Split can feed you well or lazily. If you sit down at the first menu on the Riva, you will often pay for the view; if you walk a few streets farther, or slip under Marjan for brunch, or take a narrow lane inside the Palace, you start finding the places people actually remember afterward.
That is what makes this city fun to eat through. The best restaurant days in Split are built by mood and timing: a slow brunch in the shade, a healthy late lunch after the beach, then a dinner in Old Town that feels worth dressing up for.
Related read: Things to Do in Split, Croatia
Here’s our guide on where to eat in Split.
How to eat well in Split
Split is not one single dining scene. Old Town offers classic convenience and atmospheric dinners; the Marjan side serves calmer daytime dining; and smaller side streets often deliver better service and more personality than the busiest central stretches.
A smart approach is to split your meals by time of day. Save the historic core for a long dinner or a relaxed breakfast in a lane with stone walls on both sides, and use the quieter neighborhoods for brunches, bowls, and places where locals actually linger.
Related read: The Solo Traveler’s Guide to Split
Where to eat in Split
Best brunch and daytime restaurants in Split
Kat’s Kitchen is one of the easiest restaurant recommendations in Split because it feels earned. Set under Marjan Hill, a 15 to 20 minute walk from Old Town, it helped pioneer the city’s organic brunch culture, and the terrace alone explains why people happily make the walk.
The menu leans plant-based but not preachy. Vegan pancakes, avocado toast, chickpea omelets, granola bowls, wraps, juices, and smoothies dominate, while the owner’s own organic garden supplies part of the produce, which gives the place a freshness tied to an actual routine rather than just a branding line.
This is the place to go when you want a slower morning. It closes by late afternoon and is shut on Sundays, so treat it as a brunch destination rather than an all-day fallback.
Address: Ul. Antuna Mihanovića 33, 21000, Split
Feel Green fills the all-day healthy niche. Away from the Old Town crush, it serves bowls, wraps, oat breakfasts, salads, salmon, steak, cold-pressed juices, and vegan cakes, which makes it useful if one person wants something light and another wants a more substantial plate.
It is also one of the more flexible options for dietary preferences. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free choices run through the menu, and the outdoor seating is part of why regulars rate it so highly.
I had the homemade granola and a good cappuccino while sitting outside and observing how the city slowly woke up.
Address: Ul. ban Mladenova 3, 21000, Split
For easygoing local dinners in Split
Roko & Cicibela is the sort of place that works best when you are tired of restaurant hype and just want a good evening. On Penića Street, it positions itself around local ingredients, Mediterranean simplicity, seasonal vegetables, and a more intimate setting than many of the louder Old Town options.
The practical detail that matters here is the name. Roko & Cicibela on Penića Street is a newer venue and distinct from the older Cicibela Food and Wine Bar on Senjska Street, so if you are following recommendations online, check the address carefully before you go.
For the right traveler, that newer and less-hyped feel is part of the point. It suits a relaxed dinner with local wine and generous portions, especially when you want to step away from the main tourist crowd without leaving the center entirely.
We chose a salad, truffle pasta and fish for our meals, and they were very delicious. Make sure to come early, or better yet, reserve a table, especially on weekends or during high season.
Address: Penića ul. 5, 21000, Split
For Split Old Town restaurants, it’s worth planning ahead of time
Fig Split is one of those places that keeps appearing in recommendations because it actually delivers. Inside Diocletian’s Palace on a narrow lane near the Peristyle and Jupiter’s Temple, it has a casual, welcoming style and a menu that moves comfortably between breakfast, brunch, tacos, quesadillas, bowls, salads, coffee, and cocktails.
That makes it different from the more traditional Dalmatian formula. If you have hit your limit on grilled fish and pizza, Fig offers something more international without feeling detached from the surrounding city.
It’s also popular for good reason, so expect a wait in peak season. The payoff is that even in a highly touristed location, reviews consistently praise value, generous portions, and friendly service rather than just the setting.
Address: Dioklecijanova 1, 21000, Split
Laganini is the more polished dinner move. Tucked in a narrow lane near Jupiter’s Temple, it focuses on seafood, pasta, and steak with a more refined style than a rustic konoba, and the menu runs from oysters, tartares, and carpaccio to seafood pasta, truffle pljukanci, octopus, sea bass, tuna tataki, and filet mignon.
This is where to book a longer evening meal. It works well for a date night or a more special dinner in Old Town, with attentive service and plates that feel thought through rather than rushed out for the tourist wave.
Address: Ulica Kraj Svetog Ivana 2, 21000, Split
Picking the right place for your mood
Go to Kat’s Kitchen when you want a slow morning, fresh food, and a setting that feels cut off from the city’s busier pulse. Go to Feel Green when you want something nourishing at almost any time of day and need a menu that works for mixed diets.
Choose Roko & Cicibela for an unfussy, local-leaning dinner that feels tucked away rather than staged. Pick Fig when you want a casual but memorable Old Town meal with creative comfort food, and choose Laganini when dinner is the event rather than just the refuel stop.
Practical information
Reservations matter most for Laganini and, in peak season, also for Kat’s Kitchen and Fig. Laganini takes reservations through its site and is worth booking ahead because of the limited indoor and courtyard space.
Kat’s Kitchen runs Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and closes on Sundays, which catches people out if they assume it is an all-day café. Feel Green is generally open all day, and Roko & Cicibela works for both lunch and dinner. Hours shift seasonally in Split, so confirm directly with the other restaurants before you go, especially in shoulder season.
If you are trying to avoid a tourist-trap meal in Split, the simplest rule is to follow specificity. Pick places with a point of view, whether that is Kat’s organic brunch focus, Feel Green’s whole-food menu, Fig’s comfort-food-with-a-twist style, Roko & Cicibela’s intimate Dalmatian identity, or Laganini’s refined seafood-and-pasta approach.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best restaurants in Split for brunch?
Kat’s Kitchen is the standout if you want a proper destination brunch, especially for plant-based dishes and a garden-like terrace under Marjan. Fig is also a strong option inside the Palace if you want a more central brunch with a broader comfort-food menu.
Where should you eat in Split for a special dinner?
Laganini is the strongest pick for a dinner that feels occasion-worthy. The seafood-focused menu, refined plating, and atmospheric Old Town setting near Jupiter’s Temple make it better for a long evening than a quick meal.
Are there good vegetarian or vegan restaurants in Split?
Yes. Kat’s Kitchen is primarily plant-based, and Feel Green also offers strong vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options throughout breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Is Fig Split worth it, even though it is in the tourist center?
Yes. Despite its highly central location, reviews consistently praise the food quality, service, and value rather than the setting alone. Expect a wait in summer.
What is the difference between Cicibela and Roko & Cicibela?
They are different restaurants. Roko & Cicibela on Penića Street is the newer venue, while the older Cicibela Food and Wine Bar is on Senjska Street, so the address matters when following an online recommendation.
Do you need reservations for Split restaurants in summer?
For popular dinner spots, yes. Laganini is the clearest case for advance booking, and central favorites like Fig can also get busy enough that you should expect a wait or plan ahead.
Stacie Harris is a local resident and reporter of the Maple Grove area. Stacie reports on medicine and science for the Maple Grove Report.
