Lunch at Konoba Levrnaka ・ Kornati Islands, Croatia

Located in a quiet pocket called Anica Bay in Croatia’s Kornati National Park is Konoba Levrnaka on Island Levrnaka. Surrounded by natural and unspoiled beauty, the restaurant is also a five-minute walk from the island’s only sandy beach called “Lojena.”

Each year the seaside restaurant lures in countless yachts, many of whom have booked a table in advance. Rumour has it that during peak season, you must book a table a month prior to your visit, that is how busy they are. In the hospitality industry busy means good and while in the Kornati there are many restaurants to choose from as I witnessed first hand during my trip with The National Tourism Board of Croatia, Konoba Levrnaka is the one that really stood out for me.

We took a break from jumping into the sea and catching some vitamin-D after gaining insider information that we had to have lunch at Konoba Levrnaka. Considering that we were all obsessed with food (and critiquing which restaurant had the best home-made olive oil), no one in the group was interested in protesting against another amazing meal on this trip

“You can expect to have your lunch still swimming in the water as you make your way towards the restaurant along the pier…”

You can expect to have your lunch still swimming in the water as you make your way towards the restaurant along the pier, which is split over two floors. As we made our way up the stairs and along the top terrace area, every member of this press trip was fixated on getting that perfect shot for their social media. It was one of the only times where we allowed ourselves to be completely distracted by the beauty of something beautiful, as opposed to focusing on what to order on the menu. Tough times, I know.

Annie Macpherson, Journalist for The Sun UK confesses she has “wow-ed” at the lobsters swimming in the water outside the restaurant, that are 5kg+ a pop. So far, she has “wow-ed” every day since the commencement of our trip and her first time in Croatia.

We started with cold appetizers consisting of fresh octopus salad and carpaccio, salted sardines, tuna chunks and tapenade, prawns and selection of muscles. I have no idea where my craving for salted sardines has come from, considering growing up the idea of them made me sick but on this trip, there was no a single sardine left on any platter courtesy of this random craving from nowhere.

For our main meals we had a seafood platter consisting of the chef’s finest selection of local fish with the clear winner being the sea bass from the platter with grilled seasonal vegetables.

The Ježina Family are more than comfortable having their culinary skills put to the test and as each moment passed by at Anica Bay, we were left more and more speechless. The silence was palpable.

Konoba Levrnaka is also the place of the winning dish of the entire week long trip, fish fillet drenched in cream truffle sauce. If you’re visiting Konoba Levrnaka and have a thing for truffles, skip the platter and ask for this. You won’t regret it.

No lunch is complete without dessert and while some of us were eager to get into the water, others were more interested in satisfying their sweet tooth. I ended up with two dessert plates and between the chocolate slice and cheesecake, I was more into the chocolate that was made from pure cocoa, perfectly sweetened.

Overlooking a blue sky, matching the crystal clear turquoise waters, Konoba Levrnaka is ideal for lunch, stretched out for hours. Anyone visiting this eponymous restaurant will be left wanting to revisit the waters of Levrnaka.

Konoba Levrnaka