The Budva nightlife with all its energy is best enjoyed in a relaxed way - indulge in whatever your mood dictates and a delightful evening is guaranteed!

This Budva restaurant guide gives a brief rundown of the dining scene, as well as listing some great Budva restaurants. Information about traditional Montenegro cuisine can be found on our Montenegro restaurant guide. On your way to that perfect little restaurant, why not do a bit of shopping.

Food & Cuisine in Budva

Small, sweet and round fritters, accompanied by homemade honey and Montenegrin brandy made from the finest grapes, will greet you as you sit down for a meal at a restaurant in Montenegro. The table will also have sweet tasting dried figs with the most enticing aroma. These tempting figs would have been picked the previous summer and dried naturally.

Being a Mediterranean destination, the cuisine of Budva is largely coastal. Seafood is plentiful and naturally an important part of the meal. Grilled fish, mussels in sauce, octopus salad, dentex, and black rice are some of the dishes worth a taste. Freshly caught fish is cooked in lots of olive oil, and ingredients such as garlic, lime, chopped parsley, and aromatic rosemary are the usual additions to any dish. There's a local saying that fish swim in three places - first they swim in the sea, followed by oil and finally in wine! Local fishermen start selling their wares from the moment they reach the docks and directly from their boats. Budva residents know this and buy their fish straight from the docks.

A visit to Budva is considered complete only after tasting the local cow and goat cheese, the green salads, the smoked ham or dried pork meat, the black and green olives, and some of the domestic red and white wines such as Procorden and Krtsac.

Regardless of your choice of drink, it is customary in Budva to raise a toast to everyone present, to wish everyone good fortune, good health, success, and perhaps even an encounter with someone new in Budva!

Where to go

The best places to wine and dine in Buda are in the Old Town, teeming with excellent restaurants and bars. They are all located in lovely settings, surrounded by squares with flowers and palm trees, old homes, and eye catching gardens.

Be warned that cafés and bars in Budva are invariably crowded throughout the season, making it very difficult to find a place to sit. Also, prices of drinks and food here are some of the highest in the region.

The number of restaurants in Budva goes up during the tourist season. Restaurants in the Old Town and near Slovenska Plaza are more expensive than those in other localities. With the cost of fish being 35 to 45 euros per kilogram, the chances of finding inexpensive meals here are low. Fast food joints near Slovenska Plaza are quite cheap. A hamburger or a slice of pizza costs 1 to 2 euros, while most other foods cost about 3 euros. The cheaper Budva restaurants are located away from the main tourist areas and they are the places frequented by the locals.

Open air discothèques, night bars, and terraces attract crowds of young people, more so during the long and sultry summer nights. Young people get together at the numerous coffee bars and enjoy taking part in the madness. The crowds linger in the open air clubs lining the main promenade till about 1 am when they move to the indoor nightclubs. These nightclubs remain busy till the morning.

Out of season

Once the tourist season ends and most tourists have left, the local population celebrates the season with wine, beer and fish. The festival is organised near the docks, in front of the Mongren Hotel, outside the Old Town walls. One of the last few weekends of October is selected for the festival. It is an opportunity for the local people, and some fortunate visitors, to get together, enjoy the town and its people, and tuck into some wonderful Montengrin food and drink.