Strong family ties at the Konoba Mate, restaurant in Korčula

"Set 11km outside Korčula town, this family-run tavern pairs a Bib Gourmand and a Michelin Green Star with warm hospitality and cooking rooted in the island’s most typical ingredients. Opened in 2000 by Mirjana, an “old-school” cook, and Mate, a “peasant at heart,” it has grown into a multigenerational operation: daughter Biljana—chef, pastry chef and “sorceress” of wild herbs—keeps grandmotherly traditions alive; son Matij shines at the grill; and his wife, manager and agricultural engineer Ana Farac, tends the garden like a child. Almost everything on the table is homemade or home-grown—from bread, pastas, goat’s cheese, vegetables and olive oil to desserts—and waste is banned, with preserves and passata extending the seasons. Standouts include Biljana’s two signatures: mid-October gnocchi stuffed with sautéed goat meat and vegetables, pure autumnal comfort, and a lemon-verbena–cream praline whose herbal perfume marries beautifully with chocolate. Don’t miss the Težačka plitica platter of artisanal bread, goat’s cheese, smoked ham, olives and aubergine treats; house pasta in butter, cream and fennel with a prickle of chilli; a smoked-ham omelette with foraged asparagus; the festive Dalmatian pašticada—marinated beef slow-cooked with fruit and spices, served with hand-rolled macaroni; and the classic rožata, silken with caramel. For two or more, the cheese board—with two house goat’s cheeses (fresh with pepper; a mature cheese in olive oil), robust cow’s cheeses (including one matured in a sheep’s stomach) and sweet-savory accompaniments—is a joy. The ethos is summed up in their motto “eat locally, think globally”: seasonal, self-sufficient, courageously traditional cooking delivered by a tight-knit team that returns year after year, making this once-tiny konoba one of Croatia’s most beloved tables." - Annalisa Leopolda Cavaleri