We were looking for something different after having done traditional Austrian meals for several days. We saw that Istra offered grill seafood and decided to try.
Istra is actually a Croatian restaurant, and they specialize in seasonal grilled seafood and truffle pasta. There is no standard menu - more a choice of 1, 2 or 3 course meal. The star is their fish platter which consisted of grilled fish, grilled calamari and shrimps, over a head of mixed root vegetables.
The owners don't speak a lot of English but they were very hospitable. I highly recommend reading through their websites before going so you know what to expect.
Now the food. Spectacular is the only word that came to mind. First time we just had the fish platter for 2 and shared between 3 people. A luxurious platter with 2 perfectly pan-fried fish, 2 shrimps in shell and 2 grilled baby calamari on a bed of carrots, squash, zucchini and mushrooms magically turned up at the table. The seasoning is basic but perfect. A complementary basket of bread also came with the meal and house white wine paired very well with the seafood fair.
It was so good we went back for lunch again the next day. This time we also ordered their truffle pasta. The white truffle on the pasta was epic - appetizer size was obly €18!! I dare say the same size with black truffle in NY would have put us back at around 30 bucks and nowhere as much truffle that was on the plate.
Highly recommend this place if you ever go to Salzburg and wanted something other than the standard Austrian fare. read more