Restaurant Poljana

Meal at the Poljana restaurant will be a treat for all your senses – the aroma of the freshly prepared food, traditional flavours, beautiful views and birdsong in the background...

Whether you are just starting your sightseeing tour of Plitvice Lakes National Park or returning from it, this self-service restaurant and bar is the perfect place to take a break and enjoy different dishes and refreshing beverages. If you want to explore the flavours of traditional national cuisine in more detail, you are more than welcome to make yourself comfortable in the cosy interior of this national restaurant.

Fulfil your desire for delicious food and new gastronomic experiences in the Poljana restaurant. It is situated at the perfect location – on the Velika Poljana plateau in the very centre of Plitvice Lakes National Park, in the immediate vicinity to Hotel Bellevue and Hotel Plitvice. The restaurant includes a bar, a self-service restaurant with a capacity of 120 seats, a national restaurant with open hearth and a capacity of 100 seats, and a summer terrace.

The rustic appearance, wooden details and traditional building style of the restaurant are a monument to Plitvice Lakes National Park’s history. After the fresh Lika air whets your appetite, enjoy the locally sourced products and traditional dishes made to perfection in the open hearth before your eyes.

We recommend you to start your gourmet journey with well-known sheep milk cheeses from the Lika region, or škripavac cheese, a semi-hard cow skim milk cheese. Continue with a must-try dish when in Lika – Lika potato halves baked in the oven in their skin, which can be served with bacon and cheese. Other vegetable dishes you must try along with the famous Lika potatoes are Lika cabbage and beans, which are usually aromatized with a few pieces of bacon.

However, the ultimate mouth-watering dish is lamb, of course. Roasted, under the bell, in a cauldron or a pot – the way it is prepared is less important. Lika Pot is a well-known traditional dish prepared from one kilo of lamb (or mutton) cooked in a pot together with vegetables, while another traditional dish is lamb cooked with potatoes.

Enjoy the divine taste of lamb under the bell which is achieved through its slow, sometimes two hour-long cooking process. After lighting a fire and ensuring there is enough hot coal, the food is placed in the baking pan, covered with the bell and the bell is then covered with hot coal. Although it may sound simple, there are thousands and thousands of recipes to prepare this traditional dish. Another classic way of preparing lamb in Lika is on the roasting spit. This dish is an indispensable part of any Croatian celebration or family gathering. It is necessary to pre-order this delicacy if you are coming as a group.

For dessert, don’t miss out on true gastronomic treats and order pies, fritters, savijača pastry or Lika strudels. The sweets are prepared in a traditional way, with the best Lika products and to secret recipes. Make sure to try cheese or apple filled savijača pastry, local cake or the well-known Lika fritters – deep-fried yeast-leavened pastry.

Follow the cheerful sound of birds chirping to our outdoor summer terrace where you can enjoy the murmur of the Upper Lakes waterfalls and live music in the summer months. It’s a true treat to all senses!