Konoba Zijavica Moscenicka Draga, Croatia

There are restaurants where the setting does half the work, and then there is Konoba Zijavica, where the Adriatic seems to have wandered straight into the kitchen. Perched right by the water in the fishing village of Moscenicka Draga, this small, unpretentious restaurant is all about the sea - and chef-owner Stiven Vunic knows exactly what to do with it. His father is a fisherman and one of the region's last Kvarner shrimp fishermen, so seafood here is less a theme than a family inheritance.

The menu follows the day's catch, with familiar Adriatic flavours given little turns. Kvarner langoustines are the star: sweet, slightly saline and mineral, and so fresh that Vunic says they can reach the kitchen within minutes of being pulled from the sea. His grandmother's langoustine risotto, made with stock from toasted shells, Parmesan and generous chunks of meat, sounds like the sort of family recipe best left alone.

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But there is plenty of playfulness elsewhere - from scampi tartare with carrot-and-lemon ice cream to ceviche of Adriatic prawns, octopus and red mullet. The terrace, practically over the water, completes the experience. Visit when the beach quietens and the waves take over, and Zijavica becomes exactly what a seaside meal should be: relaxed, local and memorable.