Some evenings on Krk you want the sea. On others you want the opposite of it: a table between olive trees, a bay far below, and food that came from the ground you are sitting on. Olive Garden Ulika is that evening. It is one of our five favourite restaurants on the island, and it deserves a page of its own.
Olive Garden — Ulika Maslinik
What Ulika is
Ulika is the local word for the olive tree, and maslinik means olive grove — so the name is simply what it says. The grove sits on the hillside above Puntarska draga, the deep bay that shelters Punat and the small wooded islet of Košljun with its Franciscan monastery. It is an olive estate that runs oil tastings, harvest days in autumn and a restaurant among the trees.
So there is a restaurant now, set between the rows of trees, with a terrace that looks west across the bay. The mood is nothing like a harbour-front konoba. It is quiet, rustic and slow, and when the sun drops behind the hills of Kornić the whole grove turns gold for a quarter of an hour. Ask for a table outside and arrive before that happens.
The food
The menu moves with the season and the cooking is direct: grilled meat and fish, vegetables and bread.
Our pick is the grilled lamb with the estate’s own olive oil. The homemade bread with cheese and prosciutto is the way to start, the octopus is the other favourite, and the house wine does its job.
What is on the menu
People search for the Ulika menu more than for anything else about the place, so here is the honest answer: it changes with the season, and the current card is the one they hand you on the terrace. What you can count on:
- To start: homemade bread with the estate olive oil, local cheese and prosciutto — the plate half the terrace orders first.
- From the grill: lamb with their own oil (our pick), beef, mixed grilled-meat platters, tuna steak and the day's fish.
- From the sea: octopus, prepared differently through the season.
- Sides and vegetables: polenta, garden vegetables, salads dressed with the oil you tasted an hour earlier.
- To drink: house wine by the carafe, Krk Žlahtina by the bottle, and the estate oil to take home.
Vegetarians are well looked after by the bread, cheese, vegetable and pasta side of the card; tell them when you book.
The olive oil tasting
If you have never been told what a fresh, well-made olive oil is supposed to taste like — grassy, bitter, with a pepper that catches the back of your throat — this is the place to learn. The estate runs guided tastings of its oils with local delicacies; book ahead. The tasting works well as the first stop before dinner on the terrace.
Getting there from the villas
From Villa Moana and Villa Manatis in Vrbnik: about 20 minutes by car. Take the road out of Vrbnik towards Krk town, then the D102 towards Punat; Ulika sits on the right just before the road drops down to Punat. On a warm evening the Vespa that comes with Villa Moana is the nicer way to go — the road is quiet and the light is beautiful — but someone has to stay sober for the ride home, so most couples take the car and let the wine flow.
From Villa Marim in Stara Baška: about 25 minutes. The road from Stara Baška leads through Punat anyway, so Ulika is the natural dinner stop on the way back from Krk town.
Without a car: tell us the evening you have in mind and we arrange a driver there and back, as we do for airport transfers and other outings.
Make an afternoon of it
Ulika opens in the late afternoon, which leaves the day free. Our favourite combination: drive to Punat, whose marina is one of the largest on the Adriatic, take the little taxi boat across the bay to Košljun and walk around the monastery island in the shade of its holm oaks, come back for a swim, and be on the terrace at Ulika an hour before sunset. It is the kind of unhurried Krk day that guests remember longer than any single meal.
When to go
The restaurant is seasonal — roughly May to October — and it is an evening place, opening in the late afternoon. In July and August reserve a few days ahead and be specific about wanting the terrace. In May, June and September you will often have the grove almost to yourself, and the light is lower and softer. Opening days can change through the season; check before you drive over, or ask us — we usually know.
And if you would rather not go anywhere at all, the alternative is to bring the olive grove to you: a private chef dinner on your own terrace, with Krk lamb, Žlahtina from Vrbnik and the same island olive oil.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Olive Garden Ulika?
On the hill above Punat (Neržiće), just off the D102 on the island of Krk, on a slope above Punat bay with a view of the islet of Košljun. It is about 20 minutes by car from our villas in Vrbnik and about 25 minutes from Villa Marim in Stara Baška.
Do I need to reserve a table at Olive Garden Ulika?
In July and August, yes — book a few days ahead and ask for a table on the terrace before sunset. The restaurant is seasonal and opens in the late afternoon, so it is a dinner place rather than a lunch stop.
What is the olive oil tasting at Ulika?
A guided tasting of the estate’s olive oils with local delicacies. Book ahead; the price is not published.
What should I order at Olive Garden Ulika?
Our pick is the grilled lamb with the estate’s own olive oil; the homemade bread with cheese and prosciutto and the octopus are the other favourites.
Dinner in their olive grove, breakfast in yours
Villa Moana stands in its own olive grove in Vrbnik, twenty minutes from Ulika — with a 12-metre pool, a whirlpool with sea views and a Vespa waiting by the gate.