Name: Batelina
Address: Banjole, HR

A fishing family's konoba on the southern tip of Istria, near Pula, where the Skokos cook what their own boat lands that morning. The father fishes, the son works the pass, and the catch, prized cuts and overlooked ones alike, comes to the table on a tray.

By Dimitris Stathopoulos

The cooking

Fish and seafood, landed by the family that cooks it. Danilo Skoko fishes in the morning and his son David runs the kitchen, and there is no fixed menu: the day's catch is carried into the room on a large tray and chosen by sight. What sets the table apart is its interest in the fish the market tends to reject, the lesser-known species and the parts most kitchens discard, worked into dishes with as much care as the prime cuts. The appetisers are the heart of a meal here, often built on innards and offcuts alongside the finer pieces, and the first courses lean Mediterranean and unfussy. The room is tiny, a few tables under a low roof with a terrace outside, and the cooking stays close to the sea it comes from rather than reaching for refinement.

Why it is in VANE

It is listed in the Michelin Guide Croatia 2026 as a recommended restaurant, The Plate, and held a Bib Gourmand in earlier editions, a kitchen the guide has followed for years without it losing its plainness. The case for it is the idea it runs on: a family that has fished these waters for three generations serving what the Adriatic actually gives up, including the catch a smarter commercial room would throw back. Anthony Bourdain filmed a meal here on No Reservations and went out on the boat first, which is how most people beyond Istria came to hear of it, but the place has not changed its register for the attention. A researched profile, drawn from the restaurant's own record and Michelin's listing, not a first-hand VANE visit.

Where

Čimulje 25, Banjole, on the southern tip of Istria near Pula

Kitchen

The Skoko family; Danilo fishes, his son David cooks

Michelin

Recommended, The Plate, Guide Croatia 2026; a former Bib Gourmand

Style

Fish and seafood, including the catch most kitchens discard

Best for

The day's catch, chosen from the tray at the table

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: original VANE artwork; photography to follow.

Batelina

The cooking

Why it is in VANE

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