National specialties:• Hungarian, Italian and Austrian influences can be found in Croatian food, with hearty meat stews and goulashes dominating the menu in the hinterland.
• The Adriatic coast is renowned for its variety of seafood dishes, including scampi, seafood risotto, seafood pasta, white fish, squid and mussels. Fish is either chargrilled or fried.
• In the interior, visitors should sample
kulen (spicy sausage) or
fis paprikas (spicy freshwater fish stew).
•
Prsut (raw ham that has been either cured or air-dried) and
Paski sir (salty goat’s cheese from the island of Pag) are served in restaurants throughout the country.
National drinks: • The regional wines are good.
•
Sljivovica (plum brandy),
travarica (herb brandy) and
grappa (a fiery grape-based spirit) are commonly drunk at celebrations and after dinner.
• Croatia has a coffee culture, with Italian
espresso,
bijela kava (milky white coffee) and
macchiato (espresso served with a shot of milk) all popular.
Legal drinking age: 18.
Tipping: 10% is expected in hotels, restaurants and taxis.
NightlifeThe capital Zagreb buzzes with bars and clubs year round, but the lion’s share of the inland action moves to the tourist-boosted coast in the summer months. Venues include everything from informal beach bars and pavement cafes through to style bars and glitzy nightclubs.
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