One would never expect to stumble upon a hipster paradise in Žrnovo. Well, one often is wrong, just like in this situation.
Žrnovo is a large village, just outside Korčula – well, actually, it’s several quaint, authentic villages, called Postrana, Prvo selo, Kampuš, Brdo. The air is somehow cooler and fresher in Žrnovo, it seems to be much slower than busy Korčula town, it has an oldtimey, almost Fellini-like feel to it. There have been several bars and restaurants in Žrnovo for years, some of them really good and often recommended to guests in Korčula who want to get out the busy city, but this year a new place with unexpected feel has opened in Postrana.
Pinjac Brewery & Pub was open by the Curać family in July (they wanted to start earlier, of course, to catch the full tourist season, but they had major problems with paperwork and documentation for their brewery), on the main road through Žrnovo, close to where you get back on the main island road.
The location of the pub is wonderful, and the terrace they created is just amazing, so inviting to just sit there and relax, which we – of course – did. Like I said before, it just feels like there’s more air in Žrnovo, and the same goes for this lovely terrace of Pinjac, where the old tree provides shade during the day, so it is great to sit outside in the evening (this year they are open only in the afternoon, 6 pm until midnight, but who knows what the future holds).
As soon as we sat down our dog got his own water-dish (lovely touch, and also quite hipstery), but later on he complained that they might’ve brought him his own burger as well, which they forgot to do ?.
Their food selection is a mix of the usual stuff tourists like and pub food, burgers included, and we were told that we should try their burger. So we did. We had a game and beef burger, and both were really, really good, decent-sized pieces of well-cooked meat (on the actual grill, over charcoal, not on an electric stove), nicely warmed-up bun, great garnishes, a burger one could eat every day.
I asked the manager, Jakov Curać, about their story, and he explained to me that the father of the family that owns the pub (both Jakov and his brother work as waiters and are quite indistinguishable) felt like everyone on the island know how to make wine, and makes it, and he wanted to try something else. He wanted to make beer! They tested and played around with various brewing experiments, realized they were onto something, got in touch with the owner of the Crafter’s brewery who helped them with advice and know-how, having set-up the brewery of his own.
And, then, as they were not able to get all of the paperwork and permits for their brewery in time for this season, he even sold them some of his brew, so now you can enjoy Crafter’s Chimney stout and Escape IPA in Pinjac, as they are working on finally producing their own beers and offering them to their customers.
Their plans include production of APA, IPA, a dark ale and a wheat beer.
That is most certainly reason enough to go back to Pinjac Pub & Brewery once they have their production fully functioning, and those hamburgers also won’t dissapoint!
