Croatia brings together many regions and many gourmet inspirations.
You can clearly differentiate between the north and the east by their meat-based specialities where the food is similar to Central European and Slavic food.
Meat is a typical dish in Croatia, such as šunka, a Slavonian ham. Cabbage, potato and pastries such as strudel come from Hungary.
Goulash is also a typical Hungarian meat dish.
Zagreb has a cutlet called the Zagreb cutlet!
And then there's the coastal region which is mainly dominated by Mediterranean-inspired food.
Seafood and grilled fish feature heavily in these dishes. The local cheese is typically sheep and goats cheese and everything is accompanied by local wine.
Istria is known for its famous truffles which help to flavour all kinds of seasonal dishes. And finally, Dalmatia is known for its meat, particularly its raw ham, while Pag cheese - paški sir - is also a unique speciality of its kind due to the wild herbs which are eaten by the sheep on the island.
With all these specialities, you will no doubt have good experiences when you taste local gourmet food. Most restaurants are local restaurants and the food is often homely.
Prices are lower than in France (a full meal costs between €5 and €15 and a visit to a gourmet restaurant costs between €20 and €30) so Croatia is ideal for those in search of gourmet food.