Fifty years after it was closed down, Villa Rosina finally opened it’s doors as one of the Split’s latest restaurants. The location: Bacvice beach, the view: million dollars, the restaurant: long way to go… First, the location and this classical building soon-to-be a boutique-hotel are simply the best in Split. The spacious garden, fairly private location and wonderful setting, make this place probably the best wedding spot in Split after Mestrovic Gallery.
But the service is not at the level it should be. There should be someone at the entrance to show a guest to the table and not the lounge bar area, to recommend seating and food. It is just begging for fist class service.
But even the waiter who was serving us was poorly educated and had almost no knowledge of the daily menu, food, champagne offer for the day… Just too many small details that really make a difference.
So, instead of a day old champagne, we continued with a bottle of Korak sauvignon and ordered the food hopping that at least that will go beyond mediocre…
The food was ok. But just ok. It lacked innovation, modern touch… or classic experience in a classic settings would be nice! But instead we got something that was half way there…wherever “there” is.
Again, everything was ok but nothing beyond that. Not good enough for a place of such potential! I want to see fabulous and innovative food, modern dishes and spectacular palette of tastes coming out of their kitchen! This place has everything to be the best restaurant in Split but it falls short on basics. Of course, it is their first few months but still… I do plan to go there again and enjoy the view but also the food.
Again, for spectacular settings, this is the place in Split but for food and service, I guess we’ll have to wait. Definitely looking forward to see a hotel opening here as this would be ideal for our clients!
Thx for your honesty! Do you happen to know why the place closed down too?
svidja mi se ova kritika i nadam se da ce ju procitati ljudi koji vode ovaj restoran. lokacija se cini fantasticnom pa vjerujem da je doista mjesto s velikim potencijalom. od fotografija hrane mozda torta izgleda najprivlacnije. ne, doista prezentacija i uopce sastojci nisu previse zanimljivi….
Mare
With all the interesting things a chef can try using the amazing local ingredients and traditional cooking methods, this is very sad. That chicken salad with apples is depressing – why not octopus salad with roasted paprike and walnut pesto? Why chocolate cake and not, say, rožada with šipak syrup?
I’m not a fan of Bačvice, I call it “Plaža Pepeljara”, but this is an outstanding location, even better than Galerija Mestrovic for a wedding. Sramota.
After years, I still don’t understand the concept of service in Croatia. A better understanding of Hospitality leads to a stronger business. Every good server knows to make wine recommendations and menu suggestions. If the restaurant is partly a preview of the hotel operation, well, that’s just katastrofa!
samo ču se ošervat na onu tzv. salatu od piletine…katastrofa…i Marina bi tila ovod otvorit visoku gastro skulu…utopija…
@ Mare – ja sam uvik pozitivan i tako i razmišljam i obično ne dajem kritike jer svako ima svoj stil i svoju situaciju i ne valja nikom suditi. Ali, u ovom slučaju, radi se o elitnoj lokaciji i očito mistu di se orjentira prema najboljem i to me pomalo razočaralo. Kad te konobar niti ne pita kakav biftek želim, nemamao o čemu pričati. Popravit će se oni ali tribat će čvrsta ruka i vrlo precizno orjenitran pravac u kužini. Dosta je restorana u kojima svi služe sve.
@ dalmacija – ne sumnjam da ona to može ali ovo joj je izlog. Tu triba dat 200% da se vidi kakva je škola
@ DLCS – Not sure. Probably for re-decorating or it will be closing every year after the season ends
@ Tinica – Absolutely agree! Bacvice is definitely not the best beach in Split but it is an iconic place and this is just a superb location. When it comes to food, they should really choose another approach and go local. We do have superb ingredients but no serious restaurant seems to use them! Besides, Split – being such an important tourist center – really needs a top notch restaurant. Unlike Pelegrini that is struggling in Šibenik with terrible local audience and no hotel guests, Split can have 3-4 really great places both for wine and food.
I always wonder why there is such a lack of “fine dining” in a city like Split, where locals appreciate food and wine, and I’d like to think at least some tourists have a certain level of sophistication. There will always be places for cheap pizza and mediocre crni rižot for those who want that.
To me it’s a “no-brainer” to go local. I’d rather be offered a bowl of figs as dessert than a generic piece of chocolate cake. And as much as I love French cuisine, I don’t need to see foie gras on any menu in Split.
@ Tinica – Exactly my thoughts! There is obviously lack of sophisticated and educated audience in Split and, if there are such people, I am sure they don’t spend as much in restaurants as the people with money. But problem with our restaurants is that they are always trying to be “something else” than simply a great local restaurant. Just putting foie gras on the menu does not make you serve good food nor it makes you a classy place.
Also, Split does have superb foreign audience during the summer – most of our clients are just like that – and they would appreciate a great local restaurant with local ingredients and recipes. And it would be so easy to make a twist on those and make them modern and stylish.
But hey, why making that extra effort when one can make money on serving frozen potatoes and rest of the supermarket junk with Pazar being only few steps away?
The cost percentages for pizza places might be more favorable, but with the availability of such produce as found in Split/nearby islands, sophisticated food need not be expensive. Restaurants sell experiences as much as they sell food. This applies to hotels, also. I get frustrated by the normal reports from the TZ about occupancy rates and “bed night percentages”. When hotels provide more personal attention, the numbers will follow. Great food is not a piece of foie gras added with no thought to a plate, just as great hospitality is not about high thread-count sheets, but personal attention and small details.
Absolutely right! Great that there more people who understand what real tourism ( I hate that word and prefer traveling) is all about. If you are in travel business, let me know if there is a way to cooperate! Drop me a line at info@secretdalmatia.com
I don’t refer to these services as the “tourism industry” – it’s Hospitality; a basic concept that turned Ireland, for example, into one of the world’s most popular destinations and seems to be misunderstood in Croatia on almost every level. Even people who work at information kiosks can be unwilling to help visitors with a minimum of effort. It’s simple, really: treat people the way you’d wish to be treated if you were a visitor in a foreign country – even a “foreign” town. When a country gets a reputation for warm hospitality, the “tourism industry” improves. I’ll email you soon – surely there’s some area in which we can benefit one another 🙂