Traditional cuisine that was once enjoyed by Ston princes, castellans, nobles is now proudly served to statesmen, jet setters.
The fresh oysters and other shellfish, fish pate, fish, lobsters, fish salads, risottos, homemade bread, and the inevitable olive oil with a bite from the King’s table become even better.
We take you to the Captain’s house, to Mali Ston
In the autumn of 1986, Mali Ston became an unavoidable address of excellent gastronomic offer.
Since then, the famous “Captain’s House” is the inevitable place for all who enjoy the authentic Ston cuisine, with a bottle of good Peljesac wine.
The restaurant “Kapetanova kuća”, owned by the Kralj family, is located on the waterfront in Mali Ston, where the Captain of the Mali Ston guard lived during the time of the Dubrovnik Republic.
The most famous Croatian chef, Mrs. Lidija Kralj (King, in Croatian) Kraljica (The queen), has been successfully carrying the baton of the gastronomic table for years!
Lidija is a real “gastronomy artist “, the ‘queen’ of tastes and aromas of South Dalmatia based on simplicity and naturalness. Her cheerful spirit, love of cooking, and good co-workers are the most important spices of Lidija’s delicacies.
Suppose you taste oysters, shellfish, crabs, black risotto, Ston mackerel, organically grown own agricultural products, and products of local producers. In that case, you will get acquainted with the Kralj family’s contribution to Croatia and world gastronomy since 1986.
Two specialties of Ston’s gastronomic offer are “Captain’s House Risotto” and “Ston cake”. Risotto “Captain’s House” is prepared with all seafood and cuttlefish ink. Ston cake is certainty the original dish, recognizable by its macaroni, specifically shaped dry pasta.
Ston cake is one of the trademarks of the cuisine of Ston and its surroundings, thanks to Italian he Mediterranean cuisine influence. Ston cake used to be prepared on special occasions, especially for Easter and Christmas, which has remained to this day.
The famous Kaptain’s house
In the family house in 1998. generations of sailors, farmers, and fishermen were born, the Kralj family opened the family hotel “Ostrea,” the first small family hotel in the southern Dalmatian area. It was named after an oyster shell called Ostrea Edulis in Latin.
Mali Ston/The Little Ston
Mali Ston is located at the beginning of the Peljesac peninsula. The city was founded in 1333 when Pelješac came into the possession of the Republic of Dubrovnik. It is located in the eastern part of the Neretva, in the channel of Mali Ston, on its southern side. The Mali Ston channel is very picturesque with many islands, bays, and passages with a romantic town on the slopes of the northern side of the hill – Bartolomije. The hill with its fortifications and a defensive wall, the longest in Europe, seems to have been prepared to watch over and preserve the bay’s beauty. The Mali Ston Channel has been declared a nature park. Due to its unique cultural and architectural heritage, the entire Ston has been valued as a monument of zero category.
The remarkable purity of the sea and the richness of the marine fauna (various types of shellfish, and above all, the well-known oysters from Mali Ston, fallen fish, and a natural hatchery).
Make sure to stop at Ston on the way to Dubrovnik; for the excellent food in the Captain’s house but if time allows you, visit the Ston Walls and possibly the oldest saltworks in Europe dating from the 14th century. You can enjoy nature by walking or cycling along Napoleon’s road from Stonsko polje over the Crnjava hill to the beautiful Ponikvo vineyards.
Do not leave Ston unturned.
