Slow-poached octopus chopped into bite-sized chunks, dressed with red onion, capers, olives, olive oil and red wine vinegar, served chilled with potato. The summer cold meze of every Dalmatian harbourfront table.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Octopus salad has been a Dalmatian summer fixture since the working fishing boats turned octopus catches into long-keeping starters. The slow simmer (40 to 60 minutes for tenderness, with a wine cork in the pot per folk wisdom) is the technique that distinguishes it from rubbery versions. Konoba Matejuska on the working harbour serves the canonical version with potato; Bokeria Kitchen runs a contemporary version with capers and Vis olives, and Konoba Fetivi keeps the marinated-overnight tradition through summer.
Common allergens: Shellfish
Tip from the editors. Use a 1kg-plus octopus; tiny ones turn rubbery. The wine cork is the village trick; whether it works is debated but the harbour cooks swear by it.
Konoba Matejuska in Split's Veli Varos cooks the day's market catch in a 19th-century UNESCO-listed stone house with a tight terrace tucked off the alley.
Why locals love it: A family room in a 19th-century stone house tucked into Tomica Stine; UNESCO-listed building, no signage to speak of, regulars-only feel.
Tip: Cash preferred; go for the 21:30 sitting after the first crowd has rotated.
Bokeria on Domaldova in Split runs the latest serious kitchen in the Old Town, shifting into a wine-bar pour service after 22:00 and on to 01:00.
Try: Grilled steak, hand-cut pasta, wine bar snacks
Order: Bone-in steak with the cellar's Plavac mali pour.
Tip: Kitchen takes last orders around 23:30; the wine cellar keeps pouring until 01:00 most nights.
Konoba Fetivi in Split's Veli Varos is the Bib Gourmand family konoba on Tomica Stine, cooking grilled Adriatic fish and pasticada to a daily Pazar buy.
Signature: Grilled Adriatic fish, Pasticada with gnocchi, Crni rizot
Order: Whole grilled white fish by weight with chard and potatoes.
Tip: Tue-Sun 15:00-23:30, closed Mondays; book ahead for the early dinner sitting and the best whole fish go by 21:00.
Villa Spiza in Split is the side-lane Dalmatian counter favoured by Spliters, with about 14 seats and a board that turns on the morning Pazar.
Why locals love it: A tiny counter-only room with a handwritten daily board in a side lane of Diocletian's Palace, easy to miss between the busy Riva-side terraces.
Tip: First sitting at 13:00; queue at the door for the second turn at 14:00.
More cities are in research. Want salata od hobotnice (octopus salad) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.