Best Burgers in Pula

burgers

Craving delicious junk food? Welcome fellow burger lovers! If you are looking for the best places in Pula to eat burgers, you are in the right place, my friend.

Recently, it was hard to find a decent burger in Pula.

As someone who lived in the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb, I always felt that Pula needs this burger scene it has now. Zagreb was first to embrace the fine fast food places, and the trend has reached our northern coast.

In Pula, you can eat the traditional “tourist” food everywhere, like pizza, seafood or pasta, but great burgers have become a part of the culinary offer in Pula.

Now, there are increasingly great places with top burgers that cast a shadow on restaurants with boring grilled dishes. These places are not like the old school fast food booths. Every one of them is unique in its own way, and yet they tailor their offering to everyone. You will find meat-free, vegetarian burgers often included on the menu.

Some of them are so good it would be a mistake to miss them.

If you are in Pula and looking for some yummy in your tummy, look no further.


Shipyard Pub

As the name says, this pub inspired by the local shipbuilding tradition in the city, and it’s close to the entrance of the Uljanik shipyard. You get here by strolling on the seafront. When you get to the pier, turn left and cross the road. The entrance to the pub is second on the right-hand side, on St. Teodor street.

Don’t sit on the first table on the small front terrace. Rather go inside, pass the bar and go to the back door. You will discover a huge garden hidden between the walls with enough room for everyone, and a stage where you’ll catch a live gig if you come later in the day.

Shipyard Pub has a relaxed, cozy atmosphere and it is very nice to get your drink or eat awesome burgers. They offer burgers from Mason Burgers & Stuff brand, winners of a national burger festival in Zagreb last year (2017).

These burgers pride themselves with dry aged beef that settles in a dry chamber for three weeks and develops a specific taste because of the fermentation that occurs. The meat is juicy and soft, while the bun is a brioche, developed with the director of a local baking company.

There are four types of Mason burger you can try in Shipyard Pub:

  • Mason – bacon, egg over medium, green salad and BBQ sauce
  • Istrian – Includes wild rocket (Arugula) salad, prosciutto (smoked ham) and sauce made of stewed onions in red Istrian wine (Teran)  
  • Skuta – Istrian dry curd cottage cheese, green salad, tomato, orange and honey mustard sauce
  • Korean – gochujang mayonnaise, oyster sauce and chilly

Mason Burgers & Stuff are a franchise company, so if you miss Shipyard, there are other places in Istria where you can find the same fantastic four:

  • Beach bar Portich – Cape Kamenjak
  • Beach bar Shark – Fažana
  • Marea Restaurant and Beach Baru – Levan island
  • Beach bar Paradiso – Peroj

The price of the burger is about 10 euros, which is a bit pricey for locals, but people visiting Pula haven’t complained. And eating this burger will rock your world.

There are a few other things to mention about Shipyard pub offer, besides burgers. What Marina liked a lot is a pizzetta. It’s not a classic pizza, it’s smaller in size, and made with a different, crunchy type of dough. But it’s so tasty, and our recommendation to try in Shipyard. It is also a budget-friendly snack.

P.s. Try wine by the glass. I will say no more.


Zeppelin Beach & Lounge Bar

While Zeppelin is not a new place on the scene, their burgers are. They recently added a dining area to the mix and diversified their offering with fast food Bel Pićotto.

The location is an enormous advantage for Bel Pićotto burgers. They are right above the Saccorgiana beach in Pula.

Saccorgiana beach is slightly harder to find because you have to take a hard turn right before reaching Verudela (follow the signs for Zeppelin). Nevertheless, the beach is always packed and Zeppelin bar vibrant with people from the beach, locals relaxing after work, or strayed walkers exploring the surrounding areas.

If you want to enjoy a burger near the beach, far from the city bustle, this is the place to visit.

The colorful terrace of Bel Pićotto

We tried their burger, and it was great, it’s a good combination of size and taste.

We tried the burger with the classic BBQ sauce (don’t remember the exact name), which was ok, but we are spoiled trying burgers with custom-made sauces.

This fast food has different burger variations:

  • Bel Pićotto Spicy Burger
  • Original Bacon Burger
  • Saccorgiana Cheese
  • Lucky Luke – Vegetarian burger
  • Bio Burger – with seitan and smoked tofu

Bel Pićotto is not ONLY a burger place, and there are more options to consider, such as finger food (chicken wings, fried calamari, fries), tuna or chicken salads.

If you are one of those who can’t eat on a super hot day, know Saccorgiana beach has a variety of ice cream flavors to cool you off.

Overall, we recommend this place if you want to eat a decent burger outdoors, near the beach.

  • Working hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 AM
  • Map: https://goo.gl/maps/fFavVhKa2B92
  • Self-service (if you want food)
  • Parking
  • Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ZeppelinBeachBar/


Piantina Fine Fast Food

Piantina is located in the very center of Pula, same as the Shipyard pub, which means parking spaces are a challenge. When you are at Giardini, the main city promenade, walk 50 meters toward the Arena amphitheater and turn right into the Zadarska street. You cannot miss it.

The place has a small terrace with only a few places to sit but when you are likely to find a spot since people don’t stay here long. They are a quite busy place that grew popular among the people rapidly.

They explain their menu as local and healthy. In burgers, the meat, cheese, and other ingredients are bought locally, the sauces made of local herbs, and in addition to burgers, they offer healthy salads, fruit juices, smoothies and protein shakes.

What really made an impression on us is their hospitality. As you have to order at the bar, we were looking around trying to figure out what to have, and the staff asked us if this was our first time there, and offered suggestions.

For the most part, their suggestions were right.

We chose Italiano and Cheddar for the day. Marina went for Italiano as she likes experimenting with food, and I stuck to the more familiar flavors with Cheddar.

Cheddar Burger in Piantina

Marina loved her Italiano, and Cheddar burger was also good, although the taste of cheddar itself was really strong, it almost felt like gorgonzola. I guess I am used to eating only fake cheddar, so this taste was slightly too strong for me, while my girlfriend was in love with it.

It depends on the personal taste, but we can say that it was good. I am more classic and simple burger kind of guy, so I looking forward to trying their classic burger.

Here are the burgers Piantina offers, and the details of their ingredients (besides the meat and the bun, obviously)

  • Smoker – smoked cheese, crispy bacon, tomato, green salad, BBQ sauce
  • Italiano – Grana Padano cheese, mozzarella, wild rocket (Arugula) salad, basil, green salad, pesto Genovese
  • Cheddar – cheddar (duh!), pickles, red cabbage, BBQ sauce
  • I Love Istria – Istrian cheese, Istrian bacon, Truffle oil
  • Veggie Burger – 7 vegetable patty, green salad, tomato, herb sauce

These burgers stand alone, but if you pay 6 kunas more, you get a menu, i.e. fries with your order. French fries didn’t feel like classic frozen so that’s also a plus.

The pricing at Piantina was very solid. Compared to the Shipyard pub, the price is cut in half, in other words, 5-6 euros per burger.

If you are in the city center, definitely hop on one burger in Piantina, we really like it.

 

Arboretum Pub

Arboretum Pub is an unusual place in Fažana, a gorgeous small town a few kilometers from Pula.

It’s really hard to describe the Arboretum because words can hardly transfer the full impression.

First, the location is awesome. Unlike 99% bars and restaurants in Fažana, they are not located right at the sea. Instead, the pub hides from the noise and all the bustle.

You get the impression you are in someone’s home, sitting and relaxing in their garden. Arboretum has a huge terrace that could fit far more tables than it currently has.

Arboretum bar garden Fažana

You will find yourself sitting under olive, fig or apple trees. The tables are dispersed around and allow enough privacy.

It’s a Pub in a garden, with the huge selection of beers, burgers and other stuff.

They offer more than 30 different burgers, made from Black Angus meat grown in Scotland.

All their burger sauces are made by themselves, they don’t buy any. What we liked is that you get extra hot sauces on the table. Plus, all their burgers come with fries.

The burgers we had are:

  • Kora Kora – black Angus beef, mozzarella, mushroom and garlic sauce, green salad
  • G-burger – A Classic! – black Angus beef, cheese, red onion jam, bacon, green salad, tomato

There are more than 80 craft beers to try, some of them are quite exotic like Japanese craft beers. We tried Bernard, a classic Czech amber beer. Needless to say, it was good.

burgers
Burgers and yummy potatoes in the garden – Arboretum Pub

Burger menu also varies, so you can try exotically flavored burgers like Truffle burgers, the burger with peanut butter with honey, mustard, and cheese and many other combinations. There is too many of them to list out, but we’ll name a few items from the menu.

Here’s a glance on their offering, besides the burgers:

  • Cheesecake
  • Salads
  • Veggie burger
  • Chicken wings
  • Club sandwich
  • Porchetta – Italian style pork belly
  • Various Piadinas – Italian stuffed flatbread

The staff is friendly, the place is very stylish, and the food incredible.

The price matches the quality, but it’s not higher than other top burger places we have visited. If you are in Fažana, don’t miss the Arboretum pub.

p.s. Your furry friends are welcome and will enjoy the spacious grass garden and the shade. Bring them along.

  • Working hours: 4 PM – 11 PM (Monday – Friday) 12 PM – 11 PM (Saturday & Sunday)
  • Map: https://goo.gl/maps/gkFzxxGz4yy
  • Waited Tables
  • Parking: street, or a parking lot nearby
  • Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/arboretumpub/
  • Credit cards: Yes

 

Grizzly’s Burger Bar

Grizzly’s burger bar is a fresh name on the burger scene, the one of its kind in tourist-packed Medulin town. Medulin is a place very near Pula so we had to include their burger options as well.

This burger bar keeps their menu simple, with top burgers. Ingredients are carefully chosen to make burgers tasty and high quality.  

You will often see the owner flipping the beef himself and chatting friendly with his customers. He is a friendly person from the capital that decided to bring a piece of the Zagreb’s famous burger scene to the tip of Istria.

Grizzly’s in Medulin. Love the music they play, too.

Grizzly’s is located on the Medulin seafront, near the windmill.

We tried their bacon burger and liked it a lot, it had a mustard sauce that nicely complimented the meat. The taste is marvelous. There is a lot of cheese (which is a must-have for a burger junkie like me), the meat smells and tastes awesome and the sauce ties all this to bites you won’t forget soon.

If you hop to Medulin, you have to try their stuff. You can even try a veggie burger or a burger with avocado sauce.

 

Sandwich Club

Sandwich Club in Veruda is like an institution. They were selling burgers before burgers even existed!

The new trend changed burgers and made them a high-end dish with top ingredients and smaller in size. Sandwich Club doesn’t follow this trend. I can say that their old school burgers are awesome, nevertheless.

Their burgers are more “street-style” burgers but I have eaten there many times. I can definitely recommend them if you want to eat good burgers. Their prices are affordable, cheaper than other, specialized burger places. Their burger is 20 kunas, which is about 4 times less than some of the other burgers around the city.

Interior in Sandwich Club

Sandwich Club is also one of the oldest and most visited fast foods in Pula. We go there when we are not in the mood for the city center and the crowd, as it is a bit isolated, and has a guaranteed parking. They have an indoor sitting area and a terrace that overviews the new city pool.

They offer different sandwiches (obviously!), chicken or pasta salads (quite good), pancakes, or simple lunch options like chicken + rice + grilled veggies + dip

If you are not looking for some fancy burgers we can recommend Sandwich Club as an ok alternative.

  • Working hours: 8 AM – 11 PM (Monday-Thursday), 8 AM – 12 AM ( Friday-Saturday), 2 PM – 10 PM on Sunday
  • Map: https://goo.gl/maps/iMcv2Ehf3Dv
  • Self-service
  • Parking: Yes
  • Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sandwich-Club/354426184590063

 

Chill Bar Veruda

The Chill Bar fast food is not located in the city center either. It’s in Veruda neighborhood, which is 2.3 kilometers from the city center. Let’s say if you are going from Verudela zone towards the city, you will probably pass by this place.

They offer a couple of options for eating including burgers, tortillas, and salads.

We tried their food and I liked their burger but my better half was not so impressed.

They do offer affordable food (the burger is only 22 kunas) and I was personally very satisfied with the food.

Waiting for the cheeseburger

It’s not the black Angus, but the meat is well cooked, there is a ton of cheese, the buns are soft and the staff is very friendly. They offer a couple of sauces that you can choose from, including honey and mustard and standard BBQ.

While other burger places have pre-made burgers with fixed ingredients (like McDonald’s does), this place lets you combine your own add-ons, such as salads and sauces.

Recently they added burgers filled with Istrian prosciutto and cheese. Overall, we can say that Chill bar is a friendly, delicious eatery with an affordable price.

 

Old City Bar

Old city bar is on the Dante square in Pula. It is near the famous Sergii street and not far from the city center itself.

The food here is great and the staff is very friendly. It’s not rare to hear music playing because they organize DJ or live bands every night. You can also see people cheering while watching sports. If you want to watch the World Cup while eating well and drinking exotic beers, this is the place to go.

It feels like bars in Pula are competing in offering the bigger variety of beer because the Old City Bar has more than 80 types of beer on their list. That is a great opportunity to try the local craft beers.

Their terrace is spacious and they are good for groups. If you want to organize some kind of gathering here, know that you can make reservations in advance as well.

They do offer other types of food but their burgers are delicious and the price of drinks is reasonably priced. Some would say that the Old City Bar is the best bar in town.

If you are nearby, we can certainly recommend trying their burgers. And don’t forget to order baked potato to go along, because they make the best ones.

The Old City Bar has the most diverse menu on our list, and you can find the following:

  • Cocktails
  • Desserts
  • Pizzas
  • Soups
  • Pasta
  • Salads

Here is some additional information:

 

Hook and Cook

Hook and Cook is a unique seafood eatery located in the main street in Pula, the one you enter after passing under the Golden Gate or Arch of the Sergii, an old Roman remain. The Sergii street that follows is the best part of the city center. This street is connecting the two central areas in Pula, Giardini promenade, and main square – Forum.

Hook and Cook is a known and well-received street seafood joint. They also organize their own street food festival in Medulin, and they even had a tour in the capital city of Croatia, where they were guests of other hip food joints and pubs.

Hook & Cook Festival Sign in Medulin

Fishing is a family tradition, thus the name Hook & Cook. Be sure that the food you eat there is fresh, straight from the sea. The menu might vary, as the sea dictates.

Here you won’t find black Angus, but you can get a tuna burger, which is a must-have for all seafood lovers. Their menu is made of different finger food with great spices and sauces.

The price is not the cheapest, but the food is well worth it. If you are bored with classic food like pizza or pasta, this place offers something new and unique on Pula food scene.

While you are eating this great tuna burger you can enjoy some interesting craft beers

Overall, the food is well cooked, quickly prepared and the service is great

So, to wrap things up, we tried to list some of the best burgers that we tried while out and about. This doesn’t mean there are no other great places to eat in Pula.

This is our list and we hope that it will help you find your favorite place to eat while you are staying in Pula.

If you tried some of these we have mentioned, or if you feel we have missed some places out, let us know.

Tell us about your experience in the comments.

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