Theatrium
Fine dining/conceptual
Filip Horvat
The capital of Croatia is very proud of its city centre, while its courtyards are one of its most beautiful secrets, hidden, captivating, each of which with its own story, kept with attention. One of these doorways is known among people from Zagreb and Zagreb's guests for its great parties, amazing atmosphere, as the home of one of the most famous contemporary radio stations in the region, but also of a recently opened restaurant, Theatrium. Its story began only in the autumn of 2019, but the quality of its staff, a pleasant feeling and a completely creative approach guarantee you will talk about this place after visiting it.
Theatrium is split into two parts, the front one, illuminated and more transparent, and the back part, beautifully decorated and guaranteeing discretion.
The restaurant is a combination of fine dining and à la carte menu, and its objective is that its staff and guests have a good time and create and taste the results of a modern approach to high-quality traditional ingredients. The combination of blue, red and violet, the authentic art on its walls, and pleasant jazz playing through the speakers have a calming effect, but also announce that there you will eat and experience something you definitely did not expect.
Filip Horvat, the chef and owner of the restaurant and the reason why the name of the restaurant features by Filho, is a young but more than experienced chef, who has learned from the greatest Croatian chefs as well as from the world-famous ones. He has recently returned from his internship in Norway, so he is brimming with ideas about fermentation and superb creations. Accordingly, here you can taste artistic and designer starters, creations such as white fish fritters with orange, served on pine branches on top of hissing white smoke, potato tart with veal tartare and rose hip and hibiscus reduction, together with our favourite, egg yolk with sea urchin, a brilliant explosion of iodine making for stunning hues on the plate, from yellow to orange.
Horvat stands behind each dish very seriously, which is why there is no salt, pepper or oil offered on the tables, while his masterpiece, My Journey to Norway, describes him perfectly. He handles each high-quality, fresh ingredient creatively, giving them a completely new dimension. This magnificent dish with a story behind it will, we hope, stay on the menu after the beginning of spring, when the entire menu changes because they take the change of seasons very seriously here. Spaghetti mackerel and caviar is a hot starter which brings different details from the Adriatic Sea together in the best way possible, creating a plate full of taste and aroma. The minerals and saltiness of the sea, the spices from the Mediterranean coast and a beautifully soft and airy mousse perfectly match Pošip Kunjas from 2018, from Smokvica on Korčula. Sea and sea, delicate and elegant, is a winning combination even though the date and weather tell us a completely different story.
We have come to the main dish, beef braisage, cooked in red wine and served with baked celery, celery cream and red wine and venison jus wonderfully soft but still a robust piece of meat in a rich, strong sauce. Spicy and with the taste of vegetables, this dish is perfectly paired with 2017 Karizma cuvée of Petrač winery. The scent of sour cherry of this wine from the north-west of Croatia gently washes and embraces this powerful combination of meat, vegetables and sauce.
We were incredibly lucky to chance upon the premiere of chef's tiramisu, a combination of Ethiopian coffee, French chocolate and other ingredients which place this stone bowl filled with ice cream and cream among the best pasty in Zagreb.
You can find everything in Theatrium, the creations of the chef's mind, as well as the excellent, smiling and more than educated staff. Zagreb needs to be proud of such young people, the ones who dare to be different when creating a wonderful gastronomic story. If you want to impress somebody or immerse yourselves in the world of imagination and combinations of flavour, it is high time you visited Theatrium, situated in the very centre of Zagreb. Believe us, you will talk about it for a while.
Contact number: +385 99 5844 652
Web: theatrium.hr/
E-mail: joy@theatrium.hr
Working hours: MON - SAT 12:00 - 23:00
Region: City of Zagreb
Address: Ul. Nikole Tesle 7, 10000, Zagreb
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