Wine Bar Tinja was a second in the row during the Restaurant Week. This place, in my opinion, is a real bijou. Located in Sikici, at the outskirts of Pula, the place was extremely hard to find. Equipped with GPS and without a worry, we ended up in the middle of fields, without a house in sight. Back on the main road, we tried to get the right directions from the locals he met. Nobody had a clue, and ones who pretended to know sent us the wrong way. After a few wrong turns, we finally figured out where Wine Bar Tinja should be.
Wine Bar Tinja as its name says is a Wine Bar, and the food they normally serve is nothing but finger food. As the owner explained to us later on, they were invited by the organizers to take part in Restaurant Week, and they were happy to accept.
For this occasion, like everybody else, they created Prix Fixe Menus. So basically the only time they actually cook is when they have closed groups or on other special occasions. However, as we found out after tasting their food, it is a shame since they really know how to cook.
Interesting enough, they were the only ones offering a choice of wines served by the glass. For your accompanying wine, you could choose among Damjanic Malvazija 2010, Babic “Panjoka” Malvazija 2010, Zigante Teran 2009, and Agrolaguna Festigia. Good start!
Entree included following choices: Shrimps and cherry tomatoes served in the crispy basket on the bed of pumpkin cream and goat cheese cream; Sardines tartar with thyme served with grilled polenta on the bed of green salad and oranges; Smoked cottage cheese with ham and mushrooms. Tasted all of them, and they all were excellent.
The main course included Pumpkin risotto with onions and bacon; Fish fillet served with leek, zucchini and almonds; and Pork fillet in spinach and pistachio cream with potatoes and bacon. Delicious!
Finally, for the dessert you could choose among Figs in puff pastry and chocolate; Chocolate cake with maple syrup and almonds; Orange Semifreddo with Cheesecake.
Besides great food and excellent choice of wine, Wine Bar Tinja offers a very pleasant atmosphere. And as we learnt while chatting with the owner, on Sundays Wine Bar Tinja offers 5-course Food&Wine Pairing Menu for 170 – 190 Kn per person. All you need to do is to leave them your cell phone number and each Friday they will text you with information about following Sunday Menu. If you would like to attend, you simply text back with reservation. Frank’s very happy with the concept.
