As the main town in Istria, Pula cannot fail to have good restaurants. Three would make the national top ten list of many a local gourmet critic: the Valsabbion, the Milan and the Vela Nera. All are out of town, in Verudela and Stoja. The Vodnjanka is a fashionable place to be seen at.
Borghese
Reputable fish and seafood restaurant in Verudela from a Starcook. Starched white tablecloths and napkins await the diner in an interior embellished with natural light. The fish is fresh and finely prepared, but don't miss out on the recom-mended house Starter of mixed salad with fruits de mer and speciality main dish of Scampi ravioli.
Monte Paradiso 21 (052 392 111). Open llam-midnight daily. Credit DC, MC, V.
Kantina
Hidden behind the town's main market, this lovely terrace restaurant serves Istrian del-icacies in a converted Habsburg villa. The decor is contemporary, as is the careful pre-sentation of the food. Truffles feature heav-ily, either with steak (95kn) or, more traditionally, with/oä, Istrian pasta twists. There are plenty of greens, rocket particu-larly, some 40 types of wine and the cake selection is outstanding.
Flanaticka 16 (052 214 054). Open 8am-midnight daily. Credit AmEx, DC, MC, V
Milan
One of the top three restaurants in town is set in a modern three-star hotel by the Naval Cemetery - both are friendly and family-run but the ground-floor restaurant is the biggest attraction. A display case is heaving with riches fresh from the sea, duly listed on a long main menu. Most fish is 300kn a kilo, reasonable considering the quality on offer. Shellfish come in all types, although risotto portions are (in Croatian terms) quite small. Frog's legs with polen-ta is a speciality. For wine, you're literally spoilt for choice, as the cellar here has 700 examples, running up to l,000kn a bottle. Let the waiter advise.
Stoja 4 (052 300 200/www.milan 1967.hr). Open Summer llam-midnight daily. Winter llam-midnight Mon-Sat. Credit DC, MC, V
Scaletta
Scaletta is really two venues in one, a pavil-ion on one side of the main road up from the amphitheatre, and a dinky little dining room on the other, where you'll find its charming hotel (seep75), round the corner up a slight incline. Scaletta is a splendid Option for its location - and its kitchen. A house risotto Scaletta with fruits de mer is delicately seasoned with saffron and sprinkled with raisins. The steak comes with white truffles, lobster with Istrian noo-dles. Malvazija and other Istrian tipples are the customary accompaniments, although you can also order up a refreshing Erdinger wheat beer - Scaletta just happens to be German-owned.
Flavijevska 26 (052 541 599). Open Summer 10.30am-llpm daily. Winter lOam-llpm Mon-Sat. Credit AmEx, DC, MC,V
Vela Nera
Incongruously set next to a supermarket, but with a terrace overlooking the pretty Marina Veruda, this is Pula's second-most notable restaurant. Its contemporary, expansive interior makes a refreshing change from the starched-white formal approach common elsewhere in the vicini-ty at this end of the dining scale. Informal, too, are some of the combinations adven-turously thrown together. The salmon and whisky carpaccio as a cold Starter, for example, or peaches and Champagne mingled with Scampi in the house risotto. Dining partners can delve into the sharing house fish platter (280kn) or meat Version (140kn). There are more than 100 wines to choose from too.
Pjescana uvala (052 219 209/www. velanera.hr). Open 8am-midnight daily. Credit AmEx, DC, MC, V
Vodnjanka
This family-run restaurant is off the main drag, close to Rojc, populär with Pula's cul-tural movers and shakers. Note the waiter's multicoloured goatee! The food is great, based on traditional Istrian cuisine with lots of fresh fish and game. The must-try is the house aperitif: three herbal brandies, layered in a Single glass and topped off with a lid of ice with a hole in the middle. Be prepared to wait at the bar if you're just dropping in.
D Vitezica 4 (052 210 655). Open Summer 9am -llpm Mon-Sat. Winter 9am-5pm Mon-Sat. No credit cards.