Black Pepper Restaurant — Restaurant in Grad Hvar

We thought we’d treat ourselves on the last night of our wonderful holiday in Hvar. I’m a bit of a foodie and have been lucky enough to eat at some very posh restaurants both at home (UK) and abroad. So, Black Pepper looked like a great place to sign off.

Have to say, I was seriously disappointed. There’s a lot of fanfare made of the chef having won Masterchef. I’d question if THAT chef is working in the kitchen at all.

The amuse bouche was quite nice - a little bit of raw tuna on something that resembled a prawn cracker. Tasty enough, but nothing to get excited about.

Me and the missus shared a starter - the arancini. This was interesting due to cuttlefish ink and relatively nice and light (I can find some arancini quite heavy and dense).

They were kind enough to cook my wife’s steak to the required doneness (med-well) and it was perfect for her. This comes with some rather large and not-very-refined potato croquettes. The texture of the potato was a little strange in my opinion and had a slightly watery after taste. But, my wife enjoyed her meal overall.

I had the lambada. A lamb shank with carrot and onion purées. If the chef would have served this dish at any of the masterchef competitions I have watched I expect they’d have been eliminated immediately. Whilst the lamb had been cooked nicely (not a difficult feat with lamb shank) it was surrounded by sweetness. Sweet lamb, with sweet purées, crispy sweet onions, fig jam….need I go on. It was like a lamb dessert. The complete absence of any acidity meant the dish had no balance whatsoever and just wasn’t enjoyable at all.

Our waiter, whilst extremely smiley and friendly, is desperately in need of training. When you are promised a premium dining experience (and charged accordingly) it is the little things that make the difference. Empty glasses and bottles were left on our small table for far too long. He never checked in to see how our meals were. He forgot to bring the wine and needed prompting. And, when I tried to point out I hadn’t had a great experience he seemed completely incapable/unwilling to listen to feedback. Instead just grinning back at me.

I’d rarely be so scathing, but if you are going to charge £100 per head (4 x drinks, 1 x starter, 2 x mains), you have to deliver the experience to go with it. Not only was it the worst value meal we had in Hvar (and everywhere is quite expensive), it was the worst meal I had in...

This will be a long review because this restaurant really deserves the praise it receives. First, out of our four night stay, I will say, we are here three times. That is a testament. Additionally, I have been in Hvar the last five summers, and this is the first year I finally ate here. I will say that has everything to do with the waitstaff they’ve employed this summer. I now know what everyone is excited about. Second, I will mentioned the restaurant is NOT vegetarian, but we ARE, and this place ended up treating us so wonderfully that it made the difference for us in our desire to return. They made no promises to make adjustments to the menu, but they at least considered how they could help.... and wow! The food was wonderful! The staff—even while very busy—asked, and the chefs/kitchen answered with yummy surprises. Many of the local spots in Hvar just turn their heads and say they’re too busy to even ask the management or the chefs of any adjustments. It becomes disheartening when the whole island is packed with places with overpriced (and terrible) food and limited selections. Most summers, I just buy groceries and spend significant time cooking and don’t get to enjoy the great places in town to socialize. Black Pepper changed that for us this summer. In particular, our server, Filip, deserves special recognition. All the waiters were kind to my son and I, but Filip really stepped up and was a complete professional with great attitude and energy. Even though the restaurant was packed and crowded, our service was personal and top-notch. I don’t remember the other names, but the servers all seemed to work as a team, and the guests all around us seemed happy and very well taken care of with swift and professional service. I just can’t even say enough. Thanks to you all for changing the Hvar food scene for me. I will be back...

Do NOT go here if you want to be safe!

We were a group of seven friends on holiday in Hvar and chose to come here for dinner as it had some top ratings on TripAdvisor. As the restaurant was very busy the 7 of us could not fit on one table and so we were split - a table of 3 and a table of 4. We were okay with this. The table of 3 got their meal in good time but the table of 4 had to wait for nearly 2 hours for their food to come. At this point we were too hungry to wait any more and we told a waitress at the bottom of the stairs we wanted to leave as the food was taking too long. We were happy to pay for whatever drinks were consumed which was clearly informed to them. At this time the manager/owner came up to us and angrily said we were making a scene and should go back and eat our food. Our other friends joined us at the bottom of the stairs to find out what the commotion was all about when all hell broke loose and 2 of my friends were crouching down being punched and kicked by the restaurant manager/owner and other staff while others were thrown down the stairs including myself. One of my friends began bleeding profusely and a good samaritan watching the chaos called an ambulance for him. My other friend who was punched and kicked now has a damaged left eye and cannot see clearly through it. We took our friends to the hospital where one of them needed stitches. We also filed a police report.

If the restaurant owner wanted us to leave they could have easily asked or even demanded us to leave, but using such violence was completely uncalled for and unecessary. I cannot understand how the situation became so violent so quickly.

The food was actually not bad, but there is no way I would recommend anyone to go here for the sake of...