Our week of lounging on rocks, swimming in the vibrant cerulean blue Adriatic, napping, reading, walking, and boating was capped off with an incredible dinner on our last night in Dubrovnik.

After doing intense internet planning and searching to find the best local restaurants, and via a recommendation from our house rental company, we found Konoba Koraceva Kuca.

The small farm-to-table (a farm-to-table before farm-to-table was cool!) restaurant is located in the hills of Konavle, a few kilometers south of Dubrovnik.

When I called the restaurant and explained that we didn’t have a car, they offered for the owner/chef to meet us at the closest bus stop and drive us to the restaurant. They told us, however, that it would have to be quick because he would have to get back to the grill! We decided arranging our own driver would be best–mainly because we didn’t want to take the chef away from his work!

The konoba is set against a backdrop of the Konavle hills, the border with Montenegro on the opposite side.

The view was one of the most breathtaking we experienced all trip: green vineyards, the rugged mountain landscape, and the pink and salmon evening sky; as the sun set, it gave way to twinkling lights from the houses on the mountainside.

When we arrived, the owner came out to meet us and showed us around the restaurant, a charming little place displaying old family pictures, dried herbs, and, on the patio outside, pots with basil and olive trees and wildflowers.

We were greeted with a homemade appertif (I guess you could call that moonshine) that tasted of roses.

We ate cheese from the farm, homemade bread, veal, grilled vegetables, boar stew–accompanied by the house wine and followed by homemade carrot cake and fresh mint tea. We were brought homemade limoncello as an after-dinner refreshment.

Aside from the crickets, low chatter from the other 3 tables of guests, Johnny Cash playing subtly in the background, there was no other noise; it was such a pleasant respite from the overcrowded, noisy, hot center of Dubrovnik. I couldn’t believe we were in the same area where we had stayed all week.

After working so hard all week to find authentic, local, homemade food, in a town overflowing with mediocre, packed, touristy restaurants, we finally found our dream place on the last night.

It was truly a great end to a great week.