Restaurant Nav — Restaurant in City of Zagreb

I decided to wait for few days, reflect on my experience before posting a review. I had super huge expectations based on number of reviews read by various food critics and guests. Expected mind blowing experience and my expectations were partially met. Few courses were simply amazing, few average and 1 I did not like at all. But De gustibus non est disputandum. Menu is interesting, brave and creative combinations, well prepared and nicely presented. Staff is professional, yet friendly and pleasant. Wine pairing did not meet expectations and is definitely not worth the price. Giving the chance to new, innovative wine makers is cool, but not necesarrily good always and definitely not worth the price. Vodka based walnut shots were the best. Advertised as "personal" I would have expected that guests were asked about allergies, food preferences, or things they do not eat. Upfront deposit (portion of the full price) payment to confirm reservation is indeed common practice is some Michelin Star restaurants, here you need to pay full price for the menu and online payment needs improvements as we struggled big time. Overall we had great time and will probably be back when spring/summer comes hoping to...

I had not known much about the famous Croatian chef Tvrtko Sakota before our dinner in his new restaurant. I left the dinner convinced he is a cooking genius, and a super-nice guy to boot. His place has a very friendly and relaxed ambiance, and he guides you enthusiastically through the dishes. In the restaurant of this high quality I am usually highly impressed by, at most, two or three out of a dozen dishes. This time, one dish was "merely" excellent, while we thought all others were fantastic. Oh, yes, let us also mention that the price is a half or a third of what you would typically pay in most EU cities for tasting menus of this quality or, more frequently, less than this quality. I will definitely go back. Update: I came back after less than a month since my first visit. Only two of the ten dishes on the tasting menu were the same as the last time, and even those were prepared somewhat differently. My first impressions were confirmed - chef Tvrtko is super-talented and it's a pure delight to experience...

What a fantastic place - absolut recommendation for everybody loving great food and great chefs but not enjoying the typical Michelin star fuss. The chef and owner is actually your host cooking for you, serving you and sharing his broad knowledge of Croatian wines with you and opening his cellar with some true local treasures. There is only a limited number of seats (10-12) in a living room like atmosphere and an open kitchen. From there came one great dish after another - 14 in total all accompanied by fantastic wines that you will not be drinking anywhere else. The atmosphere is cosy but at the same time it‘s also a cool and unique place. Meal and accompanying wines were about 250€ per person - not necessarily cheap but worth it. And if you compare it with prices in other European capitals for the same experience it is an absolut bargain! But that is not why you should come to NAV - come here for an evening that you will enjoy...