Steak in Dubrovnik: Where to Eat It and What to Order

What steak in Dubrovnik looks like

Dubrovnik's steak scene is small and premium rather than widespread: a steakhouse with a serious beef list and a hotel grill with an international menu. Both name specific cuts rather than a generic mixed grill, which makes choosing between them easier than comparing prices you cannot see in advance. Expect a fine-dining register, sauces and a wine list to match, not the rustic grilled meat you find inland.

That matters for first-timers because Dubrovnik's restaurant culture is built on fish sold by the kilo, where the day's catch and its weight decide the bill. A steakhouse gives you a named cut instead, so the decision shifts from weight to which cut and which room you want. For a group with mixed appetites, one steak to share plus a couple of smaller plates usually works better than a steak each.

EZZA Steak & Cocktail Bar by the Ploče Gate

EZZA sits at Maestra Đela Jusića 2, right beside the historic Ploče Gate, which puts it within a short walk of the Old Town without seating you in the middle of the busiest lanes. The concept comes from footballer Edin Džeko and his business partner Armin Hadžić, combining a fine-dining restaurant with a tapas-style bar where dishes are built for sharing. Gault&Millau's 2026 review scores it 14/20 and describes it as one of the city's most interesting fine-dining venues, with terrace views toward Dubrovnik's city walls and the island of Lokrum.

Treat EZZA as two experiences in one address: a sit-down steak dinner and a bar where you order several smaller dishes to share. The Ploče Gate setting means you can pair it with a walk around the Old Town rather than committing the evening to a taxi ride, but summer demand is concentrated in one small quarter. Book ahead for dinner in July and August rather than turning up.

What to order at EZZA

The beef is the point: Gault&Millau lists premium cuts sourced from Argentina, Japan and Scotland, naming rib-eye, tomahawk and T-bone, served with seasonal side dishes, sauces and signature dips. A tomahawk is a large cut, so it suits a table of two or more who are also ordering starters; a rib-eye is the simpler solo choice.

The beef brisket is slow-roasted on a Josper grill, which gives it a smoky aroma and a caramelised crust, and it is the order if you want the grill's character without a large single cut. Among the starters, the creamy corn soup comes with grilled corn kernels and a subtle smoky note, while the tomato soup is finished with sourdough croutons. Because the bar side is tapas-style, you can build a meal from several plates instead of committing to a main each.

Crown Grill House at Royal Dubrovnik

Crown Grill House is the grill restaurant of Royal Hotels & Resort Dubrovnik in Lapad, with open-air seating and panoramic Adriatic views; the resort publishes daily service from 6:00–10:30 and 12:00–23:00, with room for up to 64 people. It is a different proposition from an old-town steakhouse: a resort setting with a sea outlook and a broader menu, not a small room inside the walls. The evening menu names tomahawk steak, filet mignon, ribeye, New York steak, surf and turf, Adriatic tuna, slow-cooked beef brisket and vegetarian dishes, with house-made sauces and seasonal sides.

The setting has concrete consequences for your evening: the resort lists the Old Town at 4.9 km away and the airport at 24 km, so a meal here is a taxi or transfer decision rather than an amble from your apartment. That distance is the trade-off for the view and the space. If your priority is walking home after dinner, EZZA's Ploče Gate address wins; if it is a quieter terrace with sea air, Crown is the one to plan around.

The wine list spans Croatian labels and international names, including champagne and well-known New World and Italian estates, which suits a celebration dinner where the bottle matters as much as the cut. Order by the glass if you are the only one drinking and by the bottle if the table is sharing a large cut.

Crown Grill House for lunch

Lunch at Crown is lighter and more casual than dinner: the midday menu runs to gourmet smash burgers, slow-cooked brisket sandwiches, steak salads, vegetarian options and house-made desserts. That makes it a sensible stop if you want a grill meal without a full steak dinner, and the burgers are a hotel-restaurant version rather than street food. If the group would rather have pizza than a hotel lunch, see our Best Pizza in Dubrovnik before you commit.

Lunch service starts at 12:00 according to the resort, so an early lunch is not an option here; plan the rest of the day around a midday start. Desserts are made in house, which makes it easy to stretch lunch into a longer sitting rather than a quick bite.

Vegetarians and non-steak eaters

Both venues cater for mixed groups, which is the practical reason to choose a steakhouse over a specialist grill. At EZZA, vegetarians can order roasted cauliflower with chilli cream and toasted salted almonds, and the tapas format lets a non-meat eater assemble several small plates instead of one main. At Crown, the menu names vegetarian creations alongside the steaks, plus pasta and salads on the lunch side, so nobody is left with a side dish as their meal.

If your group is split between beef and lighter dishes, the sharing format at EZZA works better than ordering a steak each, because the non-steak plates arrive as part of the same table. At Crown, the fixed menu structure makes it simpler to order individually. Either way, tell the restaurant at booking if someone in the party does not eat meat.

Booking and choosing your setting

Book dinner tables in high season rather than relying on a walk-in, and choose the room before the menu: EZZA for the Old Town edge and a terrace over the walls and Lokrum, Crown for a resort terrace with sea views and space for a larger group. The 64-person capacity at Crown means it can absorb bigger bookings than a small old-town dining room. Confirm your date directly when you book.

For a celebration, the evening grill at Crown with a bottle from the wine list is the more ceremonial option; for a dinner that ends with a walk through the city, EZZA's address does the work. If you are eating late, our late night food Dubrovnik guide covers kitchens that stay open beyond the usual dinner sitting.

For the named markets and konobas with a guide of their own, see Dubrovnik food landmarks.

Cost and how it compares with fish by the kilo

Ask for the cut and the price of a tomahawk or T-bone before ordering, exactly as you would with a whole fish sold by the kilo. A large sharing cut plus sides and a bottle will land at the higher end of a Dubrovnik dinner, which is why it pays to decide the cut first and the wine second.

Against Dubrovnik's fish-by-kilo culture, steak is the more straightforward choice: the cut is named and fixed, whereas fish depends on the day's catch and its weight. If you want one big restaurant meal on the trip, a sharing steak replaces the whole-fish centrepiece rather than sitting alongside it. For a cheaper night, look at other budget picks before committing.

Which steakhouse should you book?

Book EZZA if you want to stay on foot in the Old Town, share a large cut across the table and eat in a tapas format with views of the walls and Lokrum. Book Crown Grill House if you would rather have a resort terrace with sea air, a broader menu including lunch burgers and salads, and room for a bigger group. Confirm your table directly with the restaurant when you book.