Montenegro Part 2 Visited 9/9-9/13 3-4 Forks

Ella's Restaurant Dobrota 85    3 Forks

In our last night in the Kotor/Dobrota area, we went to a local restaurant that our Airbnb host had mentioned to us.  It was a 5 mins walk and like many restaurants here, had a pretty waterfront view.   We got to sit in the lovely terrace upstairs where there weren't a lot of people, so it was nice and quiet (although a large group did file in after us). 

At this point, we knew the drill in terms of what to expect food wise - so I went with my standard seafood salad to start but then got the fish fillet which the waiter said was sole fish.  There was no mention of how it was prepared except that it was prepared "house style" but I'm not picky so I just rolled with it.  The seafood salad was similar to the other seafood salads I had been eating on the trip - fresh, simple and delicious.  As for my entree, what came out with a gigantic filet of fish that was breaded and covered in a heavy white cream sauce.  It was served with the favorite local side of sauteed spinach and boiled potatoes. The fish was actually quite tasty even with the sauce but at some point, the sauce was so heavy and filling that I had to scrap it off.  It was a bit like eating a large slightly healthier fish fillet sandwich at McDonald's but without the bread and cheese on it.  April had gotten another local dish that had been described as beef but what came out was a gigantic pork roll stuffed with prosciutto and cheese inside.   It was truly a unique dish that we hadn't really seen elsewhere on the trip. 

We hadn't had much dessert on this trip and we had been dying for some good baklava, so when this place said that they actually had it, we were so happy.  Unfortunately, the baklava wasn't very good here.  Even the waiter was like "it's a very sweet dessert" - which was an understatement because it was dripping in sugar water and was way too sweet for us.  Waa Waa. 

The food here wasn't spectacular but it definitely had a nice local feel to it and I left feeling overly full from my food.  Our waiter was nice enough but nothing stand outish.  Total bill with tip and wine:  $148 USD for 5 people

Photo Credit:  TripAdvisor

Il Brodetto Przno Obala 24, Przno 85315, Montenegro   3.5 Forks

After Kotor, we spent a night camping at Kamp Grab and while I'm not going to do a separate blog entry for them, I do want to give a big shout because we had a fantastic time white water rafting there and surprisingly the food was also really good.  It was made by the local camp chef and it was super hearty and very homemade.  Unlike most of the meals we had been having, the food leaned more towards heavy stews and meat but you could tell that it was all baked from scratch and made with love.  They actually had this homemade bread that was awesome and so good that I found myself carbo loading on it during our 1 night stay there. 

After our stay there, we made our way to our final stop on our trip which was the town of Przno - the beach part of our trip!  It was close to the party town of Budva, but still outside enough that we were on a quieter more sophisticated area.  After we checked into our Airbnb, we made our way to the main beach outside our apt.   There is a cute adorable strip of restaurants by the beach that lined the short path.  The vibe on the street felt very seaside Mediterrean and I loved it.   This place also came recommended by our host and it looked to be the most busy on the street. 

The atmosphere here was a bit nicer than the places in Kotor but not super stuffy.  The restaurant had a Greek feel to it with the stone streets and old world charm.  Instead of getting a seafood salad, I decided to opt for a straight octopus salad (12.50 euros).  I saw that they also had a sea urchin pasta  (16.50 euros) and I just had to get that because I hadn't really seen sea urchin on any of the menus so far and I love a good sea urchin dish.  

The octopus salad was enormous - it really is more of a sharing plate.  But I devoured the whole thing it was probably one of my favorite dishes on the trip.  It was just so fresh and simple and cooked perfectly well - it's something that I've been really craving since I've been back in the States and really miss.  Unfortunately, the sea urchin pasta wasn't quite as mind blowing.  I was excited because it was listed as a specialty of the house, but it was heavy spaghetti with more of a sea urchin paste/sauce.  There weren't any visual or obvious tongues of sea urchin in there.  I was a bit let down after the amazing octopus salad that this dish didn't knock it out of the park too.  Overall, it was still a lovely meal in a lively and adorable beach side town that I would recommend to others visiting this town.  Total bill with tip and wine:  $173 USD for 5 people


Aman Sveti Stefan  Sveti Stefan, Montenegro  4 Forks

Holy Jesus, if there was ever a more luxurious place in Croatia/Montenegro, then I don't know where else it could be.  This Aman Hotel is the epitome of exclusivity and elegance.  It's so private that the hotel sits on an island away from the main land and you are not allowed on the grounds unless you are a guest or make a reservation at the restaurant - you can't just randomly stroll in and take a look around.  To give you a sense of the how opulent it is there, we looked up the nightly rate here and it was $2,000/night - so even if we wanted to go all out and stay here for even 1 night, that was still way to much money.  

They have 2 restaurants but only 1 is open for lunch, The Piazza, so we made a 1pm reservation there.  You have to get escorted everywhere but for good reason, as the place is quite sprawling. When you walk in, your breath is taken away at how stunning it is - I might be overly gushy about this place because most of the Airbnbs that we stayed at, while nice, were definitely not luxurious.  

As you can imagine, the restaurant was gorgeous.  It was in this beautiful outdoor garden surrounded by the water.  The service was super attentive (almost too attentive) and helped guide us through the menu.  As expected in a place like this, the prices are exorbitant and quite shocking after all the relatively cheap meals we had been having.  To give you a point of reference, we got a bottle of wine that was 60 euros, which even by US standards, is more than I would usually pay for a bottle of wine at dinner at home.  Most of the wine we had been getting was closer to 12 euros.  But given how cheap most of this trip was, we felt justified in having one baller meal and if it was going to be anywhere in Croatia/Montenegro, it would be here. 

I got with lamb suvlaki and everyone else got these amazing looking pizzas - I know, it sounds kind of strange to go to a 5 star hotel and get pizza but they were delicious and much higher quality than the pizza we had been getting on our trip.  Most of the pizza we had been eating was like a solid high school cafeteria pizza (and I say that in the nicest way but I have a soft spot for it) but the one here was like going to an artisanal wood oven place in Brooklyn.  As for my lamb, it was presented beautifully on 2 hanging metal skewers and served with a yogurt dipping sauce and a Greek salad.  The lamb skewers were good although I wished that my meat was a bit more medium rare - it was closer to a medium/well done.  The Greek salad was super fresh - I just wished there was more of it as it was just a few bites.   The cucumber yogurt was good but a bit thin for me - I would have, ironically, liked a thicker Greek yogurt dipping sauce.  I had a bite of Jenn's pizza and it had a great thin crust to it and felt very high quality. 

Overall, this place is just stunning.  I've been lucky enough in my life to have traveled to a few luxury properties and this one has got to be in the top 5 in terms of physical beauty.  However, the downside of being in such a high end establishment is that the prices are downright ridiculous.  This was by far the most expensive meal we had on the entire trip at $390 USD with tip and wine for 5 people.  I've obviously spent way more in the States (in fact in the first week I came home, I was sadly dropping $70-80/pp on dinner for no good reason) but knowing how cheap the rest of the country is, it's still quite a shock to the system to be paying NYC type prices when you're in Eastern Europe. 

Blanche Obala 11, Przno Beach   3 Forks

Sniffle, last meal of the trip!  We ended at Blanche which was located towards the end of the sea/beachside street and it had stunning views that overlooked the beach.  It's was a beautiful walk over during sunset.   I could see this place being a super romantic place for a couple. 

Since it was our last meal of the trip and I hadn't actually gotten a whole fish, I felt like it was time to do it up.  Unfortunately, something was lost in translation because he showed us the whole fish (it was a branzino aka European sea bass) before serving it and I had told him I wanted him to keep the head on and leave it as is, but it was fileted by the time it got to the table.  The actual fish meat part was fine - nothing spectacular - but there were a ton of small bones in it.  It was to the point where I just accepted that I was going to be swallowing fish bones all night.  Luckily I was with the girls, so I wasn't too embarrassed to be pulling out bones from my mouth but it was starting to get really annoying.  I wished they had just given me the whole fish so that I could just maneuver it myself and find some pockets of goodness in the head of the fish. The fish was also served with grilled vegetables which were also just ok.  

Jenn had asked the waiter if they could linguine and clams and they said yes and again, something must have been lost in translation because she got mussels and pasta and she said it wasn't all that great.   We had thought about getting dessert but our waiter just never showed up.  Since we had to get up at 4AM the next day to catch our flight, we finally flagged him down to get a cheesecake to go, but it took forever.  The service was most definitely very "European" here - aka too slow for this New Yorker.   

Overall, this wasn't my favorite meal of the trip but it was just nice to spend time with the girls in a pretty setting on our last night out.  I'll have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by my food adventure in Croatia/Montenegro - I loved that it was very seafood and Mediterranean focused and that most of our food tasted fresh with no preservatives (in fact I felt like I lost weight on the trip with all the walking and healthy food).  My only comment would be that I wished that there was a bit more variety and spice to the food (I came home and immediately ordered Thai food) but in general it was a fantastic trip that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for something a bit off the beaten path. 

 Photo Credit:  TripAdvisor

Montenegro Part 1 Visited 9/8-9/9 3-4 Forks

Hotel Admiral Restoran Obala Marka Martinovića 82, Perast 85336, Montenegro    4 Forks

We left Dubrovnik early Tuesday and had a guide drive us into Montenegro and give us a very quick tour on our way to pick up our rental car in Tivat.  We stopped in the Bay of Kotor which was lovely and beautiful - very calming and peaceful compared to the hustle of Dubrovnik.   Our driver dropped us off in the small charming down of Perast which is right near the Bay.  The whole town can take you about 15-20 minutes to walk around but it was just such a nice departure from what we had been used to that we took our time walking around.  Don't get me wrong, there were tour groups there as well but they literally came and stopped by for 5 minutes and then were on their way.  We spent a good 2 hours here just relaxing (mostly drinking and eating) and taking in the beautiful scene.  

We stopped at the Hotel Admiral for what we thought was going to be some drinks but we ended up staying for more.  We sat right by the water soaked it all in.  The waiter was super kind (he told us he was Serbian and thanked the US for our help), much like the service in Croatia.  We had been told that people in Montenegro were not as nice as those in Croatia and so far that wasn't true (although it did prove true later).  Again, the menu is your standard seafood and pasta line up.  April and I inquired about the fresh fish (I mean, we were literally right on the water) but the waiter brought out this scary looking fish with angry teeth that even I, a pretty adventurous eater, had to take a pass on.  

Instead I opted for the seafood salad and a tomato soup.  Even though much of the food on the trip was the same, I loved that everywhere you went you could always get a fresh seafood or octopus salad and eat it as a main course - it's just not something you find very often in NYC.  

The tomato soup was just ok - it had a bit less flavor than the one Amy had in Taverna Otto and didn't taste quite as fresh.   However, I did love the seafood salad despite there being bits of the fake crab meat, which is something I usually don't love.  They made up for it with TONS of pieces of fresh octopus and mussels doused in red onions, garlic and lemon juice - very simple yet delicious.   Krush got the octopus salad and it looked amazing and April got a squid ink risotto that she really enjoyed.   Even though it's not a fancy place and the food on it's own wasn't unique or Michelin star worthy, there was just something about the combination of the physical beauty, kind service and simple food that I really enjoyed and savored at the moment.  Plus compared to some of the other meals we had in Montenegro, this was definitely a highlight.  

I'll be the first to say that when my friends suggested Montenegro as a destination I was a bit skeptical, but if you do the proper research, you'll find a some true gems in this country.  Total bill with wine and tip:  $130 USD for 4 people


Stari Mlini Ljuta b.b., Kotor 85330, Montenegro     3 Forks

There aren't a ton of "fancy" restaurants in Kotor but Stari Mlini seems to be the most well known. It used to be a 16th century water mill, so the scenery and surrounding decor is quite beautiful.  Even though we went at night, you could tell that it was a pretty and unique setting.  We sat near the water and it was a tad bit chilly.  Unlike at Panorama, where they already had blankets waiting for you, we had to ask if they had anything for us to wrap ourselves in, which luckily they did. 

Unlike our experience at the Hotel Admiral, the waitstaff here just wasn't as effusive or outgoing. April had asked about the fresh fish of the day and the waiter left in a huff and brought out the sad plate of fish and then proceeded to put his hand all over every single one of them.  There were 2 huge ones and then a pile of smaller ones, none of which seemed right for a single entree but he didn't say or explain what any of them were which was a bit frustrating.  Again, the menu here is similar to every other place we've been to with fresh local seafood from the Adriatic Sea being the main focus. We split the Greek Salad for the table and I got the squid stuffed with giant prawns.  Everyone else got some kind of seafood pasta or grilled seafood.  

The Greek Salad was fine although we all commented on how their version of feta cheese seems much closer to cream cheese than feta.  My dish was fairly large in size and as were the actual pieces of squid and it was jammed packed with lots of shrimp on the inside.  It was a pretty unique dish that I hadn't really had before and it was quite tasty from that stand point.  While I enjoyed my dish, I don't think most of the other girls really did.  Most of them found their dish to be mediocre at best. I'm giving this place 3 forks because I liked my actual dish and because the surrounding area is lovely but there are definitely improvements that can be made to make it a nicer experience when you're visiting Kotor.  Total bill with tip and wine:  162 Euros for 5 people

Photo Credit:  Kotor.Montenegro.Travel.com

Jet Ski  Somewhere along the water in Dobrota  3 Forks

I wasn't sure if I was actually going to write a review on this place since it was the most random meal we had on our trip but I figured it was worth a mention.  April, Krush, Amy and I were getting ready for our big hike up the fort and we knew we needed to get some breakfast before hand.  There aren't a lot of breakfast/brunch places like we have in the States, but we were totally fine with ducking into a local cafe and eating whatever they had on the menu. 

On the walk from our Airbnb to the Old Town, there are many waterfront cafes that line the streets. We picked one randomly and sat down.  It was mostly locals sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.  We noticed that no one was eating but they did have a breakfast menu so we ordered food anyways.  There isn't much on their breakfast menu - Amy and I both got the omelette (mine had ham it in and Amy's didn't) and Krush and April got the Jet Ski breakfast which had 3 large fried eggs, bacon and potatoes.  Throughout the morning, we were still literally the only people who ordered food and it felt like they must have gone out and farmed the eggs themselves because it must have taken over 40 minutes for our food to come out.  I did feel bad for our waitress since she was the only one working the entire space but we were dying of hunger at the end.  

We were all shocked at how legit and tasty our breakfast was.  The omelette was huge and had lots of cheese, ham and veggies inside - with veggies hat you would not think of to put in an omelette like zucchini and another kind of squash like veggies.  It was also served with sour cream - which turned out to be a delicious combination with the eggs.  It also came with a side of juicy, red, ripe sliced tomatoes.  I loved how fresh the tomatoes are in this country and love that it was served everywhere. While I enjoyed my dish, I longly looked at Krush and April's dish because their "bacon" looked aaaamazing.  It was closer to Canadian bacon in that it looked was super thick and fatty - it was much heftier than regular crispy bacon.  

Overall, the food hit the spot and definitely fueled us for our long hike up the fort.  If you do ever find yourself here, please do yourself a favor and check out the inside of the restaurant.  The place is apparently also a club/lounge at night and it's got this crazy spaceship like interior that you have to check out yourself to believe.  Total bill with tax:  $17 USD for 4 people

Photo Credit:  Facebook