Restaurant Review: 5/4

By: SP

I heard about this place on facebook, not as an advert, but people posting pictures and comments and getting excited about the food. So I have decided to try this new restaurant 5\4 or the fifth quarter in Dukljaninova street, near Dzamija in downtown Zagreb. 

The place itself looks very smart casual with a bit of quirkiness. Our hostess was very welcoming and immediately explained the concept of the restaurant and greeted us with homemade bread and salt. The fifth quarter, in Italian quinto quarto, is a phrase from Roman times describing the lesser cuts of meat, like snouts or feet. In this restaurant all ingredients can be a star. Lots of care is put into choosing local fresh produce. We were allowed to choose between a 5, 7 or 12 course meal.  We settled for 5.  The wine card was very interesting with a lot of per glass choices.

As our first course we had a chefs salad, incredibly flavorsome and fresh. The second course was tuna, perfectly cooked and tender. The third course was a play on the traditional Croatian Sunday lunch, chicken with mlinci.  It was interesting, mouth-watering and not even a bit plain. After we had venison tartar with njoki and egg embryos and to finish a trio of homemade ice cream. I am still thinking about that apricot sorbet.

The food is served in small portions, beautifully plated and very modern looking. Each mouthful is surprising and exceptionally cooked.  The cook Dino Galvagno, who also opened the popular Prasac restaurant in Zagreb, really manages to take traditional Croatian ingredients and dishes and push them to another level.

Even the coffee at the end of our meal turns out to be special. Made freshly at the table accompanied by a selection of macaroons and chocolates, it was the perfect finishing touch.  I f you would like to try this modern take on Croatian food visit http://petacetvrtina.com/
Prices are 290 kunas for a five course,  410 for 7 and  570 kunas for the 12 course meal.