Pre/post season on Hvar

Lot of people, clients, guests, and friends asks me: what happens when the tourism season winds down and what Hvar looks like during the autumn, winter and early spring - which is really like winter here.



What's Hvar like this time of year? Boring – very simple isnt it!? But I and 90% of the people on Hvar like it. Especially those of us that work in hospitality. After all the energy of the summer, it's very easy to jump into a Hvar winter routine.
Don't think that we just go to sleep when the summer rush ends. We don’t - we just take it easy and enjoy the calm days...

Every year it's almost the same. And typical winter for a Hvar native goes like this:

Right after the summer season ends it's olive harvest time. It starts usually at the middle or end of October and lasts almost to mid of December - a lot depends on the number of rainy days (olive picking is on ''pause'' when it rains). Olive harvest time is one of my favourite periods of the year. Families are gathering, spending sunny days in their olive groves joking, singing - simply one giant picnic. Just being together is a blessing that is not so common in these modern times when everybody’s in such a rush.

My daughter Amalija's first olive picking

Some people who are not involved in olive picking or finish picking early, use this time of year to travel abroad, to see the wonders of the world, summer loves, friends.

Then comes Christmas and New Year when some of us stay on Hvar and others travel.

After New Year there are two months of true island hibernation, when actually nothing happens. The whole island looks like the time has stopped.

And then from beginning of the March everybody starts to prepare for the season. Cleaning houses, refreshing rooms with new furniture, making repairs to their apartments and rooms that will be rented. Restaurants are also busy, getting ready for Easter, which is when most open for the season. But from mid October till Easter, 90% of them are closed..

If you ask me is it worth it to come to Hvar during the winter period, I say definitely "yes". If you are yearning for a place to re-charge your batteries, enjoy stress-free days without your Blackberry or I Phone and all the other wonders of modern technology, than Hvar is ideal.

There is no rush, people are friendlier and a lot of things are much less expensive. For example: accommodations - just 200 EUR for 7 days in perfect private apartment or 90 EUR per day for the best boutique hotel here!.The same goes for food and wine. So if you are interested in coming before the crowds get here, we are here to help you experience the pure essence of Hvar. This time of year is especially wonderful if you enjoy being spontaneous. Let me give a recent example: on January 16, unexpectedly, I got a request for wine tour. Three lovely and charming girls from the USA. We visited two wineries as usual but instead of the regular wine tasting, which takes around 1h in each winery, we ended up almost for 2h at each winery. And instead of the regular 4 or 5 tastings we ended up with 10 at each because winemakers were there and wanted to us to try a new rose, a new plavac mali and on and on! And then after we finished with the wineries we needed lunch. Since it was beautiful day I knew that some of my friends and neighbours would be out on the open sea, fishing. So I called one of them that has restaurant in this beautiful lagoon and he told me: "sure, come, I’ve just got back with fresh caught cuttlefish- we'll make risotto! And I have dried some eel on the fireplace so I’ll also make you a nice fish stew on the fireplace open fire.

And oh yes, I got a wild onion from Lukovci Island (two beautiful small islands on the open sea) that I can use to prepare the stew with too.

Lukovci - two little islands named after wild onion qrowing there	Cuttlefish black risoto

So we came to my friend Stipe's house/restaurant and watched him prepare all these beautiful meals right in front of us on the open fireplace. The guests from the US were so pleased that they already made arrangements to come back in September!

Which reminds me, I forgot to mention how majestic the Hvar landscape is this time of year. The hills, dotted with dry stone piles that look like they are always fighting for their place between Hvar's native, rocky land and its soil. Places from which locals try to wrestle a small piece of dirt to plant something: grape, olive, rosemary, lavender...



And how can I forget inland Hvar, so empty, with sleepy villages and few inhabitants that makes an ideal bike trip, hike, car or motorscooter trip . In these villages you will discover the soul of Mediterranean life, its architecture and philosophy and so much more.


Okay, so we still have to put up with bad connections to the mainland, lack of restaurants, museums, shows and other activities once the season ends - but even with these minuses, Hvar is at its prettiest best in winter time. If you don't believe it, contact us and come let us show you the best kept secrets of this amazing island.

Ante Lacman
Managing Director

Hvar Restaurants Offer

This is very important issue and element in Hvar tourism offer or product. But very negatively percept and graded from the guests, and believe it or not, even from locals which don't have positive opinion on the restaurant offer. Simply putted Hvar restaurant offer is copy paste. If not from the menu stand point than from the year to year the same menus. The only thing which they change is (increasing) prices. All the menus practically are the same. Usuall Hvar restaurants offer is consisted out of sea food like: fish or lobsters in three ways: grilled, brudet(red fish stew) and traditional Hvar Gregada(white fish stew). Additional to this there’re sea food like grilled calamari, shells, mussels, scampi, prunes prepared on wine sauce locally known as buzzara, than prepared with pasta or risotto. Then there’re fried things like calamari, 2nd class fish. Out of the meat there is mix meat (grilled pork chops, ?evap?i?i or pljeskavica grilled minced meat etc...), beefsteak on three ways: grilled, in pepper sauce, and with mushrooms. Some of them offering lamb or veal under the peka(meat under the iron bell covered with the ash) or grilled lamb chops.
And that should be it. Yes forgot to add a cold cuts like salt anchovies, paté over and there, prosciutto (smoked Dalmatian ham) and cheese like from Livno in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatian Island Pag. And then desert which is consisted of : pancakes, ice cream in few flavours.
Maybe there are a few meals on the menu like certain meal named after the name of the restaurant like for example: ‘’Beefsteak a la Marija’’...
These meals are great and most delicious and I like them but gets boring if you start to feed yourself in the restaurants like I did one summer. I didn’t know what to order after first week course I tried everything. Can imagine what it’s like to a tourists and guests of Hvar. I don’t know what to recommend. And if I do than I have to call the owner of the restaurant and ask him to prepare something different.


Above described, a lack of differentiation in restaurant offer should be the first and the BIGEST problem of Hvar restaurant offer. Don’t get me wrong, it’s OK to have restaurants with local and traditional meals BUT with such a great environment, ecologically reaching the highest standards, with the such amazing ingredients like fish, lobsters, other creatures from the most cleanest and non polluted sea, vegetables, fruits, wild plants, aromatic herbs, wine, olives under the 2718 hours of sun, Hvar should be a most desirable area, paradise to work for every restaurants chef.
But what do we get is restaurant routine. Lazy chefs, that don’t bother to use their imagination to create some new meals. But no, everybody in Hvar wants to be a ‘’all meal restaurant’’.
In some case I can understand the owners’ course season lasts about 5 months and they are all trying to fill their pockets to pass the winter period calm. Also I can understand chefs in cuisine who are working under the pressure(14 hours per day sometimes) for the 2 and half month of high summer season when certain tables in the restaurant gets turned 3 times in a night and then instead of kitchen being a ‘’food atelier’’, it becomes a factory. Even the most prestige restaurants in Hvar. What can they do when the demand is higher? Can’t blame them.


But on the other side, why some of the restaurant can’t specialise and offer something different than the others. Like for example; there isn’t a vegetarian restaurant or part of the menu that offers that kind of the food, or just restaurant specialised for pastas and risotto. Or restaurants that are only offering the food prepared out of the ingredients that are coming from island of Hvar. I’m sure that the high price of supply for those local ingredients (always higher than the supplement from supermarket) can be subsidised with higher price of those meals. I’m sure that each guest that comes to Hvar will want having a meal in that restaurant. I sincerely hope that the situation will be changed in future. As matter effect, there some restaurants in the Hvar starting to specialise and positioning in the market with different menu or conception offer: like Mr.&Mrs Jones – in Jelsa but must visit place, Sora the first and only sushi bar in Hvar. Zori restaurant in Palmižana bay, Toto’s also in Palmižana, Zlatna Školjka, Luna, which offer standard but also different menus. Than Garifull and Macondo two best Hvar restaurants when we are talking about sea food. Both owned by local guys, natives which understand what means to offer top quality and fresh sea food products. These two are most recommended. Gariful is more sophisticated version of sea food restaurant then Macondo which is more traditional type of simple menus. But damn tasteful.


Also my favourite restaurant, But only when the owner Antun Car is cooking is the Lucullus restaurant. I consider Antun Car(car means Emperor) as the best chef in the Island and in the world. Look at him and everything will be clear to you. He’s the ultimate master, artist of food. I usually use him when I have VIP and need to impress somebody. Imagine him stepping outside of the kitchen with the 15 kg swordfish head, approaching to your table and saying what you will eat in HIS restaurant. You can’t argue against him. His Car(Emperor). When this happens prepare yourself for ultimate culinary experience you have never seen, tried before. Forget Michelin star restaurants, all the fancy places, French chefs – this is it. When Antun cooks, he needs to close the door of his restaurant because people want to come inside, break in; kill for the place in his joint.


All of these restaurants have certain lacks (which I and some people see) but they are positioned as different and that’s why they are recommended.

Other problem is the wines. Hvar has almost 14 winemakers. 4 of the wineries among top 10 in Croatia and in my opinion (and some others) even worldwide – they won world appreciated contests like Vinalies d’ Or in Paris, Decanter etc... Amazing wines coming from, for wine industry, ideal positioned vineyards and area. Check our wine tours part of the page for more info.
Why the wine offer in the Hvar restaurants is big problem?
Because restaurant owners or who the hell is making prices are putting big margins or mar up on the bottled wines. Instead of that they are offering local, table wines often produced by themselves course a majority of them has vineyards. So for earning more, they are offering (better say pushing) their table wines (usually bad quality) not paying attention on the image, quality and guest satisfaction. You can eat the best Gregada in the world but what it’s worth when you drink awful table wine with that. I must be honest and say that there are majestic wines produced in private houses but mostly what they offer in restaurants is not close to that.
On the other hand 99% of the Hvar restaurants do not offer those bottles, quality wines on the glass. ‘’You need to take bottle’’ waiter will say. But I’m on the dinner with my wife and I don’t want to get drunk. Or I want to switch on red wine after appetizer’’. But no, they insist for you to take a bottle OR ‘’we can give you a 0,25 lit. of our house wine’’. You see how do they handle and push their wines. On the other hands I mentioned above they put 200%, or even more margins for the bottled wines which is immediately turning you down to order one.


Now where is the solution for high mark ups and not poring the wines on glasses.
First of all I work a lot with winemakers, and I know the prices of the wines. They also need to be included in this story course it’s effecting the image of Hvar as the ‘’Island of wines’’ as they are promoting Hvar. They need to sit, gather restaurant owners and tell them: guys we are busting our asses trying to point out F&B offer of Hvar, providing you the best rates, prices for wines and we would like you to follow us by offering those wines cheaper than they are in your restaurants. Can we somehow create agreement, a rule that the mark up for the wines is 30%, 40% 50%. In this way you will sell more wines, we will sell more wines, and our image will be improved, emphasized as the island where you can eat good and drink amazing wines.
‘’Also can we make agreement that you offer our wines per glasses? For example one week poor 3 types of white and red wines on glasses. We will stimulate this action with better (read lower) price.’’
There will be restaurants owners which will say; no, I will continue the way I did it before. But if only 20 or 30 % of the restaurant owners accept this deal, all the community, circle (wine growers, wine makers, restaurants, guests, Hvar as destination) will result with win - win situation.

Wines in glasses	Local table house wine

I remember the meeting, coffee in September 2010, with one of the New York travel agent specialist for Croatia which wanted to offer Hvar to her clients. So she came in Hvar for few days to investigate a little bit more. She was in Hvar as tourist also few years before we met so back then she realised she wants to work and offer Hvar to her clients. This travel agent tells me: ‘’what’s with these restaurants in Hvar’’? I said: ‘’what you mean by that?’’ And then she tells me that she was on the dinner a night before, in one of the best local restaurants and that the food was lovely. After the second appetizer or course which was fish soup she wanted a glass of white wine. But only what they had to offer was table house wine which she characterised as something worst she ever tasted. They told her that she needs to get a whole bottle of quality or the top quality wine if she wants to have some of that. Also interesting to mention, when she was asking to recommend what kind of wine do they offer on glasses the waiter said: ‘’Only local house table wine but I don’t recommend it’’. Hey!? You can imagine reaction of somebody who’s coming from NY eating in Four Season and Micheline star restaurants. Anyhow, she got up after the soup and furiously went away from the restaurant. And then I had to convince her that there are restaurant exceptions. But see how one bad comment can ruin the image of Hvar restaurant offer.