Hungarian, Italian and Austrian influences can be found in Croatian food, with hearty meat stews and goulashes dominating the menu in the hinterland. The Adriatic coast is renowned for its variety of seafood dishes.

National specialities:
• Pršut i paški sir (air-dried ham similar to Italian prosciutto and sheep's cheese from the island of Pag) platters are served as an appetiser.
• Salata od hobotnice (octopus salad) is made from octopus, potato, onion, chopped parsely, olive oil and lemon juice.
• Crni rižot (black risotto) is made from cuttlefish black ink.
• Gulaš (goulash) is similar to the Hungarian version from where it originated.
• Janjetina (roast lamb) is popular in inland regions, where its not unusual to see whole lamb roasting on a spit at roadside eateries.

National drinks:
• Vino (wine) as a rule of thumb, the best red wines come from the south, and the best whites from the north.
• Rakija (spirit) a potent firewater drunk as a toast at celebrations and as an aperitif before eating. Types of rakija include travarica (made from distilled grapes and flavoured with herbs) and šlivovica (made from distilled plums).
• Pivo (beer) is popular throughout the country - lager predominates.
• Kava (coffee) is generally drunk as Italian-style espresso or as bijela kava (coffee with milk).
• Čaj (tea) normally implies herbal teas such as šipak (rosehip) which are served with sugar and lemon. If you want English-style black tea ask for Indijski čaj sa mljekom (Indian tea with milk).