Restaurant Stajun Hvar — Restaurant in Grad Hvar

Me and my boyfriend went here because of the good looking food and some nice reviews. We noticed a lot of people complained about the service, but we did not really belive it is a problem until we actually went there.

At first everything looks nice, the waiters are friendly and most likely if you are a couple you are seated in an area which is not that nice. The air is very closed and there is a lot of noise. If you are a big group, you are lucky, as you’ll be seated in a much nicer location, outside.

We ordered the octopus salad (which was actually great, hence why two stars ;) ). We also got the fresh pasta with wild asparagus and the grilled octopus. The pasta was quite meh, basically a soup. The sauce was not creamy at all and there was a puddle of broken emulsion at the bottom of the plate. On top of that, there was no spoon to actually eat it. I’m guessing that if the soupy pasta was the goal, then at least they’d give me a spoon :). The grilled octopus was very rubbery and clearly not properly done. It looks very nice, but the texture is just bad. Don’t even bother :).

But this was not even the problem. The problem was the bad service. Neither me, nor my boyfriend could properly understand the waiter, as there was a lot of noise. I asked some details about the wine, but I could understand nothing of what he was saying. This is not as an insult to the waiter, it’s just that the space was very noisy and it was hard to even understand each other. After that he clearly did not want to speak with us anything else rather than “yes/no”.

I got a feeling as the service got better the more dishes you order :). They clearly paid more attention to the bigger tables. For us there were mostly bad looks (and I don’t say this lightly)

But the cherry on the top was that after all this experience, when getting the check, the waiter casually pre-selected a 15% tip, without even asking, telling us a word or even looking at us. This was absolutely a bad taste move, since he clearly knew we would not tip a lot, given the treatment. Luckly my boyfriend noticed the pre-selected amount and canceled it. So pay attention when you’re paying.

Also, as a tip for the restaurant: the classy vibe works only if the food is good and the service better. I did love the limoncello, one of the best I had, so thank you for that!

Maybe for a big group it is worth it. Don’t know, as I’ll never...

Looking at other reviews (and photos) of the food on here, I sadly only feel disappointment at our own experience, which felt overpriced for the actual quality received.

€97.50 for a ribeye steak for two (as recommended by the waiter) that was served undercooked, under-seasoned and sinewy to the point it was largely inedible. At these prices, I would expect the meat to be cooked and seasoned to perfection. About €20 worth of the steak was inedible and too chewy due to the poor cut of meat. I did point this out to the waiter who gave a nervous laugh and then just took the plate away with no explanation or offer of redemption - this felt uncomfortable and dismissive. The side dishes were also poor to average at best - undercooked and unseasoned fried potatoes (I didn’t think it was possible to undercook fries?!?) and soggy asparagus with only a few spears in the portion. The starter of truffle burrata was delicious however.

We also noticed other tables received bread baskets at the start of the meal - we weren’t offered these but later noticed they had been charged (€4) on our bill anyway. This was refunded once we spotted the mistake but wouldn’t expect this to happen at such an establishment. Our bottled water was also knocked over by the waiter clearing the table but not offered to be replaced. And echoing other comments here, service tips should be earned, not expected (service advice: leave the bill with the customer to review and decide whether a tip should be added, instead of just immediately putting the card machine in front of them).

In summary, the venue is pleasant, the service was mostly friendly although lacked attention to detail to the point of being sloppy at times. But most importantly for us the food was just a let down and we left feeling ripped off (and still hungry). You can get much better in Hvar for a fraction...

We had a fantastic dinner at Stajun. The food was outstanding, the atmosphere was inviting, and our server Vladimir was so helpful when we were deciding on what to eat. He catered to our every need and answered all the questions we had. He recommended us a great wine which we were allowed to taste before selecting. Also, we were given the opportunity to select which steak we wanted as well. He was very patient and made our experience over the top. We started with the pasta ravioli and tuna tartare. The pasta was very delicate with a scrumptious filling and perfect red sauce. The tartare was interesting as I never had it with orange; however, the balance of flavors made it very nice and refreshing. For the mains, we shared the cowboy steak and the white fish with saffron cream sauce. Both items were delicious, and the table-side sear for the steak was a great experience. To end the meal, we had the fig mascarpone dessert. The light mascarpone mixed with the subtle sweetness from the fig provided a great balance and mix of flavors that was outstanding. All in all, it was the perfect way to end our...