Split eats like a Dalmatian village with a Roman address: produce from the Pazar, sardines from the Ribarnica, lamb under a peka lid, and grk and pošip poured by the glass. Three days of markets, konobas, bakeries and wine bars.
Split's open-air green market hugs the eastern palace wall, open roughly 06:30–14:00 daily. Stalls sell Dalmatian olive oil, dried figs, sheep's cheese from Pag, soparnik chard pastry and rakija in reused bottles. Cash only at most stalls.
The 1890s fish hall on Kraj Svete Marije sells Adriatic sardines, anchovies, sea bass, cuttlefish and scampi from 06:00 to about 13:00, Sunday closed. Sulphur springs beneath the site keep flies away — famously the only fish market with no flies.
A family fish tavern in the stone lanes of Veli Varoš, run by the Sarić family and known for brodet fish stew with polenta, grilled squid and Friday's fish soup. Small room, chequered cloths, closed Sundays and Monday lunch.
A tiny sourdough bakery baking in a wood-and-stone oven: rye and spelt loaves, olive-and-rosemary focaccia, and burek sold until it runs out, usually early afternoon. Locals queue on the pavement for the day's second bake.
Morning coffee on the Republic Square colonnade is a Split institution — the drawn-out 'kava' ritual can last an hour with no pressure to leave. Espresso, macchiato and krafne doughnuts under Venetian-style arcades facing the sea.
Eight bar stools and a chalkboard menu that changes with the Ribarnica catch: black cuttlefish risotto, grilled sardines, lamb tripe, octopus salad. Cash preferred, no reservations, queues form before it opens at noon.
A wine bar built around Croatian indigenous grapes — plavac mali from Dingač, pošip and grk from Korčula, žlahtina from Krk — poured by the glass with pršut, Pag cheese and marinated anchovy boards inside the palace walls.
A five-table konoba a lane from the Matejuška fishing harbour, cooking gregada fish stew with potatoes and white wine, buzara mussels, and whole fish on the charcoal grill priced by weight from the ice display.
Split's oldest bakery chain, founded 1904, still the standard for burek, krafne and Dalmatian pastries. The Marmontova branch opens at 06:00 and stays busy with locals buying pizzette and cheese rolls for breakfast on the walk to work.
A working-class canteen on the Matejuška waterfront serving pašticada beef in prune-and-wine sauce with gnocchi, boiled greens with potato (blitva), and stuffed peppers on paper tablecloths at prices unchanged by tourism.
Artisan gelato made in small batches with Dalmatian ingredients: fig and walnut, carob, Pag lamb-milk-free sorbets, and salted pistachio. Queues stretch down the lane on summer evenings; open roughly 10:00–23:00 in season.
A rooftop-and-courtyard wine bar with 120+ Croatian labels and a cheese cellar pairing Pag sheep's cheese, Istrian truffle cheese and škripavac with plavac mali. Sommelier-led flights and a terrace facing the cathedral bell tower.