Croatia's history and its unique geographical position between the West and the East reflects on the cuisine. The main feature of Croatian cuisine is great variety in a small area. A single type of Croatian cuisine does not exist because each Croatian region has its own cuisine.
Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier and the more recent contacts with the more famous gastronomic orders of today - Hungarian, Viennese and Turkish - while the coastal region bears the influences of the Greek, Roman and Illyrian, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine - Italian and French.
The incredible variety and surprising quality of ingredients, food-stuffs, dishes and processed products offered by these climes and tradition are in themselves a world monument of culture with which one must become familiar, nurture, preserve, respect and above all savour and enjoy.
Croatia grows all the same types of grape that are grown in the much larger France! Some of the best wines are Dingac, Postup, Kastelet, Plavac and Babic. All of these are from Dalmatia and are especially good with fish and meat dishes. Also, in Croatia more varieties of the most highly valued truffles can be found than in France, including the white Tuber magnatum (pico). The Croatian Adriatic is renowned for its rich variety of seafood. It is claimed by many that some of that seafood, such as scampi and oysters from particular localities, are the best in the world. Concentration of elements in the Marasca black/sour cherry, grown in the surroundings of Zadar, make it superior to any other type of black/sour cherry in the world - which is more than amply proved by Maraschino, the famous liqueur of Zadar.

Slavonia: spicy cuisine with many Hungarian influences, many meat and game dishes
Hrvatsko Zagorje and Medjimurje: famous sweets and dumplings
Middle Croatia or Croatian heartland: home-made cheese, heavy roast dishes, Osman influences
Istria: light food with many herbs, truffle dishes and Italian influences
Dalmatia: Mediterranean cuisine with many Italian influences, paradise for lovers of fresh fish