In the evening, we had booked a table at Mote, which is not located in the hotel. Instead, it is situated in the old town of Rovinj on the hill. This location also means that the restaurant can only be reached on foot via the old streets.


I had already taken photos of the exterior during the day. As you can see, the flooring is anything but level.



That doesn't stop some women from wearing pretty shoes. While I already have a lot of respect for high heels in general, that respect increases immeasurably in an environment like this.

The restaurant is essentially a covered terrace with glass walls.


Aperitif Menu

Mocktail


The water served was �purified water.� Normally, I'm fine with that; I don't need (and want) San Pellegrino from Nestle, for example. But this water tasted disgusting, as if it had been treated with three tons of chlorine or something; it was actually undrinkable. I'm still annoyed that I didn't complain and actually paid for that crap. It was the worst water I've ever had in a restaurant.

The menu






A walk through the Istrian landscape


Pani puri with black truffle



Green olive gougere

Mini margherita

Meadow flowers boulion (seen in the back)
Chawanmusho with duxelles of mushroom and algae

Our daily bread
Grandmothers bread, our extra vergin olive oil Fratuzza, beurre noisette with laurel powder, salt in teran wine

The appetizers were consistently very good.
Our "wine"

Premium Ossetra Caviar, egg yolk 64 �C, potato foam


Really delicious, a very nice dish.
Fishmarket
Adriatic shrimp, dry aged branzino, sepia




Also good
Pilgrim Scallop
apple-fennel brunoise, buttermilk and horseradish, Rovinj shells, leek, quinoa, seafoam




Also very good
Lobster
dumpling, cream of carrot, bisque



Fine
Artichoke
cheep cheese, black Istrian truffle





This was very good
Monkfish
octopus, zucchini, wild rice, zgvacet



Good
This was a vegetarian alternative to Lamb
Beetroot
gnocchi, carpaccio, seasme, ginger, horseradish




Cheese and Predessert
taleggio cheese, nectarine, golden caramelized almond, lime, kefir, mint, cucumber




The cheese was quite unusual and tasted good.
Pear
pistacchio.chocolate millefeuille, jasmin gel



That was good too.
Petit Fours
dutch cookie with clueberries, strawberry jelly, fritula with cranberries, chocolate date almond bonbon





All of the food was really good, except for the water, and I would eat here again. The bill was steep, no question about it.

On this day, we visited Porec. Before we get to the impressive basilica complex, here are a few impressions of this pretty town.

The most significant attraction in Poreč is the Euphrasian Basilica. It is a World Heritage Site, and the complex that can be visited consists of the baptistery, the bell tower, the bishop's palace, several mosaics, and the basilica.



The courtyard



The baptistery.




From the baptistery, you reach the Campanile.




The view

We continued towards the Bishop's Palace.

The palace now serves as a museum.
















There is also something to see in the basement.





The largest mosaic is located outside.

The tour continues through the old sacristy.


Then you finally enter the basilica.

The Limski Canal is an inlet and nature reserve. There is a viewpoint, but I forgot to take photos of the numerous stalls.

Since I was already in Rovinj, I wanted to go on a dolphin tour. I chose the Delfin, one of the larger boats available. Some of the boats that go out are pretty much just nutshells. The trip itself was quite nice, with good views of Rovinj and a few dolphins to see, but it was difficult to get a good photo of them. It was quite cool and windy on the boat � guess which idiot was the only one wearing a polo shirt and no jacket. But hey, you just have to play the outdoor enthusiast and push through. It was annoying that after a while, an endless number of boats turned up and got on the animals' nerves.

Cap Aureo is one of the hotel�s two Michelin-starred restaurants; it has one star.

The restaurant is dark inside. This effect is further heightened by the fact that every time a guest left, the lamp on their table was switched off. By the end, it was completely dark, so we asked for more light. To cut a long story short, the d�cor wasn�t really our cup of tea.





Welcome


The menu consists of lots of small dishes, and you can put together your own meal from them.













We opted for the 10-course menu with non-alcoholic drinks.

Corn+Popcorn


Butter fried brioche - punpkin and cream


A truffle doughnut



I can�t remember the drinks, but they were of very different taste. The majority was nothing I really need.

Scampi - salsify . beer - charred scampi, confit of salsify, beer butter


Mussels - scallops - oysters - leeks - cooked in its own broth, seard in rosehip oil, creme, butter fried and emulsion



Both dishes were decent, but nothing more.

Lobster - the Adriatic one + cabbage - both cooked on coal, cumin and immortelle butter, sauerkraut beurre blanc


Lobster is always a safe bet. This one wasn�t bad either, but once again, it wasn�t particularly memorable.
Risotto - classically done, fluffy gambero rosso and wild fennel blossom omelette


That was good.


Mushrooms - the great autumn ones - sauted, barbecued, petals, crema of all filled buttons + bouillon


I would have really liked that as an amuse-bouche.


A meagre�s respect towards sustainability - Teran verjus rouge glaced cheek and jaw, pickled malvasia grapes, sauce Veronique


Cute...
To be honest, I�d had enough by then. I didn�t like the atmosphere, the service was painfully slow, and the drinks weren�t really to my taste.


Turbot - Jerusalem artichokes + caviar charred and buttered, creme and crisp, oscietra




Well done � the kitchen manages to use one fish fillet for two evenings.


Pan roasted monkfisch, smoked butter, mushrooms - barbecued, dust and garum



Quite good


A collection of Istrian cattle and herds cheese - Kaldir apple Tart Tartin, brioche




At that point, GF stopped eating; she�d had enough and went to out room. I stayed at the table a bit longer. When it came to the drinks, only one was served and charged for; her dessert was charged for but never brought out. I�ll say this up front: we really didn�t need two of them, but it was still annoying.




Persimon - pine nuts - mandarin - rosehip - Sorbetto, milk, creme + semi dried, oil



I love desserts. But a lot of pastry chefs try to make something really special, and this is what they end up with. A simple chocolate pudding or sponge cake would be a better choice.
Petit fours



Then the bill arrived and came as a surprise. �210 instead of �180 for the set menu. A surcharge for large portions? When I asked, they corrected it, but that was the icing on the cake. The evening felt like a washout, and I was dissatisfied with the dinner.

We headed to Opatija, one of Croatia�s best-known seaside resorts. It has a long promenade featuring the famous Grand Hotel Kvarner.

The Croatian Museum of Tourism is housed in a villa.

The exhibition isn�t particularly large, but it�s quite interesting. It�s certainly not a must-see, but it�s quite nice for a quick visit.

At the end of 2005, a Walk of Fame was created to honour figures who have put Croatia on the map. Well, you can certainly walk along it.

This is the former abbey church of the monastery from which Opatija originated. It was renovated in 1937.

No, we didn�t just pop into the Royal on a whim. We just had a drink and a bite to eat in the caf� there. We really liked the interior, but unfortunately that was about it. The cream slice was still quite OK, but the ice cream (from closed containers) was, sadly, a total disaster.