When a restaurant is located right next to the main fish market in the city, you know you’re in for something special. One of my favourite food places in town, Konoba Fiume is a charming, unpretentious bistro specialising in traditional cuisine, heavily based on delicious seafood.

There are two things that make lunch in Konoba Fiume a memorable experience. One is the menu itself, a simple, straightforward list of local favourites: fish soup, octopus salad, scampi, calamari, homemade pasta with prawn sauce, black risotto with squid and cuttlefish ink, and oh my, their grilled stingray! All freshly caught, expertly prepared, and served at incredibly affordable prices.

The other key ingredient to their iconic status is the staff: an energetic, jovial bunch you will get to know by name after a couple of visits. At the helm is the restaurant owner Nena, a human dynamo who zooms in and out of the kitchen, passing plates and filling empty glasses, always taking a moment to stop by every table and share a laugh with the patrons. Everyone is treated as family – no wonder we all keep coming back. You just need to be lucky enough to spot an empty table.