Food and Drink in Poreč: What to Eat and Drink in Istria

Istrian food: from maneštra to boškarin

According to the Istria Tourist Board, inland cooking is based on meat and pasta. It lists maneštra, sheep's cheese, pršut and pancetta as starters, mains such as meat from the peka, ombolo, sausages with sauerkraut or fuži and gnocchi in šugo, and fritule, kroštule and cukerančići for dessert. The Poreč Tourist Board says maneštra has been cooked in every Istrian household since ancient times, and pasta such as fuži, njoki or pljukanci was served with žgvacet. Pršut used to appear only on special occasions, while fritaja with wild radicchio or asparagus was eaten all year round.

Istrian pršut is an air-dried ham. The skin and the fat beneath it are removed from the inner and outer side of the leg, which is then dry-salted with sea salt and spices such as pepper, bay leaf, rosemary and garlic and dried without smoking. Drying and maturing take 12 to 18 months. Since 2015 Istarski pršut has been registered in the EU as a protected designation of origin. It is served thinly sliced, according to the Poreč Tourist Board with cow's or sheep's cheese and olives. Pasta and ham have their own festivals: in 2026 the Fuži Festival in Kanfanar on 19 September and the International Prosciutto Fair ISAP in Tinjan from 16 to 18 October.

Boškarin is the Istrian ox with its great horns, an indigenous and protected breed. Its meat is usually slow-cooked in šugo and served with njoki or fuži. According to the Poreč Tourist Board, places that serve boškarin meat display a sign with a picture of a boškarin as a mark of origin. A short menu glossary:

• Maneštra: thick soup of potatoes, beans, seasonal vegetables and some cured meat
• Fuži: thin pieces of pasta rolled into tubes 3 to 5 cm long
• Pljukanci: homemade spindle-shaped pasta; posutice: pasta cut into small squares
• Žgvacet: thick meat sauce of chicken, beef or game, a kind of Istrian goulash
• Fritaja: omelette with seasonal ingredients such as wild asparagus, truffles, pršut, sausage or mushrooms; wild asparagus grows from early spring into June
• Ombolo: boneless pork loin, salted, seasoned with pepper and bay leaf and air-dried
• Peka: meat or potatoes cooked under a bell-shaped lid covered with embers
• Supa: toasted white bread in red wine with olive oil, salt and pepper
• Fritule, kroštule and cukerančići: traditional Istrian pastries

Fish and seafood in Poreč

On the coast the sea sets the menu. According to the Poreč Tourist Board, the town's restaurants serve sea bass, gilthead sea bream, grouper, sardines and many kinds of shellfish in summer, depending on the season. White fish is usually grilled and dressed with olive oil, garlic and parsley. Fish, squid, shellfish and crabs also come as a pasta sauce, as risotto or as fish soup.

Oysters are eaten raw, according to the Istria Tourist Board with a few drops of lemon juice and olive oil. Mussels are steamed in their own juices with herbs and wine, and scallops are best baked or gratinated. Two words for the menu: buzara is a sauce of sautéed onions, parsley, olive oil and wine, usually served with shellfish or scampi. Brodet is a stew of several kinds of fish and crustaceans.

September in Poreč traditionally belongs to tuna: the Tunalicious Festival combines a big game fishing tournament with a restaurant week and street food on the waterfront. In 2026 it ran from 7 to 13 September.

Istria truffles: season and truffle festivals

According to the Istria Tourist Board, white and black truffles grow in the truffle triangle between Pazin, Buje and Buzet, above all in the Mirna valley and the Motovun forest. They grow underground, up to 30 cm deep according to the Poreč Tourist Board, and are found with specially trained dogs. In Istria you can taste four species: the white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico), the black truffle (Tuber melanosporum), the summer truffle (Tuber aestivum) and the winter truffle (Tuber brumale).

The white truffle is in season from September to December, with October as the peak. Typical truffle dishes are fuži, pljukanci, gnocchi and fritaja. Sometimes, the Istria Tourist Board says, a plate of fuži, a little butter and freshly shaved white truffle is all it takes.

In autumn the inland towns celebrate the truffle with their own festivals. The 2026 calendar lists the opening of the white truffle season in Motovun on 5 September, Subotina in Buzet on 12 and 13 September, the Teran and Truffle Festival in Motovun on 17 and 18 October, Zigante Truffle Days in Livade from 3 October to 1 November and the Istrian Truffle Festival in Buzet on 7 and 8 November. Ideas for trips inland: day trips from Poreč.

Istrian olive oil: varieties and olive oil roads

According to the Poreč Tourist Board, olive oil in Istria has a tradition of more than two thousand years. The varieties that grow best around Poreč are buža, Istrian bjelica, moražola and pendolino. The olive oil roads lead from the coast into the Poreč hinterland, to olive groves, oil mills and cellars where producers explain how olives become oil.

In the Flos Olei olive oil guide, the 2027 edition named Istria the world's best olive-growing region for the tenth time; according to the Istria Tourist Board, 63 of the 500 producers in the guide come from Istria.

The harvest is in autumn. Fresh oil is intensely green, with aromas of freshly cut grass, artichoke or almond and a peppery note. From 20 to 22 November 2026 olive growers present the oil of the harvest just completed at the 20th New Olive Oil Days (Istravirgin) in Vodnjan. Local olive oil is also sold at the Poreč market.

Istrian wine: Malvazija, Teran and Muškat

According to the Poreč Tourist Board, the most widely grown variety around Poreč is the white Istrian Malvazija (Malvazija istarska). The Istria Tourist Board describes it as a straw-yellow wine with a scent of acacia blossom and moderate freshness. Teran is a fresh, ruby-red wine with lively fruity aromas. White Pinot, Grey Pinot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon also grow here, and among the reds Borgonja, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The dessert wines are Muškat and sweet Malvazija; Momjan Muscat and Poreč Rose Muscat both carry an aroma of wild carnation.

The Istria Tourist Board's rule of thumb: Teran with meat, such as pršut and pasta with boškarin sauce, Malvazija with fish and seafood, Muškat with desserts such as kroštule.

The Istrian wine roads link more than a hundred vineyards and cellars. Around Poreč they run from Višnjan, about 15 km from Poreč, down over red soil towards the coast; in the other direction they lead to Vižinada, into the wine hills and village cellars. Western Istria, with Poreč, Buje, Pula and Rovinj, is the peninsula's largest wine-growing region, with 5,839 of 6,151 hectares.

Two dates for wine lovers: Vinistra, the fair of the Istrian winemakers' association based in Poreč, takes place every May in the Žatika hall in Poreč, traditionally on the second weekend of the month. The last Sunday in May is Open Wine Cellars Day, which Istria has taken part in since 1999.

Where to eat in Poreč: restaurant or konoba?

Konoba originally meant the ground-floor room of a coastal house where wine barrels, oil and provisions are kept; the word goes back to the Latin canaba, an inn or tavern. Today it also means an eatery that resembles such a konoba in its look, food and drink.

The Istria Tourist Board describes the konoba as a family-run place within stone walls, often inland, cooking from grandmothers' recipes: veal roasted under the bell, ombolo, sausages with sauerkraut, fuži or gnocchi with game or hen sauce, maneštra, sheep's cheese and pršut, with the local wines Malvazija, Teran and Muškat.

Poreč itself has restaurants, konobas, pizzerias, street food and cake shops. We do not recommend individual places; the Poreč Tourist Board keeps a list with addresses under gastronomy on myporec.com.

The Poreč market: shopping fresh and cooking yourself

The farmers' market (tržnica) is in the centre of Poreč, a few steps from the town car park. According to the tourist board, it sells seasonal fruit and vegetables, wild herbs, spices, olive oil, honey, eggs and dairy products, and the fish market has fresh fish and shellfish from the Adriatic. There is a covered outdoor area and an indoor hall with stalls.

According to the tourist board, it is open Monday to Sunday from 6 am to 2 pm. It is closed on New Year's Day (1 January), Easter, All Saints' Day (1 November) and Christmas (25 December).

The apartments at Villa Matea have a fully equipped kitchen, and there is a barbecue in the garden. That way you can cook with produce from the market yourselves, for example grilled fish with olive oil, garlic and parsley. The old town is a 15 to 20 minute walk from the villa. More: the apartments at a glance and where to stay in Poreč.