Restaurants

Monte – October 25, 2019 (Rovinj, Croatia)

It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful and magical setting for a restaurant than the top of the medieval village of Rovinj. With it’s sleepy fisherman village vibe, it’s shiny white stone alleys spiraling up the ancient hillside to the Church of St. Euphemia, the breathtaking seaside views. The feeling, the experience, is surreal. It’s hard to imagine such a place exists. But it does.

Opened in 2008 by chef Danijel Dekić, the restaurant Monte has managed to slip under the international radar until it received Croatia’s only Michelin star in 2017. Nestled in the upper Istria region, the restaurant has access to world class seafood, wine, and ingredients.

My expectations were high and I was not disappointed by this charming little spot. The ambiance was great, the service was very accommodating, and much to my enjoyment the cutlery was very creative and fun. I have a fondness for unique utensils and I found myself snapping picks and googling many of the interesting sporks and gadgets.

I had been wanting to sample Istria’s fabled wines and the pairing was superb. Great wine and well paired. The sommelier custom printed the pairing list at my request and like the thoughtful guest that I am I promptly forgot it at the table. I’m very sad about that.

The restaurant offers three tasting menus at six courses. A red traditional menu, a blue modernist menu, and a green vegetarian menu, each for 889 HKN or about $132 USD. Pairings are flexible at 67 HKN a glass or about $10. We chose the blue menu and I chose a glass for each course.

Before you’re even given the menu, you get two amuse bouche courses then a third after your selection. And at some interval in the meal, I suspect that the kitchen was running slow, we got another impromptu truffle shrimp bite that was excellent.

Our meal was well worth the $135.

   

Amuse bouche #1 – “margarita pizza”

Amuse bouche #2 – Two types of olives

Bread service with house made olive oil.

Amuse bouche #3 – Yogurt, horseradish, green apples.

Tongs to eat the first course.

First course: Three sorts of bluefish.

Second course: Scampi, shrimp, lobster, crab, crustacean sauce, chlorophyll, salad hearts

Small shrimp salad with second course.

Third course: Pilgrim scallop, baby scallops, bonito foam, nectarine, jerusalem artichoke

Fourth course: Monkfish, octopus, Basmati rice, zucchini, brodet of molluscs

Unscheduled snack: shrimp with truffles

Fifth course: Lamb from the island Cres, eggplant, peas, mint

Three types of cheese: cow, sheep, goat, with nut and fig.

Predessert: Grapefruit cream with grapefruit, popcorn, sweet corn, candied orange peel.

Sixth course: Sweet istrian fresh cheese, tapioka, vanilla ice cream, hazelnut, goose liver, orange.

Fruit with Grand Marnier cream.

Shortbread cookies.

Espresso.

Katy’s fresh mint tea. She said this was one of her favorite things. Sweet and minty!


Daniel Callicoat

View Comments

Recent Posts

1000 Days – Initial thoughts on 3 years as a nomad.

   Today we have been traveling for 1000 days. I just wanted to mark the occasion. So much to reflect…

2 years ago

Day 936 – Lecce, Italy – The heel of the boot.

   To round out our Italy adventure we decided our last stop should be Lecce, all the way down into…

2 years ago

Day 924 – Matera, Italy – (Part 2) – Historic City Center, Puglian Food, and the rest.

   If your only experience of Matera is from photos or travel shows it's easy to think that the ancient…

3 years ago

Day 924 – Matera, Italy – (Part 1) – Sassi di Matera – An ancient city of troglodytes

   Here lies the foundations of human civilizations. A warren of hand carved underground dwellings and structures. These were the…

3 years ago

Bros – May 4, 2022 (Lecce, Italy)

   Bros is self-described as avant-garde and attempts to push the boundaries of gastronomy through inventing new flavors using experimental…

3 years ago

Day 919 – The Amalfi Coast, Italy – Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello

   The Amalfi Coast has long been one of my travel goals and I was elated to finally get to…

3 years ago

Get updates for new posts.

Where am I now?

Eugene, OR

(We’ve reached the end of our trip.  Time to settle down for a bit and recharge our batteries and our bank accounts.  It’s been a good run.  Eugene had the right kind of vibe we were looking for.  Good people.  A good size.  Affordable.  We’re going to give it a go here.  But we’re open to what comes.)

 

Next up:

Nowhere for the moment

(For the first time in three years we don’t have the next adventure planned out.  That’s going to be a strange reality to adjust to.)