To say that Korčula is a gastronomically extremely interesting destination would be an understatement, and right at the beginning of our conversation, Ivan Marelić Maha, one of the island‘s most famous faces, reminded us of this once again, just in case. Together with the rest of his family, he has been running the very successful Konoba Maha there for more than 20 years. You have surely heard of them, because they are unique characters who even appeared a few years ago in the travel food series ‘Somebody Feed Phil‘ and if you spend your summer on Korčula, you have surely already tried their food.
Besides the tavern, Ivan Marelić Maha is also extremely proud of his two burger bars, and now, with the same pride, he announces a new project - Bazita. As he told us, it is a restaurant where they combine Balkan, Asian, and Italian cuisine. Although it may sound unusual at first, the Mahas have developed the concept well and want to offer their Korčula something more, more diverse, and richer.
"Korčula is a small town, but very rich in gastronomy. I am so proud of our scene and sometimes I wonder why we are so poorly advertised when we are so rich. We even have a Michelin star, we have top-notch taverns, an excellent tapas bar, craft burgers, we source ingredients from local producers, and now we also have a place like this," said Maha, quickly continuing: "We moved into a space that used to be a grill, it‘s huge and is located within a shopping center, the only one on Korčula. We actually wanted to create a fusion of Italian, more precisely Mediterranean, and Asian cuisine, and since we have both an indoor and outdoor grill, we also added the Balkans. Of course, maybe in Zagreb this has already been seen, but here with us it‘s something new and I think we have thought it through well."
As he explained to us, this means that Bazita will prepare dishes that are combinations of these cuisines, as well as some classics. For example, on the menu there is already pizza al taglio style, pasta dishes such as cacio e pepe, carbonara, bolognese, and it is also important to add that they will make their own pasta all the time. They will also use seafood that is available to them daily.
Among the Asian dishes, he especially highlights teriyaki beef, crispy pork with coleslaw, and gyoza, and the Balkan cuisine will be represented by grill dishes such as pljeskavica, chicken drumstick and thigh in kajmak, and similar.
"Although it seems like a lot, it won‘t be anything too big and we won‘t go too broad, but we will change the menu more often," Maha told us.
He also revealed that currently 10-15 people work at Bazita, because the kitchen is large, and just in the indoor section there are about 95 seats. The outdoor area, on the other hand, has a large terrace with a good view.
"We also have parking, the center has a garage, and that‘s something that is often missing in Korčula during the season when you go somewhere for lunch or dinner. We‘ve also equipped a section for musicians, so we will have guest appearances of that type. Now we are feeling out how it will go, and then the season will begin. That‘s just how I am, when I started the burger bar four or five years ago, my idea was for it to be a bistro. At one point everyone was asking for sandwiches and burgers, so I gave in and started making burgers, what else could I do? I perfected that, as I would say, and now it was time for something new, so my brother and I decided."
Ivan and Jakša have been in hospitality for over 20 years, and as Ivan told us, all that time they had great support from their parents and over the years they also invested in education.
"We are passionate about gastronomy, there is nothing more to say. After the tavern and burger bars, a place like this was a logical next step. When you have such a good scene and can work with fine, local ingredients, you can‘t get a bad product. And when you have all that, it‘s a shame not to show it and share it with others," Ivan Marelić Maha concluded at the end of our conversation.
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