A fishing town, not just a resort
Ulcinj has been a working port for centuries, pirates in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, legitimate Adriatic fishermen ever since. The small harbour below the Old Town still lands fresh catch daily in season, and the town's restaurants sit at an unusual intersection: Adriatic sea fish from one side of the peninsula, and freshwater or brackish catch from the Bojana river and Lake Skadar on the other. You'll see both on most menus.
That mix is the reason to eat seafood here rather than anywhere else on the coast. A single meal can include grilled sea bass caught that morning, river eel smoked in the traditional Bojana style, and lake carp, three different habitats within a 15 km radius.
The harbour restaurants below the Old Town
The natural first choice is the run of restaurants along Mala Plaža and the small port directly beneath the Old Town walls. The location is the draw: you sit at sea level with the Venetian and Ottoman ramparts rising above you, watching the fishing boats unload. The cooking is honest rather than fancy, whole fish grilled plain, plates of fried small fish, mussels in white wine, octopus salad dressed with olive oil and lemon.
Ask what is fresh rather than reading the menu. If the waiter brings a tray of whole fish on ice to your table to choose from, you're in a serious place; if they don't, the fish is likely frozen.
The stilt-house restaurants on Ada Bojana
For a different experience, drive 20 minutes south to the kalimera, the traditional wooden fishing huts on stilts over the Bojana river on Ada Bojana. Each has a large square net that is winched up several times a day; whatever comes up goes onto the grill. The speciality here is river eel, but most kalimera also serve sea bass, bream, shrimp and mussels. You eat on wooden terraces over the water with the sound of the current below.
What to order
- Whole grilled sea bass or bream (brancin / orada): The standard test of any Adriatic kitchen. Priced by weight, typically €60-90 per kg depending on whether it's wild or farmed, so always ask which.
- Bojana river eel (jegulja): Grilled or stewed. A stronger, richer flavour than sea fish; a regional specialty you don't easily find elsewhere.
- Mussels buzara (dagnje na buzaru): Steamed in white wine, garlic, parsley and a little tomato. A classic starter, usually €10-14.
- Fried small fish (girice): Crisp, salty, eaten whole. The proper beer snack.
- Octopus salad (salata od hobotnice): Boiled octopus, red onion, capers, olive oil. Bright and clean.
How pricing by weight works
Whole fish is almost always priced per kilogram on Adriatic menus, and it catches some visitors out. The menu lists the per-kilo price; your bill reflects the actual weight of the fish you chose. A typical dining-size sea bass runs 300-500 g, so expect the fish line on your bill to be roughly a third to a half of the menu's per-kilo figure. Ask the waiter to weigh the fish in front of you before grilling if you want to avoid surprises.
Practical tips
- Booking: In July and August, book ahead at the harbour-side spots and the better kalimera on Ada Bojana. Outside peak, walk in.
- When it's freshest: Lunch rather than dinner, the morning catch goes on ice, and some of it is saved for the following day.
- Cash: Most places take cards now, but a few of the smaller kalimera are still cash-only.
- Pairings: Local Krstač (white) or Vranac (red) from Montenegro's Crmnica wine region pair well with the grilled whites.
After lunch
From the harbour, it's a five-minute walk up to the Old Town's Ottoman bastions for a view over the bay. Or continue south to Ada Bojana for a swim after the meal.
