Taverna Bota

Ston has a reputation for seafood and shellfish as it's at the end of the bay inlet. As the salt pans are in this area, the water is obviously lightly salty and high in minerals. Part of our tour included the tour of the mussel and oyster farms as well as seafood sampling at Bota Taverna afterwards.

Bota Taverna used to be a salt storage cellar, two stories tall inside. Bota comes from Dubrovnik's old name for arched ceiling. Still family owned and noted to have some of the best seafood in Croatia! Shellfish farming dates back over 100 years and combined with the salt mines, the oysters and mussels are mouth watering.

We did not order from the menu but were provided a seafood sampler consisting of raw mussels and oysters, calamari, fried oysters, and little breaded fish. Local wine was included in our tour package as well. I've only had raw mussels once in the United States - not very common. These mussels and oysters were unlike anything I've ever tried - the flavor and tenderness of each were indescribable. Fortunately, my sister-in-law and her partner didn't eat seafood so they ate the bread while we snatched their oysters and mussels! It ended up being an all you can eat type deal and additional plates of oysters and mussels arrived which apparently everyone else had their fill so we finished them off...cannot let delicious seafood go to waste! :-)

The ambiance in the restaurant was amazing. The stone walls were illuminated with candles and the high two story arched ceilings were incredible.

If you happen to be in Dubrovnik (about an hour drive) or on a tour to Ston & Mali Ston, I would highly recommend a trip into Taverna Bota, even just for a shellfish appetizer and a glass of their local wine (or the Croatian beer was not bad).