3 Best Restaurants in Southern Dalmatia, Croatia

When the former pastry chef at Restaurant 360 opens his own artisanal ice cream and cake shop in Dubrovnik, you know it's going to be good; Gianni serves up the best scratch-made gelato in town, incorporating natural ingredients and some unusual flavors such as curry and chili alongside traditional favorites like pistachio and chocolate. Don't let the high-caliber credentials intimidate you—this little hole in the wall in the Old Town, located behind the Old Port, is as casual as it gets, with a few outdoor tables where you can hang out and make friends over ice cream, exquisite cakes, and great coffee.

In a city full of ice cream shops, family-run Gelateria Dubrovnik is the original. There's a reason why there's always a line out the door—and it's not just because they give free cones to local kids. They make all of their ice cream in-house, and what started with just 4 flavors is now 32, with the original recipes passed down to the current owners from their fathers and grandfathers before them. For the record, the original four flavors were chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and lemon.

European food rule number one: if you see locals lining up for ice cream, get in that line. That's certainly the case with KIWI, the island's oldest ice cream shop; grab a seat outside to try traditional pastries such as klašuni (walnut pastries) and cukarini (handmade biscuits), as well as muffins, strudels, and homemade ice cream that does Korčula's Italian heritage proud.