Where to eat in Budva, area by area

You can eat anywhere in Budva, and that’s exactly the problem. With nearly a hundred restaurants, bars and cafés on the municipal tourist board’s list, the hard part isn’t finding a table but choosing an area. My approach is to think first about what I want to look at while I eat, and only then about what to order.

The old town, for dinner with atmosphere

Inside the walls, especially on Trg palmi and the lanes around it, you’ll find Sambra, Riviera, Green, Astoria, Mozart, Regina E, Konoba Feral and Konoba Galeb, with the Citadela restaurant up at the top. It’s the prettiest place to dine, with the churches lit up and, in summer, the Grad teatar festival stage a few steps away. What you’re paying for here is the setting. If you’d like to understand what you’re looking at before you sit down, read up on Budva Old Town.

Slovenska obala, lunch by the beach

The promenade along Slovenska plaža has the biggest and most touristy restaurants, such as La Bocca, Lim, Oaza, Obala, Olimp, Tropico, Zeleni gaj and Demižana. They’re handy for lunch between swims. A little out of the way, at the bus station, Merkur calls itself a national restaurant, and that’s exactly the kind of place I’d pick for Montenegrin dishes rather than a tourist menu.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Budva before prices climb.

Pržno and Sveti Stefan, fish facing the sea

Further south, the Pržno promenade has places like Langust, Blanche, R Restoran and Konoba Zago, practically on the sand, and Kusta at Kamenovo. At Sveti Stefan the official list includes Drago, Famelja Kentera, Olive and Nobu Montenegro, plus Villa Geba. It’s the priciest area but also the one with the best sunsets, because Pržno beach faces west. If you’re staying round here, have a look at Pržno.

Petrovac, the relaxed option

On the Petrovac promenade there’s Ambasador, Castio, Balkan, La Cantina, Sutjeska and Fortuna, with Maslina at Mirišta, Medin on Lučice beach and Galija at Buljarica. It’s my favourite area for a long fish lunch, because the pace is different. The village also holds the Petrovačka lignjada, a squid festival, every autumn, which in 2025 fell on 19 October.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Budva and choose by the reviews.

What to order

The national tourist board sums up the country’s cooking in a few things you’ll also find in Budva. Njeguši prosciutto, ham cured over beech smoke, cheeses from Njeguši and Pljevlja, lamb simmered in milk or roasted under the sač, an iron lid heaped with embers, and on the coast, Adriatic fish. To drink, red wine or medovina, the honey wine. For the country’s cooking as a whole, see my guide to Montenegro food.

The fish festival

If you’re in Budva in mid-October, note down Dan širuna. The tourist board, the municipality and the Širun club hold it on Saturday 17 October 2026 outside the old town, with fish, wine, beer, music and performances by local schools and groups. It’s the 59th edition, and nothing shows you Budva eating for itself rather than for visitors quite like it.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Budva before prices climb.