Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous, and is therefore known as "the cuisine of regions". Differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those on the mainland and those in coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier Proto-Slavic and the more recent contacts with the more famous gastronomic orders of today - Hungarian, Viennese and Turkish - while the coastal region bears the influences of the Greek, Roman and Illyrian, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine - Italian and French. Developed in a tradition of natural, healthy food based on meals of vegetables in olive oil, seafood and fish, accompanied with wine and sheep and goats cheeses. The specificity of the local cooking is in its preparation of meals. Vegetables are cooked in a small amount of water with a seasoning of olive oil and aromatic herbs and fish is prepared by stewing, boiling or grilling. Meat, usually lamb, is roasted on a spit to get a unique taste.

 Istrian food is similar to Italian food, but with its own identity, nurtured over the last ten years. There are 600 restaurants in Istria, quite a feat for such a small region, so the choice is huge. Yet quality is assured because the tourist office vets all restaurants and tavernas and recommends a fine-tuned 80 of them. Ask your local tourist office for the Istria Gastro Guide. Original dishes prepared with the freshest ingredients that simply must be tried: Creamy fusi al tartufo, little pasta cylinders, with white truffle shavings; scampi alla buzzara, with tomato, garlic and lemon - serviettes in collars are a must for the delicious soup that comes with this dish!; Cevapcici – herby little sausages – eaten with a side dish of onions and ivar (a red, peppery sauce); fresh wild asparagus in April, sold at the roadside by charming old ladies; Istrian ham, cut thicker than the Parma variety and very flavourful on its own or as an ingredient. Istrian truffles (both white and black) are even exported to Italy. And it is the white truffle that is most highly prized.

 Soup (brodet) is common in North Dalmatia, especially for the mid-day meal, flavoured with meat, vegetable or fish. Other popular starters are cold or hot hors d'oeuvres such as black risotto (rizot, flavoured with squid's ink) or pasta topped with seafood (prstaci) or grilled pilchards. The main course is always headed up by meat or fish. Locally produced beef, lamb or pork. Try the pačticada which is beef stuffed with lard and roasted in wine and spices. Or maybe lignje which is lightly breaded and fried squid.

 The cuisine is typically Mediterranean in South Dalmatia, using a lot of olive oil, garlic, pasta, fresh fish and herbs. Particularly good is prsut (smoked ham), often part of an appitiser, as is Pag cheese, hard and pungent served with olives. Dalmatian brodet is mixed fish served stewed with rice. Beef, pork and veal are excellent. Pizza and pasta is found virtually everywhere and is surprisingly good and cheap. But fish is king – langoustines in a bouzzara sauce of garlic, wine and tomato are delicious. Grilled fresh sardines, cuttlefish, bream and many more.

 Croatia is justifiably proud of its broad palette of high quality wines (up to 700 wines with protected geographic origin) and brandies, fruit juices, beers and mineral water. In the south, people drink bevanda with their food (heavy, richly flavoured red wine mixed with plain water), and in north-western regions, "gemisht" (dry, flavoured wines mixed with mineral water).

 The great adventurer and seducer Giaccommo Casanova has written in his famous memoirs that he drank 'a fantastic refošk wine' in Istria. Neither the nobility, travellers nor adventurers of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy have resisted Istrian and Dalmatian wines which they have tried with delight while on their journeys in the area.