Everywhere we ate and drank in Dubrovnik (May 2026)

We recently spent three days in Dubrovnik at the end of our honeymoon - the weather was very up and down, so we spent most of our time relaxing rather than exploring, but we still managed to have some excellent food and drinks! Here is everywhere we ate in Dubrovnik in May 2026, and where we just had drinks too...

Hotel Lapad

We stayed at the Hotel Lapad on a B&B basis - I've got nothing to say about the Hotel Lapad breakfast other than steer clear of the hot food, which was never actually hot and always really stiff. But they did have some sort of sparkling wine available and there was always more than enough food to go around. We also ate in the lobby bar area, which had the same drinks menu as Piccola Venezia which you can read about further down; my wife had a cheese burger, I had truffle fries, and on another occasion we both had a Caesar salad. All the food was fine; nothing spectacular, but certainly not bad at all. My wife also had an espresso martini here which she really enjoyed!

Piccola Venezia

This little tapas bar was at the very front Hotel Lapad, where we stayed, and therefore had sensational views of the marina. It has plenty of outdoor seating including high seats, low seats and sofa-style seating. We stopped here a couple of times for drinks, mostly - my wife had a cappuccino and local beer here, we had a few soft drinks, and I also had the gorgeous Flamingo mocktail which was lovely. I did also order chocolate lava cake, which is completely encrusted in nuts; this wasn't mentioned on the menu, and luckily I'm not allergic, but I don't like nuts so this was a total waste for me. Service is a tad slow but the staff are lovely and it wasn't too expensive either - around 4 euros for a coke, 7 euros for a mocktail etc. It's a really nice spot for drinks on the marina in Lapad, Dubrovnik.

Restaurant Umbrella

While the sun was out on our first day in Dubrovnik we jumped on the bus to the old town, getting off at Pile Gate. By this point we were feeling peckish and pretty much fell into the first restaurant we found, just outside of the walled city area. This was Restaurant Umbrella Dubrovnik, and it wasn't quite midday so they were only on the breakfast menu at this point; we both ordered a soft drink and a ham & cheese toastie. The food took a while to come out and they brought out the wrong toasties (tuna, which I don't eat but my wife accepted) so we then had to wait again for mine to come out. When they brought the bill, he graciously said they wouldn't charge us for the tuna & cheese toastie that I didn't eat... I should hope so, given it wasn't my fault! Regardless, it was much quieter than the restaurants within the walls so that was a plus and the food was tasty. We paid 28 euros for two toasties and two cokes here.

Poksilar Restaurant

We'd booked a boat trip from the old town harbour, and while we waited we stopped for a drink at Poksilar Restaurant - we didn't eat here but the food looked amazing and the pizzas were huge! My wife had an Orangina and I had a peach & hibiscus ice tea (12 euros for both drinks fyi); they definitely had a lot more options for soft drinks here, and it's in a really lovely spot. Naturally it was busy and relatively expensive, but the service was quick. They also have an ice cream stand opposite where I got some Oreo ice cream which was delicious - 7 euros for two scoops.

Il Vento

Aaaahhh Il Vento - a gorgeous spot on Marina Frapa, directly opposite our hotel. They have a 'rooftop' pool (sadly the weather wasn't good enough for anything like that) but they also have lovely drinks and food. The first time we went I opted for strawberry lemonade while my wife was on the Aperols, and we watched the sun go down over the marina before deciding to stay for dinner; I had a lovely pizza (you might be able to tell from this post I'm quite a fussy eater...) while my wife had a black seafood risotto dish which she really rated! We visited again during another moment of no rain - just for beer and soft drinks this time. Service was great and the location is stunning; it wasn't overly expensive, either. We paid 88 euros for two mocktails, three cocktails and two meals here on one occasion, and 17 euros for two beers and two cokes on another.

Cave Bar More

My mum and dad had recommended Cave Bar More, as it's a bar in an actual cave in Lapad - it was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel, along a strip of restaurants, bars and hotels, past the beach and around the bay. It was really busy inside and we were lucky to grab a table as two people left; there was only one waiter who was running between everyone so understandably service was slow, but I had a lovely mocktail called a Blueberry Burlesque (10 euros) which was exquisite. Such a fun location for a drink! They do snacky food, too, but we didn't eat here. I'd recommend popping in though for sure.

Zamagna 

If you're looking for the best pizza in Lapad, Dubrovnik - look no further! So nice we visited twice; it's proper wood fired pizza with thick crusts, bursting with flavour, just honestly something I will be thinking about forever. The restaurant itself has two sections, a big windowed area at the front with low tables and chairs, and a bar area with tall tables which was where we sat. Think soft lighting, great music, even better pizzas. Honestly, 1000/10 couldn't recommend more!! We paid 44 euros for two pizzas and two soft drinks here.

Studenac

I had to give an honourable mention to Studenac, the little chain of supermarkets in Dubrovnik - there were a few near our hotel and I went a couple of times for snacks for the room (much needed as we had thunderstorms...). Iced coffee cartons, pizza flavoured snacks, Milka chocolate galore. It wasn't badly priced and honestly there's few things I enjoy more than a mooch around a foreign supermarket.

So there's everywhere we ate in Dubrovnik in May 2026 during our three days of battling the rain. All of the food we had (except our hotel breakfast) was really tasty, and while it is expensive it's not really that much more than London prices in my opinion. If there's one restaurant in Lapad I could recommend, it would for sure be Zamagna - with an honourable mention to Il Vento too! Apologies for the lack of prices and images for some of these restaurants in Dubrovnik, I was at times woefully unprepared but it was my honeymoon after all...

Marella Explorer 2 30th Birthday Itinerary Review (Adriatic Affair)

I absolutely LOVE a Marella cruise, having now done five of them - my most recent being the Marella Explorer 2 30th Birthday itinerary. This was completely by accident; when it came to booking our honeymoon, we were looking for an Adriatic itinerary, and we wanted to go in May. It just so happened to fall during the cruise line's birthday celebrations, which only added an extra layer of excitement.

Marella's 30th birthday celebrations

Marella (not under that name originally...) launched in 1996, so have now celebrated 30 years of cruising. Our itinerary, ports aside, included plenty of birthday celebrations - our 'dress to impress' night was replaced with a gorgeous birthday gala, and we also had a 90s night! There were party hats, 90s themed quizzes, music from the decade, Lemar on board and much more. The vibe was one big party and so much fun.

Marella Explorer 2 - 30th Birthday itinerary

But onto the most important thing: the actual itinerary. This is very similar to the 'Adriatic Affair' itinerary, and it's safe to say we really enjoyed it. We boarded in Dubrovnik, which was an incredibly smooth process and the views from the ship were simply stunning...

Day 2 - at sea

I flipping love a sea day, getting to explore and get to know the ship, relaxing on the balcony and pool deck, eating my weight in food and trying all the different mocktails. And the Explorer 2 is a lovely ship - it was my first time on this particular ship, and she didn't disappoint. Our favourite spots were the new Piccadilly's restaurant, deck 6 as the sun was going down, the Squid & Anchor and the pool deck. We also had the birthday gala on our sea day, so we got to get dressed up, meet Captain Richard in Flutes, had a gorgeous dinner in Latitude complete with baked Alaska parade... the dream!

Day 3 - Trieste, Italy

Our first port was Trieste, and we didn't have an excursion booked so we got off the ship early and headed out to explore. We stopped by the Roman amphitheatre, which was unfortunately covered in tarp and scaffolding, and then headed waaaay uphill to see the old castle walls and cathedral. It was picturesque with great views, but not necessarily worth what turned out to be a bit of a hike. From here we weaved back down to the Grand Canale area for a fresh lemonade, and there is so much beautiful architecture in Trieste too. There was also a big craft market on while we were there, which was fun to walk through. All in all a very relaxed port for us and not somewhere I'd go back to, but nice to see nevertheless before we hopped back on board for trivia, swimming and cake.

Day 4 - Koper, Slovenia

One of the main reasons we chose this itinerary was to visit Slovenia, as we both really wanted to see the gorgeous Lake Bled. We had booked an excursion which was incredible; we got up, had breakfast, then disembarked to meet our coach. It was around a 90 minute drive to Bled, and our guide gave us plenty of information about the area throughout the journey. Once we got there, we got on a wooden pletna (which is a traditional local boat) across to the island where we climbed the stairs to see the view, visited the church to ring the wishing bell, and just generally soaked up being in such a bucket list spot. After the island, we had some free time to explore the other side of the lake where we ate gelato and had a nice walk through a (very random) accordion festival! Then it was time to head back to Explorer 2, with a cheeky nap on the coach... The excursion honestly ran like clockwork and we had the best day!

Day 5 - Ancona, Italy

Ancona was another very relaxed port for us with no excursion, and again we disembarked really early after breakfast in the marketplace. We just started mooching towards town, following our noses as they say, and stumbled upon a tourist train - it was the first ride of the day, and cost 10 euros per person (cash only!) for about a 40 minute experience. This took us to all the hotspots including the Cathedral of Saint Cyriacus, and there was the opportunity to get off and take photos at the best bits. Ancona is a really peaceful city and was beautiful to see in the sunshine before another relaxing afternoon on deck.

Day 6 - Split, Croatia

Our second excursion was on day 6, when we docked in Split and went to visit Krka National Park and the sensational waterfalls here. This was honestly amazing, and so smoothly run again; another informative coach ride (with nap time) before we arrived at the park, where we set off on a really relaxed walk with our tour guide who was both knowledgable and hilarious. The falls were simply stunning and it was interesting to learn about the history of the park as well as the flora and fauna - there were plenty of photo opps and there is toilets, ice cream, souvenirs etc. We were back within plenty of time to get back on board and relax before sail away and dinner!

Day 7 - Kotor, Montenegro 

Our last port of the trip was Kotor in Montenegro and WOW. We got up early and headed up to deck 12 to watch us sail in, which really was beautiful but also incredibly cold; if you have a balcony cabin it's amazing to see from there too, but sailing away was perfect as the sun was at that perfect low point and it was just dreamy. We tendered in to Kotor and priority for getting off was (rightly) given to those with excursions booked, so we ended up getting into town for around 11am - again here we just followed our noses and wandered around the really quaint old town, with its maze of streets and cafés and incredible architecture. This is somewhere we 100% want to revisit so we can have more time to explore and do things like the blue caves, the Lady of the Rocks and cable car. As it was, we just soaked it all up and made sure we were back before the last tender at 4pm! I also had a delightful traditional chocolate cake here which I'm still thinking about to this day...

Day 8 - Dubrovnik, Croatia

We disembarked in Dubrovnik, where we spent a further 3 days relaxing and exploring this gorgeous city so steeped in history. I'll have a separate blog post all about our time here, coming soon! Our disembarkation and transfer process was again really smooth and easy, which is a big theme of the cruise overall: everything was so straightforward and relaxed.

So, the itinerary - did we love it? I think for us it was a great itinerary, especially for my wife's first ever cruise. Trieste and Ancona were great for stretching our legs, seeing a few highlights and then spending time on the ship while it was quiet; our excursions from Koper and Split were incredible, so it was great to hit those ports which allowed us to tick locations off our bucket list really easily. And Kotor is breathtakingly beautiful, and has given us somewhere we definitely want to head back to in the future. I'd absolutely recommend this itinerary, and in May the weather was good - not too hot, but certainly not cold and we only had rain once during our cruise.

Happy 30th birthday Marella, we loved every part of celebrating with you!

My favourite basic baking recipes as a hobby baker

I absolutely love baking; it's such a therapeutic hobby for me, and I do a lot of it - mostly sweet treats, but a few savoury bits too! I thought I would share the links to all of my favourite recipes, because I'm not at the stage of creating or using my own, and these are all really easy recipes that I've successfully tried, test and come back to again & again!

Chocolate cake

I love a chocolate cake, and I gravitate towards the Jane's Patisserie Back to Basics Chocolate Cake recipe - it works every time for me! The cake is never dry, always rises well, and is full of flavour. The only thing I change is the buttercream recipe; I use 350g of icing sugar + 50g cocoa powder to 200g butter, otherwise it's just a bit too thick and dry for my liking. I have also been known to doctor the buttercream further with various essences, usually either salted caramel or orange. This allows me to create either a chocolate orange cake or a chocolate & salted caramel cake very easily!

Victoria sponge cake

Again, I use the Jane's Patisserie Back to Basics Vanilla Cake recipe; I've been making a good old Victoria sponge for as long as I can remember, but I do find this one makes a really great size cake compared to other recipes I've used in the past!

I use both of these recipes when making cupcakes too!

Blondies

A few years ago I really wanted to make blondies, but I was convinced it was really difficult - it's actually not at all, and I use a very simple Easy Blondies recipe from Inspired Taste. It's American but has the measurements in grams too, and these turned out perfect the very first time I made them. I've done them with white chocolate, and also with milk chocolate AND Mini Eggs. Seriously delicious, and browning the butter is definitely worth it.

Brownies

As my blondies have always turned out so well, I also now use the Best Fudgy Brownies recipe from Inspired Taste - okay, so I've made brownies a total of once but they turned out SO well and I'll definitely be doing it again (and again and again). I added chopped up milk chocolate to mine, Lidl's own because it's super cheap, and they were unreal.

Focaccia

My savoury baked good of choice is focaccia, and I use the BBC Food focaccia with garlic and rosemary recipe - I just sprinkle whatever I fancy on top, as I never tend to have rosemary in. It's time consuming, but it's so worth it because it's absolutely sensational even if I do say so myself.

Over the past year or so I have also made meringue nests, Viennese biscuits, sausage rolls and more - I did a bit of a GBBO bake-along in 2025, so that encouraged me to try a lot of different recipes. I get most of my baking equipment from Amazon (you can shop my baking storefront here) and I usually get my ingredients from Lidl or Aldi because they're cheaper but the quality is just as good!

April 2026 reading round up

April got off to a bad start - I didn't read anything for the first week! But then we had a lovely long weekend and although mine was jam packed, I still managed to read a whole book and it was all go from there for the rest of the month. Here's all the books I read in April with my quickfire (ish) reviews and ratings...

Bourbon & Lies by Victoria Wilder

I got this book in a Wordy & Wild box one month and it's been sat patiently on my TBR ever since; I wanted a physical read for over the Easter weekend and ended up choosing this. I thought it was going to be a dark romance, but it's absolutely not - it's trying to be a bit of a cowboy romance, and follows Laney who has been dropped in Kentucky on Foxx land as part of the WITSEC program. Along with the romance between Laney and one of the Foxx brothers, Grant, we explore the reason she's in WITSEC as well as how this connects to where she is now. The 'crime' element was predictable but also lacking some detail, and honestly while the premise and plot were good I found the writing clunky and just a bit awkward. Overall, meh - 3 stars.

The Women by Kristen Hannah

This was our April book club pick, and I didn't know what to expect going in but I'd heard soooo many incredible things about this one, which follows Frankie as she heads to Vietnam during the war as a nurse, determined to do her bit and be a hero. We spend two tours in 'Nam with Frankie, witnessing the horrors and heartaches of war, the camaraderie and the day to day and the goodbyes - and then we see what it's like for Frankie to come home, not to a heroes' welcome but to a country who don't recognise the women of the war, and her life soon spirals out of control. This is beautifully written and I learnt an incredible amount; it's slow paced, but I think that's the nature of the story. I'm really glad I read this; 4.5 stars. 

More Like Enemigas by Stephanie Hope

This was a Netgalley ARC that had been on my TBR for a while and I'm so glad I finally read it! It's a sapphic enemies to lovers romance which follows Isabella, desperate to save her late father's restaurant, as she heads to a wedding with her estranged family members and tries to get to the bottom of a whole load of family secrets. Here she reconnects with a childhood friend-turned-enemy, who agrees to help her out... and the rest is history! A charming, no-spice romance which I gave 4 stars.

Death Write Large by Susie Dent

I read Susie Dent's first novel, and was pleased to get an ARC of the sequel; the plot isn't massively strong but it's incredibly well written, and really interesting - set against the backdrop of Oxford (which was nice for me as I visited Oxford for the first time last year!) it follows lexicographer Martha as she works to help the police uncover the story behind a string of murders which are linked to an Oxford linguistic cabal... the focus on language and the history of words in the book is brilliant, and the story is pretty good! 4 stars.

The Girls who Disappeared by Claire Douglas

This was a recommendation from my mum, and I really enjoyed it. It follows a journalist who heads to a small English town to make a podcast about a historic case missing persons case, and ends up getting completely embroiled in every aspect of it as the truth finally starts to come to light. It's a good thriller with a decent twist! 4 stars from me.

The Suitcase Swap by Lish McBride

What a fun read!!!!! I really enjoyed this one; it's a romance that starts with two people who mix up their luggage after getting off a flight to NYC, and meet up to exchange cases - one is a widower, one is divorced, and both are terrified at the thought of getting a second chance at love. The FMC is also a travel blogger which was super fun. This is just a very feel good, soft, nice romance read and I really liked it. 4.5 stars!

The Couple at No.9 by Claire Douglas

I spotted this in the charity shop shortly after finishing The Girls who Disappeared, so for 50p I couldn't leave it there! I really enjoyed this one - the plot is really strong and the mindblowing twists just kept coming. It follows Saffy, who has just moved into a cottage bestowed to her by her Gran, and during building work two bodies are found with a horrible connection to her family; there's a side plot which eventually connects to the main plot, and it's all just really well written. 5 stars from me.

Highland Games by Evie Alexander

This was a freebie on Stuff Your Kindle Day, and the books you tend to get this way can be a bit hit and miss - this one was definitely a hit, though! Despite having never been to Scotland, I just really seem to love romance books set there and this didn't disappoint; Zoe abandons her London life to live in her great uncle Willie's cabin in the highlands, much to the dismay of big burly Rory who wanted it for himself. Enemies to lovers vibes, spicy but also wholesome. Really enjoyed this one! 4 stars.

Too Fast to Fall by Karen Booth

As a certified F1 girlyyy I am always sceptical of F1/motorsport romances, but I got a Netgalley ARC of this one so I gave it a go - I read it over the space of one evening, as it was a really easy/quick read - it follows dog sitter and F1 fan Piper who jumps at the chance to take a 5-week job dog nannying for moody F1 driver Emilio and his dog, Gus. It's a typical instalove, grumpy x sunshine, will they/won't they kind of romance - a few of the racing parts fall a bit flat in terms of accuracy, and I could have done without the chapters from the dog's perspective, but it's fine! I gave it 3 stars.

So that's everything I read in April - I'm off on my honeymoon next week, so May might be a bit slower as we have a jam packed itinerary, but time will tell...

My pre-cruise to-do list: 2 weeks to go (and what is an eSIM?)

In case you can't tell, I'm SO excited for our cruise in two weeks time - it's our honeymoon, and will be my fifth cruise and my wife's first! It's also the first cruise I've booked myself, having always gone with my aunty & uncle previously, so it's safe to say I'm also a tiny bit nervous about everything going smoothly... Without further ado, here's everything on my cruise to-do list two weeks before we travel!

• Finish packing - most of our stuff is currently flung on top of the suitcases ready to be ironed, folded or rolled neatly and properly packed.
• Print luggage labels - ours are currently not showing as available on our Marella Cruise Control, so I'll keep checking and get them printed. We have clear plastic luggage label holders to attach to our cases too!
• Get my hair & brows done - I have a hair appointment booked for 5 days before we travel, and I'll be getting my eyebrows waxed and tinted the day before we go.
• Sort our electronics - I need to find our adaptor plugs, make sure my Kindle has new books downloaded, check my portable charger is working etc etc etc...
• Check in for flights - as we selected our seats (extra leg room of course!) we can check in 14 days in advance, so I'll be doing this asap.
• Last minute shopping - we don't need much else as we're quite organised, but I do need to pick up more suncream, deodorant, lash bond & seal, hypochlorous acid spray for my skin... yadda yadda!
• Gather all our documents - I want to make sure we have all of our relevant documents in one place, like our booking confirmations and travel insurance, so we can easily access them if need be.
• Pick up our dry cleaning/alterations - my wife's wedding suit is being dry cleaned and I'm having a dress taken up, both of which we'll be wearing on formal night!
• Do my nails & lashes - I will be doing my own lash extensions the day before we travel, and painting my toenails/doing my own press own nails too. Timing is everything with all of this, and the day before we go is set to be a busy one!
• Get an eSIM - while I'm not bothered about having internet access while we're out at sea, I do like to send plenty of photos to my family group chat and be able to check my emails where possible. 

What is an eSIM?

An eSIM is essentially a digital version of a sim card, and while they're not a big deal in the UK they are perfect for travelling if you don't have roaming included in your phone contract - like me. It would cost me £2.59 per day to use my data abroad, or I could pay £27.50 for a 12 day pass but I'd only be able to buy this after I land, if I sorted my roaming through EE. To keep things simpler, I've found that an eSIM works best for me!

You buy whichever sim package fits where you're heading, how long you're travelling for and how much data you'd be using - and setting it up is really easy. You do this before you go, while connected to WiFi, and then just before take off switch your primary cellular data line to your eSIM. Once you land, activate the new eSIM and turn on data roaming, then you're good to go! It sounds a bit complex but it's really not, and the instructions are always really helpful.

With this being a cruise, I'll be turning my phone to airplane mode whenever we're not docked or off the ship to avoid maritime roaming costs!

I always use airalo for e-sims when travelling abroad, and you can use my code KATY4231 to get £2.50 off your first e-sim.

I think that's everything, but I'm sure other things will crop up between now and then which will need to be added to my cruise to-do list. We are both so looking forward to this trip as a chance to celebrate our honeymoon, almost 7 months on from the wedding, and to spend some real quality time together.