Vodnjanka

Rating: 13
Author: Gault&Millau

Ulica Ivana Gundulića 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

13/20
Chef's Restaurant

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Location: Zagreb
Chef: Michael Rodinger
Cooking: Mediterranean | Traditional
Services: Delivery Service, Pets allowed

Gault&Millau's review 2026

13/20

Chef's Restaurant

For several years now, the Istrian restaurant Vodnjanka has been successfully bringing a touch of the green peninsula to the old town of Zagreb. Located in an apartment on the mezzanine floor of an old building, it has a warm and tastefully decorated interior that gives the impression that you have come to someone’s private home. There are not many tables, so reservations are mandatory, because Vodnjanka is a favourite place for many people for lunch, dinner, and even business meetings. The personnel are friendly and the food is served on beautiful dishes. Lovers of traditional Istrian cuisine will enjoy the place. The aromas of goulash and meat ragout, Istrian indigenous Boškarin cattle served with homemade pasta from gnocchi, fuži to pljukanci and lasagna, spread from the kitchen. The secrets of their good cuisine are easy to recognize. The first place is the selection of quality ingredients that come to Zagreb from family farms in the interior of Istria, while the second is certainly the preparation of dishes according to old, proven recipes. So, for a complete impression of the smells and tastes of Istria, start your lunch with cottage cheese from Vodnjan, homemade prosciutto, Boškarin salami or one of the cheeses. In addition to meat dishes, the menu also includes several fish dishes. We tried their lasagna, with silky dough and a rich filling of fine meat ragout in which you could feel the root vegetables. The homemade gnocchi with boškarin sauce, a traditional Istrian dish full of flavours, were also good. We finished our lunch with Istrian kroštule (sweet crispy ribbons), which were, unfortunately, a bit too hard. The wine list contains mostly Croatian labels, and most wines are available by the glass.