Konoba Dubrava — Restaurant in Dubrovnik

Do you ever have a meal that makes you forget about all your earthly problems? One that floods your dopamine receptors to the point that it forces you fully into present time, making you appreciate the greatness in front of you? Konoba Dubrava was one of them ones.

It was our first, and best, meal in Croatia. What a welcome to this beautiful country. We ordered the legendary “Peka,” which is a traditional Croatian cooking method where meat is placed in a round dish, covered with an iron lid, and then buried under hot coals to slow cook. The result is some of the most tender meat you could ever imagine.

We put our order for the Peka days in advance, as it takes 3 hours for it to cook under the iron bell. We went with the mixed grill Peka that consists of lamb and veal (€35), and the adriatic octopus (€48).

We sat down in the beautiful open air ambiance as the sun set. It had me feeling like I was in a movie. One of those moments that didn’t feel real and made me think something needed to go wrong because life was so good.

We were greeted by our waiter, Hrvoje, who was the MAN. He recommended side dishes to pair with our Peka, a Croatian wine, and gave us recs for other things to do in Croatia. When I told him I’m half Croatian, his eyes LIT up and he started asking me all about the lineage. Just a genuinely great human being. The world needs more Hrvojes.

When he asked if we wanted to go back to the kitchen to see our Peka being prepared, my girlfriend and I locked eyes with each other as if to say “No wayyyyyyy…”

We walked back to a rustic kitchen that was 20 degrees hotter than outside, as one of the cooks lifted the iron bell to reveal unbelievable amounts of meat and potatoes crackling as they slowly cooked. It was one of the most beautiful experiences my senses had ever been blessed with.

We sat back down and started tearing into Croatian wine, homemade fresh bread, and a Mediterranean salad before our Peka was served 20 minutes later.

My words will be futile to describe this Peka, but I’ll try. The lamb and veal was phenomenal and some of the best I’ve ever had, but I have had comparably tender meats.

The octopus on the other hand, absolutely blew my mind. I’ve had a good amount of octopus in my life, and it’s always been slightly chewy or tough due to the dense muscle fibers. This one, however, was so tender I could literally rip it apart with a spoon. It made me rethink everything I know about octopus. It was melting in my mouth.

This was head and shoulders my favorite meal that we had on our 2 week trip to Europe. I genuinely hope everyone can experience having traditional Peka in Croatia at least once in their lifetime.

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Three words - unique, above and beyond. If you're looking for a true Croatian tradition that dates back more than 300 years, this is the only place you'll find. It's near the top of a mountain close to Napoleon's fort. When you drive up, it is reminiscent to architecture you would find in old Bavaria. Very homey! As you walk in the front, you'll smell the charcoal and the yummy things they're cooking. Inside is warm and inviting. The staff goes above and beyond, making sure you have everything you need quickly, making frequent stops at your table to make sure you're okay and offering to take pictures at every step of your meal, which we gladly accepted! We saw the reviews on the food and expected greatness and that's exactly what we got, greatness! My wife had the lamb and I had the octopus. The lamb was a tender almost melted roast with great simple seasoning and flavor. Potatoes were the best you'll have anywhere and that octopus was the best I've ever eaten. Just a light touch of the fork to cut it. The bread is as good as it gets and you'll want to make sure that you drag it through a yummy drippings on your plate. Sop-up every drop! For dessert, I had their chocolate Swartz cake, which had a crunchy chocolate thick crust topped with Bavarian cream with a light fruit between. Really good. We arrived early and asked if we could see their unique cooking area and they happily obliged because we made it there before the rush. They explained how the cooking process went, which is more science than anything. What a tradition and hats off for these guys holding fast to it. Because of their cooking process, you will need to order your food 3 hours in advance online or on the phone. Look over their online menu, take your time and let your mouth start watering early. There's no bad choice. Great experience. Fantastic, fantastic! It's only about 15 minutes from Dubrovnik and you'll easily find Uber or a taxi both ways. Romantic, warm, friendly - a Croatian treasure that you won't find...

Every out of country visitor of Dubrovnik should stop here. Adorable restaurant, amazing service, amazing food, and locals are actually eating here too!

We have been on the hunt for Peka with octopus from the moment we arrived. Everywhere was super out of the way, required 24 hr advance reservation, €€ up front, or no octopus option. With the help of a local, we found Kunoba Dubrava.

Reservation was required 3 hrs ahead and they were extremely accommodating when we had to move our first reservation. This was just the introduction to their amazing service of Vojo and the rest of the staff. We were helped in as we had our luggage with us and promptly seated even though we were early. A glass of Ramona appears in front of us to set the mood. Vojo, invited us to meet the kitchen staff and see the Peka process while passing the most beautiful enormous loaf of bread.

The food was incredible! The octopus was so tender which I haven’t had since moving away from Hawaii and honestly even the bread was some of the best I’ve had. We couldn’t finish so they packaged the rest up nicely for us.

Once we finished, we had a heavier “digestif” then got to visit the garden after I got excited hearing their donkey.

Definitely worth the treck as it is in the taxi route back from Srd. If you are not much of a hiker, save yourself some money and add to your experience by using the funicular to go up, walk the scenic path to the restaurant, then taxi your full belly down...