Zinfandel: a grape made famous by Californian vineyards, a grape whose origins are found in the city of Split, Croatia, and a restaurant so good you would be crazy not to eat there.
Since its opening in 2013, Zinfandel Food & Wine Bar has become a leading force in the restaurant scene in Split. An innovator, well respected, and changing the norms of what a wine bar entails, Zinfandel has created an interactive environment with a passionate, foodie forward menu that is known to blow their patrons away. Zinfandel boasts over 100 bottles of wine, over 30 wines by the glass, with most of their wines delivered straight to them from the vineyards of boutique winemakers and renowned estates. As if this isn’t already convincing enough, let’s take a deeper look into their current summer menu in an effort to persuade you more.
For starters, Zinfandel offers up a plethora of options, ranging from charcuterie, Croatian cheeses, mussels buzara, octopus salad, arugula steak salad, and perhaps most enticing is their 3-tier signature platter of hot and cold starters. The 3-tiered option lets you choose one of their homemade pastas or risottos (currently on their menu you can choose from a chevre & ricotta ravioli, squid ink linguini, or wild mushroom risotto). The other two tiers of the platter are for their mediterranean grilled vegetable salad, boasting a perfectly dressed salad topped with grilled zucchini and fried cheese that is light and fit for the summer, as well as their cheese & charcuterie plate which combines a sheep, chevre, herb, and aged cow cheeses with Dalmatian prosciutto, pečenica, sheep sausage and truffled sausage. Marinated olives and their homemade pepper jam are the perfect addition to top it all off.
Their main courses range from a gourmet beef burger, 300g aged ribeye, veal cheeks a la pašticada, seabass en papillote, and one menu item not to miss: their tuna steak with black sesame crust – including a tomato tartar, pickled onions, and chlorophyll olive oil.
Photo courtesy of Zinfandel
Because it is summer and this menu is perfectly crafted for light summer fare, you won’t want to miss out on their desserts. Zinfandel’s stand out desserts are their gin & tonic supreme – a mascarpone cream, meringue, with strawberries and lemon curd, as well as their deconstructed apple pie – sauteed apples, almond crunch, topped with chevre and vanilla ice cream.
Photos courtesy of Zinfandel
Zinfandel takes pride in using only the freshest seasonal and local ingredients, while taking the time to handcraft each menu item, you are ensured top quality, cooked to perfection Dalmatian fare with a modern twist you really won’t want to miss.
Pro Tip: The chevre & ricotta ravioli is made with a burnt fig puree, pine nuts, raisins, and a sage butter sauce – utterly divine and perhaps one of their most unique menu items!
Photo courtesy of Zinfandel
Zinfandel Food & Wine Bar is located at Ulica Marka Marulića 2 in Split.
