BACKYARD TRATTORIA — Restaurant in Grad Pula

A few days ago our three kids, my wife and i decided to visit Pula (we stayed in Porec). We heard about the Arena and still early in the morning we were able to park quite close to the Arena. When we walked down a small street i all over sudden had a terrific smell in my nose. Looking around i saw a door with a little sign but still did not realize that this was some sort of a restaurant. An older lady looked down from a window and smiled about my stomach driven curiosity. Following her recommendation we just opened the door and stumbled into a very tiny room / floor with a few small tables in it. This was obviously some sort of place where you could get breakfast! We were immediatly caught by the ambience and friendlyness of this place. Who ever worked here did this for the larger idea of creating something special, not for the money. We sat down and ordered 5 freshly squeezed Orange juices and not before later saw a nice lady turning into sweat while squeezing our orange juices ;-)...but still with a smile. Turned out that this was Petar's mother. ;-) Apart from our bad concoius of creating too much work the juice was still very tasty. Anyway, we were served great coffee and an incredible egg breakfast, tasty and set up in a rather artful way. The atmosphere was great and we were lucky to have stumbled in a place like this...that was truly one of the moments one likes to think back later as in "do you still remember that magic little place in Pula..." So i stronly recommend this place to anyone ever visiting Pula, it is absolutly worth it. If we ever get back we will certainly come back, maybe for dinner? After breakfast, of course.

Thanks to Petar and his family for their great...

This place is AMAZING!!!! It is a small place, you definitely will probably want to make a reservation. There are only 5-6 tables. This gives the chef the ability to talk to each person individually for an amazing experience!!!! The food is definitely of the fine cuisine type although the prices are quite reasonable. The area is wonderful, relaxing and cute. It is just a pleasure to sit here and enjoy the laid back atmosphere of this small patio.

The only thing better than the setting of this place was the Chef and his food. The food was simply incredible!!!! Very simple and small menu allows for a dish quality that I must say is unparalleled in my experience. We enjoyed a selection of nearly everything on the menu. We had Salted Tuna and grilled fish which was amazing. We talked with him quite a bit about his restaurant and his menu and he even offered a special menu if we called in advance. He works with high quality ingredients, mostly organic it seems and/or ecologically sourced.

The passion he has for his establishment and for cooking in general shows clearly while talking with him and in the quality of his food. We found him while looking for a great breakfast and simply had to come...

Mum and I aren't big seafood people. However, this restaurant was beyond exceptional. This is a hidden gem if you want quality over quantity and don't mind spending a little more. Don't be fooled by the unassuming outside appearance; this has the best local cuisine in Pula (sadly, my pictures attached don't really show the food justice).

It appears the venue has stopped the breakfast menu (as featured in earlier reviews) to focus its energy on fine dining. There are two set "short" menus for just under 40 euros and a longer menu for just over 70 euros. We were both quite full from a big lunch and went for the short menu. If we were to return, we'd return for the extended menu.

Each course we perfectly balanced in terms of tastes and textures, and the beverages we had seemed to pair well - We brought a wine/beer each extra, but they did provide dessert wine and liqueur as part of the set menu.

It comes across that this venue is aiming for Michelin recognition. It certainly deserves it, given that it beats a few Michelin-rated venues I've been to. We wish this restaurant the best for the upcoming season and would...