Dubrovnik

The sun was shining, but the alley sat stubbornly in the shade. Thankfully, the waiter appeared with a patio heater, and suddenly everything was perfect. That sort of attentive service is becoming increasingly rare these days abroad, so credit where it’s due.

I started with oysters from Ston, and my word, they were magnificent. Small, creamy and sweet with that proper iodine kick you only get from truly fresh oysters. Add a squeeze of lemon, and they were absolutely spot on. Then came octopus ragù with polenta and Dalmatian chard with potatoes.

Now, octopus can easily become like chewing on an old flip-flop if handled badly, but here it worked beautifully. The tomato sauce was rich and punchy with excellent olive oil throughout. Even the polenta — which I’ll admit isn’t usually my favourite thing on earth — was silky and balanced rather than stodgy. And then there was the chard.

Chard and I have had a difficult relationship over the years. I’ve grown it endlessly, cooked it countless ways and often wondered why I bothered. Yet throughout Croatia and the Balkans, they gently braise it with potatoes and stock, and somehow it suddenly makes complete sense. Here, alongside the octopus, it was terrific.

Dessert was a crème caramel with exactly the right wobble factor. That’s important, by the way. A crème caramel without wobble is simply wrong.

At just under £100 with wine, it wasn’t cheap, but frankly, Dubrovnik never is.