Agli Amici Rovinj, Rovinj, restaurant review, VANE

Name: Agli Amici Rovinj
Address: Rovinj

Croatia's only two-star dining room, on the marina promenade below the Grand Park Hotel in Rovinj, where the Scarello family of the celebrated Agli Amici in Udine cook contemporary Italian food through the Istrian coast, Emanuele Scarello setting the direction and Simone De Lucca on the pass.

By Dimitris Stathopoulos

The cooking

Contemporary Italian, read through Istria. The Scarello family have cooked at the original Agli Amici in Udine since 1887, in the Friuli corner where Italy meets Slovenia and the Adriatic, and they carried that grounding across the water to Rovinj. The kitchen works the produce of the peninsula around it: seafood off the Rovinj archipelago, wild herbs and olives, the first-press oils, black truffle from the Istrian interior and the citrus of the coast, turned with Friulian technique rather than smothered in it. The menu runs on two set routes, Rovinj and Istria, one drawn from the sea and one from the land, the first built on the day's catch and the second on the fields and groves behind the town. Emanuele Scarello sets the direction, with his sister Michela part of the family project and Simone De Lucca holding the pass in Rovinj day to day. The room sits on the Lungomare promenade beside the ACI marina, the moored boats and the old town across the water through the glass, and the service keeps the formality the cooking asks for without stiffness.

Why it is in VANE

It holds two Michelin stars in the Michelin Guide Croatia 2026, the only restaurant in the country to do so, and has held both for a third year running since it became Croatia's first two-star in the 2024 selection. It took its first star within months of opening in 2021, which tells you the kitchen arrived fully formed. The case for it is the transfer: a family that built its name in Friuli over four generations choosing to cook a different coast on its own terms, the Istrian catch and the Istrian field rather than a menu shipped in from Udine. It is the most decorated table on the eastern Adriatic, and it earns the distinction on the plate rather than the postcard. A researched profile, drawn from the restaurant's own record and Michelin's listing, not a first-hand VANE visit.

Where

On the marina promenade below the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Istria, Croatia

Kitchen

The Scarello family of Agli Amici, Udine; Emanuele Scarello directing, Simone De Lucca on the pass

Michelin

Two stars, Michelin Guide Croatia 2026, the country's only two-star, held since 2024

Style

Contemporary Italian, built on Istrian produce and the Adriatic catch

Best for

The Rovinj menu from the sea, or the Istria menu from the land

VANE selection. Chosen with a critic's eye and judged independently. It's here because we judged it, not because it paid.
On this profile: a researched profile, drawn from the restaurant's own record and reporting, not a claim of a first-hand visit. Where we have eaten there, the review says so.
Image: Photo: Agli Amici Rovinj / Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Maistra Collection (official site)

Asked and answered

Where is Agli Amici Rovinj?

On the marina promenade below the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Istria, Croatia.

Who is the chef at Agli Amici Rovinj?

The Scarello family of Agli Amici, Udine; Emanuele Scarello directing, Simone De Lucca on the pass.

What kind of food does Agli Amici Rovinj serve?

Contemporary Italian, built on Istrian produce and the Adriatic catch.

Who is Agli Amici Rovinj best for?

The Rovinj menu from the sea, or the Istria menu from the land.

Agli Amici Rovinj