There are many reasons I return to Primošten, but the food is certainly one of them.
I love seafood. I could happily eat octopus, scampi, grilled fish, and a bowl of mussels for days. Along this stretch of the Dalmatian coast, it is almost impossible not to.
But every now and then, I want something else.
When I am in the mood for meat, there is one thing I especially love: a French-trimmed rack of lamb. It is not the first dish people think of when they come to a small Croatian fishing town, which makes it all the more satisfying when you find it done well.
In Primošten, I have found two restaurants that serve it. One I particularly enjoyed was Konoba Dvor. It is tucked into the compact old town, at the end of a little street where stairs lead up to an upstairs terrace. You do not simply wander past it while looking out at the sea. You have to find it. That is part of the charm.
The terrace feels sheltered from the movement below, a pleasant place to sit with a glass of red wine and let the evening slow down. Then came the lamb.
A handsome rack, simply served over vegetables, with the bones rising from the plate in that unmistakable way. It was well cooked, beautifully presented, and exactly what I had hoped for.
There is something deeply satisfying about having a clear idea of what you want, then finding it far from the place you would have expected to find it. That is one of the quiet pleasures of returning to a destination year after year. You stop chasing the obvious. You notice the staircase at the end of the street. You learn that beyond all the beautiful seafood, there may be a restaurant serving a dish you had not expected to crave.
Primošten is full of these small discoveries.
Konoba Dvor reminded me that even in a town surrounded by the sea, it is good to leave room for a little lamb.