Monte Rovinj
Croatia
Monte occupies a stone courtyard at the foot of Rovinj’s Church of St Euphemia, in the house where chef Danijel Đekić was born. What began as an Istrian tavern in 1985 has developed into a family restaurant, with Danijel’s wife Tjitske overseeing wine and their sons contributing to the kitchen and dining room. The Flora and Fauna menus draw on the sea, forest and garden, supported by relationships with local farmers, fishers and wine producers. Fauna combines a vegetable foundation with Adriatic seafood and selected cuts of meat. The family setting and these regional ingredients give the restaurant’s contemporary cooking a clear connection with Rovinj.