Gourmet Dining

For our last evening in Dubrovnik, we chose to eat at Restaurant 360' which gets rave reviews on Trip Advisor, is in a perfect location (on the city wall with views of the harbour), and has a very interesting menu.  Of course, it comes with a price - and it is, indeed, a hefty one!  The two course menu is 470 HRK (about $94) and 560 HRK ($112) for three courses - and that is without drinks. 

From start to finish (we were there for over 3 hours), it was a totally delightful experience.  Christian, a very young "sommelier in training" greeted us after we were seated by a lovely (not to mention gorgeous) hostess.  We first ordered water and he poured and served it as if it were a priceless Château Lafite.  He and I then discussed wine choices as I was only going to order them by the glass.  Up first, was the glass of Croatian bubbly he suggested and it was crisp and dry.  Good start!

After we placed our orders - scallops as a starter and lamb for the main for Linda and, for me, carrot as a starter (I know; that sounds strange but stay tuned) to be followed by filet mignon.  While we were waiting, Matt (our waiter) brought us an amuse-guele - a little square of foie gras with a quince shard, a rice chip darkened with squid ink and a quince sauce.  Wow and this is just the start!

Christian and I talked about what kind of red wine I would like with my dinner.  He produced a bottle for me to try.  He used a Coravin, a cool gadget that I had never seen or heard of before.  It lets you taste a sample of wine (or more) without removing the cork from the bottle.  The red I tried would go well with my filet so I ordered a glass of Gracin Prosek.

Christian with the Coravin

Then our starters arrived.  With the arrival of each dish, Matt would explain it with the aplomb of a literary aficionado.  My carrot dish was described as a slow-cooked carrot accompanied by carrot cream and chips garnished with carrot carpaccio (just a very fancy name for a carrot peel!), black garlic and pine nuts. It was actually amazing.  Linda also really enjoyed her pan-fried scallops served with a demi-glace sauce and truffles.

By then I had finished my glass of wine and this time opted for a glass of Croatian merlot.  I don't think Christian was too impressed as he kind of lost interest in me at that point - at least until we talked dessert wines later.  My filet arrived and it was done exactly as I like it - bleu - and was served with a little beef short rib with a beef marrow jelly topping along with onion ketchup and stuffed chicory.  Linda's dish was a confit of lamb shoulder, a ramsteak (more lamb prepared sous-vide) with spring vegetables and lamb sauce.  Aside from the amazing flavours in both our dishes, it was nice to have portions that we could enjoy but that were not too much food.

I was so eager to try my filet, I forgot to take a photo of it until I'd started it  - or Linda's at all! 

For dessert, I ordered Lemon - a lemon tart, ricotta ice cream and lemon confit garnished with lemon carpaccio (again, fancy name for a slice of lemon).  Linda's dessert was a selection of sorbets.  Again, I cannot emphasize enough how the restaurants - whether they were fancy like this one or a little café on a back alley - were all more than ready to accommodate any food allergies or preferences. Christian suggested several dessert wines - one a white along the lines of a late harvest Gewurztraminer and the other, a red one.  I opted for the latter as I had never had a red dessert wine.  Its name was Corona Grande - and I probably should have checked the price of it before I ordered it!

Our evening meal was completed with a complimentary dish which had quince jellies, an ice cream ball rolled in cookie crumbs that tasted very much like Oreo cookies, and a third item that I can't remember.

Then, all that was left was the bill.  I took a photo of it because I had never spent this much on dinner - nor will I again for probably many years, if ever!  I found out that a number of the glasses of wine I had had were over $25 which helped to explain the cost.  Later Linda commented her bill was about $100 less than mine. 

My bill converts to nearly $220!  Yikes! 

We left the restaurant, stopped to admire the stained glass window on St. Blaise Church, walked back to the Pile Gate and caught a cab home.  Our time here is nearly done and, while every bit of it has been great, it is time to move on to new horizons.