Gastro Tour of Zadar’s Advent Huts | Part 3

Our first stop was the stall of the well-known Zadar bar & café Colonna, which, just like in its usual setting, shows no lack of creativity during Advent either.

Moreno, the owner and bar manager of Colonna, told us that they created their food and drink menu by listening to the vox populi.

“We make what we know people love to eat. Three juicy burgers – the classic one, a fancy, slightly extravagant one with black Angus in a black cuttlefish bun and pork cracklings, and a vegan one with a beetroot patty, so no one feels left out or leaves our stall dissatisfied. We also offer a pulled-chicken sandwich with peanut sauce for those who love a healthy lifestyle, as well as three sausages made specially for us by the Butić prosciutto house,” Moreno began.

“As for cocktails, the core DNA of Colonna is cocktails and high-level mixology. We applied the same philosophy to Advent, so our cold cocktails contain no ready-made syrups or cheap alcohol. We prepare them using advanced techniques, just like in our bar lab,” he added.

Our second stop was the Feral stall, where Stipe told us their menu includes the recognizable Feral burgers and two tortillas.

“In addition to the standard selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, we rely on our mulled wine, made with a secret recipe and local wine, for which we have won the award for best mulled wine two years in a row,” Stipe proudly said. Although the recipe is secret, everyone knows that the holidays simply cannot pass by without good mulled wine.

The team behind the stall Božić bijeli (White Christmas), with an average age of around 20, gathers a group of young friends for this Advent adventure.

“We offer three types of burgers, traditional Lika sausages, classic hot dogs and fries, as well as sweet Dalmatian fritters. We are all very close friends, and this is our first time working together like this. I worked for years in various stalls, but this is the first time I actually have my own. I chose to take this step because I feel I’ve gained enough experience and gathered good ideas worth presenting,” says Leon.

This cheerful five-member team, bringing youth and energy to the Christmas Market, introduced us to their White Burger with mozzarella, homemade garlic sauce, a beef patty and salad, along with mulled gin with apple juice and spices.

We then continued to the White Hill stall, where Mihael explained that, in addition to putting a lot of effort into the visual design of the stall, they spent just as much energy creating an interesting menu whose star, he says, is the lava cake.

“We tried to include as many different recipes as possible to make the menu more exciting. Especially since last year we won second place for our burger. Riding the wave of that success, this year we prepared another interesting burger, three types of sausages in a bun, nachos, and a lava cake with vanilla ice cream as the highlight of our offer. And we cannot forget our love cocktail, based on my ‘magic mix’ – a non-alcoholic blend of passion fruit and apple, to which alcohol can be added, but doesn’t have to be,” Mihael explained.

Adventura stall offered us its signature burger and homemade sausage with sauerkraut and mustard.

“There are four burgers on the menu, homemade sausages, and fritule. Six dishes, which we believe is enough to satisfy the demanding Zadar audience,” says chef Toni. Luka, speaking from the bartender’s perspective, introduced their cocktail list, especially highlighting the one with Aperol and gin.

“This is our second year returning to Zadar Advent. We especially hope for good weather. I am at the very beginning of my hospitality career and I hope to meet the expectations of the people of Zadar,” Toni added.

Behind the stall with the interesting name Petrunjella is a team that has been working on the same location for four years.

“When it comes to drinks, the most important novelties this year are hot whiskey and hot Aperol,” says Luka, while David pointed out two burgers on their menu – one with a single and double patty, and the pulled pork, which they cook for twelve hours.

And last but not least, the Winter Joy stall offers selected, popular and widely loved holiday specialties, presented to us by waitress Ela. These include homemade sausages, hot dogs, sweet potato and regular fries, fritule, and mulled gin, rum punch and mulled wine.