One of life’s greatest pleasures is enjoying good food and better wine. I wouldn’t describe myself as a foodie per se, but one of my favourite types of date nights is exploring new and different restaurants. My husband, his cousins and I decided to go out for dinner at Konoba Pelegrini, located steps from the Cathedral of St. James (Croatian: Katedrala sv. Jakova) in Šibenik. Pelegrini has been rated 1 Michelin star for the past two years in a row. Both the menu and the views are beyond exquisite, making Pelegrini more than just a restaurant. It’s an experience of a lifetime.
I found the service to be extremely pleasant and very well coordinated. Our Sommelier provided an excellent interpretation of Croatian wines and I found that he mastered his craft well in the way he presented our wine. We started our evening with a bottle of Saint Hills – Sveti Roko Plavac Mali. Plavac Mali literally means “little blue” in Croatian. This is in reference to the type of grapes commonly found in vineyards across Dalmatia. I thoroughly enjoyed this wine and found it to be very smooth.
As a restaurant that serves a tasting menu, I was a bit nervous that I would leave feeling hungry. I was completely wrong. You basically have three options, a 3-course menu, a 4-course menu or a 5-course menu. I opted for the 4-course menu. I decided to mix it up with my selections, starting with octopus as my first course, rooster pasta as my second, lamb and eggplant as my third and then ending with the apricot caramel for dessert. I was pleasantly surprised to find that an appetizer was served at the start of the meal and a dessert was given at the end. With non-stop bread in-between courses, you will leave feeling very full. This restaurant aims to please and much, much more.
We choose Milos Stagnum as our second bottle of wine for the evening. My mother-in-law gifted us this wine a year ago so it was nice to enjoy it again.
Another feature of the restaurant which caught my eye was it’s close attention to detail as well as the coordination of the staff. I found that our evening flowed in a well-choreographed manner. It just seemed as if the food kept coming….and coming!
After a few days of rain, the weather was finally back to normal temperatures again. The sun in Dalmatia is much different than the sun in Ontario; there is no humidity and you can tolerate the heat. I found the overall mood in the restaurant to be that of a perfect Dalmatian night. Coincidentally, a klapa festival was taking place at the Cathedral while we were enjoying our meal, making the experience much more wholesome.
If you are looking for a restaurant that is decadent and unique; for presentation that goes above-and-beyond; and for something that excites your sights, sounds and tastebuds, look no further than to Konoba Pelegrini in Šibenik, Croatia.
We spent most of the day walking around the city, namely to the Gornji Grad (Upper City) where we walked by the Croatian Parliament and St. Mark’s Church. To get to this part of the city, we went underground through the Grič Tunnel, which the kids found very interesting!
