscuits, Eggs) - a type of ice-cream and biscuit slice served with a berry compote and some sweet floss.
Definite recommendation for any time of year and especially so in the off-peak season when many other options close.
Next time I would order anything served from the grill. There is a large seafood choice - let the staff guide you to what is recommended and fresh and local.
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.