Just arriving at Konoba Morgan (which is actually a luxury hotel) is an excitement in itself. You approach that hill and it‘s truly a special experience. It doesn‘t hurt that right at the turnoff for Morgan there‘s also the Veralda winery, with views stretching out over vineyards and Buje, and when you reach the top, you‘re not sure if this abandoned village is really the place you should be. You will easily dispel your doubts if you look around more closely and spot a tidy yard full of decorative shrubs and trees, as well as a slew of Michelin plaques nailed right at the entrance.
The day we visit Restaurant Morgan, at lunchtime, is one of those in the middle of a heatwave. Outside it‘s closer to 40 than 30, but we are the type who have to have lunch before the sun sets. Although we are generally fans of terraces, we worry a bit whether we‘ll survive this lunch on theirs, despite the spectacular view. However, it quickly becomes clear that the wind on Morgan‘s terrace doesn‘t just breeze, it really blows, so we decide to stay outside. During lunch, the wind took away our water, menu, and even a glass of wine, but we didn‘t hold it against it (the glass didn‘t break, and we refilled the wine). It added a special touch to the day.
We quickly and easily agree on the introductory sparkling wine, the only question was whether the Veralda sparkling would be rosé or blanc de noir (€6). For the rest of the lunch, we stick with Veralda, although the wine list nicely covers selected winemakers from Istria, Plešivica, as well as some from France. A very precise and clear selection. However, we greatly appreciate the focus on the neighbor and closest winemaker, which is logical and only normal, and fortunately, the neighbor has top-notch stuff.
Since we have kids with us, we don‘t skip the beef soup (€5), which is also a very good indicator for the rest of the lunch, but we also order the seasonal velouté (€7) which is presented to us as a cross between gazpacho and tomato soup, refreshing in nature. And indeed, the velouté itself has a beautiful texture and tomato flavor, with pieces of cucumber and pepper, but it‘s not cold enough to be called gazpacho. Either way, it nicely opened our lunch. The beef soup was excellent, concentrated, with mini ravioli filled with meat, and perhaps some game, maybe pheasant, fell into the soup as well. A great start.
For starters, we choose what Morgan is known for: seasonal ravioli that look like a rooster‘s comb, and are also filled with rooster meat (€15), and foie gras with muscat and honey (€25). Although at first glance they looked as if they were plastic (pink is still an unusual food color), both the filling and the rooster sauce they came in burst with flavor. The same can be said for the foie gras with roasted peach in a honey and muscat sauce, which melted in the mouth, and with the recommended Veralda Ambra it was a perfect match (maybe a dessert wine would have paired better, but it was too early for that).
Although we know that people come to Morgan for the game dishes, we couldn‘t go in that direction, we needed something lighter, so we ordered lamb chops (€30), which they immediately told us were more like peka than chops, and roast chicken stew with pasta (€16), for which we managed to get gluten-free pasta without much explanation. The waiters were discreet the whole time, knowledgeable about the food and wines they offer, and promptly jumped in every time the wind knocked something over on the table. The lamb really came as if it was cooked under the bell, pieces of meat with potatoes, pure classic. The roast chicken with stew maybe paired a bit oddly with the gluten-free penne, probably some spaghetti would have absorbed the sauce better.
In the end, we were swept away by the desserts, which had a touch of homemade cuisine and, despite that classic moment, a touch of freshness and originality. We took fig semifreddo, hazelnut, pear and ricotta crostata, and the classic lava cake (all €7 each).
At Morgan, it‘s a given that you go if you want to eat game and mostly meat dishes. What seems completely fair and proper to us is that there are no fish dishes on the menu at all, no messing around. Vegetarians will still find some seasonal options for themselves, which we welcome. Maybe it‘s a bit confusing, this mix of fine dining and konoba, because both the service and the setting, and the presentation of most dishes are in a fine dining style, while some dishes are pure classics, both in appearance and taste. However, this creates a relaxed and unpretentious atmosphere, in which, with a fantastic view of the surroundings, you simply have to enjoy yourself. Even when it‘s 40 degrees outside. On the hill, it‘s always breezy.
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