The Best Truffles I Ever Tasted

A unique experience in a small town in Istria

It’s no secret I’m a big truffle junkie. If they’re on the menu that’s what I’m getting. No hesitation. No dilemma. That’s my favorite thing in the whole world.

Croatian peninsula Istria is the place to be if you’re looking for truffles. More specifically — fuži with truffles — which is a locally made pasta. This is a typical dish in that area so whenever I go there I like to try it out.

Since it’s just a few hours away from the capital Zagreb, I like to drive there and spend the weekend. Needless to say, I have tried truffles in many places, but one, in particular, stood out.

In November 2021 my friend Ana and I went to a town called Pobri close to Opatija. We spent a few days visiting places around and decided to check out Buzet. I’ve known of this town before but what I didn’t know was that it was a town of truffles!

We went to the old town and went into the restaurant Stara Oštarija. At the time we had no idea of the unique experience that was about to happen.

The owner of the place Robert Marušić is a big truffle connoisseur and only has fresh truffles, which is a big deal as a lot of places use frozen ones, and trust me — you can taste the difference.

We had fuži with truffles, as that is a typical dish in Istria and my absolute favorite. I can testify that these were by far the best truffles I have ever tasted (and I’ve had quite a few)!

We also dared to try a hot cake with fresh truffles and caramel which was pure decadence in my opinion. It was an explosion of taste, sweetness, and flavors, and totally worth it.

I loved the personal touches in the restaurant that made the whole experience really special.

The owner went to the Motovun forest, where they pick the truffles, in the middle of the night to record the sounds of the forest. This is what you are listening to as you eat the truffles. He thinks it doesn’t make sense to listen to music while dining but prefers to surround you with the soothing sounds of the forest. It was such a unique experience!

Another detail I noticed was so brilliant and I’d never seen anyone do that before. He put toothpicks in the bathroom, so you can clean your teeth in front of a mirror and in privacy, instead of at the table which can be a bit awkward. When you eat black truffles it is almost inevitable to have them stuck between the teeth, so I thought it was such a genius idea to do that.

Altogether, we felt welcome and the service was impeccable, not to mention the exquisite food we got to taste. The whole atmosphere was enjoyable and I will remember it forever.

Because of the quality of the food, the personal touches, as well as great service I will definitely be back.

Want to see how it went? Check out my vlog where I document the whole experience! The truffle tasting begins at 13:54 ;)

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