We thought we knew Rovinj, in Istria pretty well as it’s now one of our go-to places when we need some sea air and a bit of comfort away from an on-going house renovation. We decided to stay somewhere different this time, and chanced upon the very stylish and boutiquey Casa Amando, run by two German designers, Marijana and Lucas. More about this find in a later blog, but suffice to say, we *got* it when Marijana explained that “the house found them…”.And, through staying here, we discovered a whole area of old town Rovinj, we have so far not investigated.
Breakfast currently does not come as an option with these apartments (five in total in a renovated house), but there is an amazingly well equipped communal kitchen. However, we were advised that a new cafe/restaurant had recently opened, literally next door, and that the owner used to be head chef at The Adriatic Hotel. This piqued our interest, because The Adriatic is our favourite get-away-from-it-all place.
So, Korta. What a beautiful place! The decor is exquisite – lots of vintage style wrought iron tables and chairs, lanterns, candelabras, bird cages, rose patterned cushions, mis-matched crockery and the biggest bouganvillea I have ever seen. So big, that just about everyone who went past, stopped to take a snap of it.
Breakfast was a delicious affair, beautifully presented on a three tier cake stand. The top tier was the “savoury”. Cold cuts of meats were available, but we opted for just the cheeses – Istrian truffle cheese, a hard but creamy cheese, ricotta and mozzarella, sprinkled with dates and small fruits. The middle layer was the “sweet” – two big slices of homemade apple cake, two big croissants, one filled with chocolate and one with marmalade and two glass pots, one filled with chocolate spread, the other with an orange marmalade. The bottom layer was the “healthy” one – grapes, orange slices, apricots, bananas, blueberries and redcurrants. We had two large coffees each and fresh juice – all for 150 kunas, which is less than £20. Fantastic value in a stunning setting. Hugely recommended.
Korta only opened at the beginning of July, but from what we experienced, it should be a success. It is open from breakfast through to evening – and the menu changes to more of a tapas style, with Istrian meats, cheeses and fish. It can be found right next to Casa Amando, which is located at Bregovita ulica 9.