Best Croatian Restaurants in NYC

Astoria's Dalmatian and Balkan dining scene -- where Croatia fans eat and watch the World Cup

Best Croatian Restaurants in NYC: World Cup 2026 Guide

Astoria, Queens is where Croatian New York lives -- the neighborhood has had a Croatian and former Yugoslav community since the 1950s, when workers came to the factories and docks of Long Island City and Queens. The Croatian Cultural Center in Astoria and St. Cyril and Methodius Croatian Catholic Church are the community anchors. For World Cup watching, the Croatian community in Astoria will gather in bars and community spaces around the neighborhood.

Croatian Cuisine in NYC

Astoria -- Dalmatian and Balkan Restaurants

Several restaurants in Astoria serve the broader Balkan cuisine that encompasses Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, and other former Yugoslav traditions. The food overlaps significantly -- ćevapi (grilled sausages), burek (flaky pastry), grilled meats, and dishes influenced by both Mediterranean and central European traditions are common across these restaurants.

Look for restaurants along or near 36th Avenue and 30th Avenue in Astoria for Balkan and Eastern European options. The community is tight-knit enough that asking at the Croatian Cultural Center will get you a recommendation to the right restaurant for any given occasion.

Essential Croatian Dishes

• Ćevapi -- Grilled minced meat sausages (beef and lamb), served with somun bread, onion, and ajvar (roasted red pepper relish). The Balkan street food that's impossible to stop eating.
• Peka -- The definitive Croatian dish: lamb, veal, or octopus slow-cooked under a metal lid (peka) covered with embers, with potatoes and vegetables. Requires advance ordering at restaurants that do it properly.
• Crni Rižot -- Black risotto with squid ink, seafood, and white wine. A specialty of the Dalmatian coast that reflects Croatia's Adriatic heritage. Rich, complex, and unlike any risotto you've had elsewhere.
• Burek -- Flaky phyllo pastry filled with meat (mesni), cheese (sirni), or spinach (spinatni). Buy it at a Balkan bakery, eat it hot, eat it immediately. One of the great breakfast pastries of the world.
• Rakija -- The fruit brandy of the Balkans -- plum (šljivovica), pear, grape, quince. Strong (40%+), drunk in small glasses, offered to every guest. The Croatian toast is "Živjeli!" -- cheers.

Croatia at the 2026 World Cup

Croatia's golden generation is aging -- Luka Modrić is 40 years old -- but they have reached the 2018 World Cup final and the 2022 semifinal with essentially the same core of players. This may genuinely be the last tournament for this generation. Group L with England, Ghana, and Panama gives them a realistic path to the knockouts. The opening match against England in Dallas will be one of the most watched Group L games of the entire tournament.