Mazzgoon Food, is without a doubt, an exceptional dining experience in the heart of Split.
Every now and then you come across a restaurant that quite simply – is doing it right. And by ‘it’, I mean everything. Every element of the dining experience at Mazzgoon has been orchestrated to perfection. From the decor, plates and glassware to the ambiance, service and of course, food and drinks.
From the outskirts, Mazzgoon looks nondescript, yes it’s cute and all that, but it could easily be mistaken for ‘just another restaurant’ in the heart of Split (now you won’t make this mistake).
- Antea Mrčela
- Antea Mrčela
The Maitre D and hostess seem lovely and are impeccably dressed, but that’s nothing new for Split right? Due to their humble nature, only by chance would you ever discover that this gorgeous hostess and charming Maitre D, are in fact the owners – Toni Vrsalović and Sara Alfirević Vrsalović.
- Antea Mrčela
It isn’t until you are guided through the restaurant, with its moody lighting and open kitchen, to the courtyard in the back, do you begin to realise that this just might just be something special.
- Antea Mrčela
- Antea Mrčela
This isn’t the first time I am writing about Mazzgoon and I doubt it will be the last. A month ago, they earned well deserved praise and media attention by the Financial Times and coincidentally, I dined at the same time and ordered almost the same menu, you can read about it here.
Recently we had a girls’ night out at Mazzgoon Food, quite a power evening actually – myself, Daniela Rogulj (Total Split Editor), Ashley Colburn (vlogger and producer), Sonja Dvornik (Split Street Style Photographer) and Antea Mrčela (Split Photographer). Why did we choose Mazzgoon? Because of its intimate setting and the fact that you can comfortably hideaway in a corner all night, undisturbed with no foot-traffic nosing by.
My dear friend Antea Mrčela, who just so happens to be an incredible photographer, couldn’t help but pull her camera out, as it was her first time in Mazzgoon (there is no off-switch for journalists or photographers). In case you haven’t already noticed the photos are stunning, so I thought, rather than speaking for hours about our experience (for the most part), I will let Antea’s perspective and lens take you on a journey of this beautiful dining experience.
Ok, I can’t keep completely quiet… we ordered a series of dishes to share, because for me, the idea of sitting at a table of friends and family is to interact and all share in the experience together, it is far more social and a lot more exciting for the palette. We tried the beef tartare, shrimp carpaccio, important summer salad (yes it is self-proclaimed important and rightly so) and goat cheese with organic tomato sorbet and basil oil. Every dish was executed exquisitely, the flavour combinations were absolutely divine, I won’t go on forever; but, when you go to Mazzgoon please order the goat cheese starter – light goat cheese, a surprising burst of tomatoes from the sorbet and hint of basil coming through at the end to tie it all together. A dalmatian twist on a caprese salad.
Yes, we shared cocktails too, we didn’t want to miss a thing! Did I mention that Toni and Sara recently opened Noor – Split’s sexiest cocktail bar, you can read about it here.
We continued our ‘sharing is caring’ philosophy through the entire evening, in fact, we almost tried their entire menu! More stand out dishes were the handmade tagliatelle with wine pressed cheese, truffle carpaccio and parsley pesto, the eggplant and zucchini ratatouille (finally someone doing a vegetarian dish right), the smoked veal shoulder with potatoes and glazed vegetables (it did come to the table under a smoke-filled dome, but there was no time to snap this bad boy), sous vide young goat leg and we had a light white fish dish to offset the richness of the meat dishes.
Unfortunately, we over did it on the starters and mains, so could not muster any room for desert, but we did manage a liquid desert (even better) from Noor cocktail bar!
I worked and managed restaurants around the world for years, including managing a Michelin-Starred restaurant in London and I cannot, for the life of me, fault one element of the evening. Every, single, dish was a visual canvas and a journey of tastes. You can read their full menu here.
And this is where the photos and reporting end – word to the wise, when coming to Mazzgoon, be prepared to spend a few hours, having access to the Noor cocktails through the restaurant is amazing, but also dangerous. If you are living in or visiting Split, put Mazzgoon to the top of your gastronomical hit list, you will not be disappointed.
Many thanks to the team at Mazzgoon for making this one of my best night’s out this year and to Antea for sharing your talent and perspective.
Want to visit Mazzgoon, you can see their web page here, or like their Facebook page.
If you want to see more stunning photos by Antea Mrčela, or are interested in getting her for a special event, visit her web page here, or like her Facebook.
