Kornati National Park · Croatia
The last cove before the open sea.
A fish konoba on the Kornati islands. Chef Ante “Dupin” Božikov cooks the morning’s catch in a quiet cove you can only reach by boat.
Story
On a private cove
in a national park.
Getting to Opat takes a boat — and a little luck with the weather. Once you tie up in the cove, the noise of the mainland disappears.
The Kornati archipelago is, by most counts, the most striking national park on the Croatian coast: clear water, minimal infrastructure, the kind of view that doesn’t need filters.
Inside the konoba, Ante Božikov — known to everyone as Dupin — runs his kitchen the way a Dalmatian fish restaurant should be run. The catch is local, often delivered straight from the fishermen he has worked with for decades. The menu changes a little every season. The welcome doesn’t.
What you remember after a long lunch at Opat is rarely just the food. It’s the sun setting behind the outer islands, the grill burning a few metres from your table at the Bunja bar, the chef stopping by with a joke and a glass of something cold.
The Kornati
Eighty-nine islands,
almost no roads.
Stone, salt and sea. Nothing here was built for convenience — which is exactly why the archipelago still looks the way it does.
Opat sits in its own cove inside the national park. The bay is quiet by design: minimal infrastructure, clear water, and a horizon of bare limestone ridges that turns copper an hour before dinner. The restaurant doesn’t compete with that view — it works around it.
- Location
- Opat cove
- Park
- Kornati N.P.
- Season
- May — October
Arriving
The journey is
part of the table.
By boat only. Roughly forty-five minutes by speedboat from Murter; longer from Zadar or Šibenik.
- From Murter~45 min by speedboat
- From Zadar / ŠibenikLonger crossing
- National parkPark ticket required
The kitchen
What’s on the table
this season.
The catch is local, often delivered straight from fishermen Ante has worked with for decades. The full menu shifts with the catch and the season.
Summer signature
Pasta al limone with sea bass
Citrus without acidity, balanced over many trials. Guests ask for the recipe and give up halfway through the explanation.
The trademark
Lobster salad
Years of refinement behind a deceptively simple plate. One of those dishes people say you simply have to come and try.
From the Bunja bar grill
Grilled langoustines & oysters
Cooked beside guests on the shore as the sun sets behind the Kornati. The kitchen begins the evening before you’ve even sat down.
Smoked raw shrimp
Adriatic shrimp in an emulsion of immortelle, sage, lime and olive oil. Quiet sweetness, a fragrance that lingers on the table.
John Dory carpaccio
With pesto, pine nuts, capers and sun-dried tomato — restrained, so the fish leads.
Fish Wellington
Gurnard wrapped in seaweed and pastry, finished with a beurre blanc. International technique, local catch.
The chef
Ante “Dupin”
Božikov
Known to everyone as Dupin. He runs his kitchen the way a Dalmatian fish restaurant should be run — with the fishermen he has worked with for decades, and a menu that moves with the season.
He cooks a few metres from the tables, stops by with a joke and a glass of something cold, and has taken the same tradition as far as a peka in London. The welcome doesn’t change with the season.
Seasonality
Open with the
summer sea.
May through October, daily. What arrives in the morning decides most of the day, and the menu changes a little every season.
Press
What’s been written.
“Opat is what a Dalmatian konoba should look like — superb fresh ingredients, courses that leave an impression, and an unbelievably warm atmosphere full of laughter.”
Plava Kamenica · 2026
“Ante 'Brad Pitt' Božikov and his Opat are the strongest engine of nautical gastronomy on the Adriatic.”
Plava Kamenica · 2025
“From the Kornati to a London peka — chef Božikov took our tradition abroad and made it his own.”
Šibenik.in
Gallery
A few frames from the cove.
Reservations
Make the journey. Find your table.
Reservation is strongly recommended — Opat fills up quickly in high season.
Visit
Come by boat. Stay for the afternoon.
Location
Opat cove, Kornati National Park
Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia
Getting here
By boat only. Roughly 45 minutes by speedboat from Murter; longer from Zadar or Šibenik. The bay is inside the national park — a park ticket is required.
Season
Open daily, May through October. Reservation strongly recommended — Opat fills up quickly in high season.