Romantic restaurants in Zagreb

Noel is sizzling restaurant dedicated to the flux of contemporary trends in gastro-cooking. Orientated towards a smart, swanky crowd, the menu mixes the best of Croatian with European with mains like the pork belly with shrimp and passion fruit. Portions are small but well garnished, and more extravagant diners can opt for the taster menu - options include four, six or nine courses costing between 220 and 450kn. The decor is polished, and the attentive staff boast military timing.

Opened in 2010 by former staff of the legendary Okrugljak, Carpaccio delivers stylish Italian-themed dining in a wonderfully convenient bang-in-the centre location. For starters, there's a generous list of carpaccios, with marinated Adriatic fish or salmon among the most succulent choices. There are plenty of vegetarian options among the risottos and pastas, and substantial steaks and veal cutlets  among the meaty mains. Leave room for dessert: the house semifreddo and tiramisu are difficult to choose between. Chic black furnishings, reproduction Art Nouveau posters, and a soundtrack of Italian pop provide the backdrop.  There is a lengthy list of quality Croatian and Italian wines, a reasonable number of which are available by the glass.

Well prepared Central European fare at moderate prices attracts a mixed bag of local and overseas patrons. You can dine on the covered patio terrace accessed through an ivy-clad passageway off Teslina; the winter alternative is a massive dining hall with vaulted stone ceilings. The service is swift and the cuisine heavy on meat. Highlights include the succulent lamb; veal and potatoes under peka (traditionally baked in a coal oven); and more unusual options like pork fillets with dried plum sauce. Of the lighter alternatives, go for trout with almonds or grilled local wild mushrooms. It's a popular spot at lunchtime, so be prepared to wait for a table.

The first sushi restaurant in Croatia, Takenoko is still one of the very few Asian restaurants in town worth experimenting with – and although it will set you back a wad of kunas it is usually well worth it. It’s a swirl of mellow mood music mixed with the soft sound of chefs chopping behind a central cooking station. Leafy plants sit in tall vases around heavy wooden tables below track lighting. Try the Tokyo platter: 11 nori makis (tuna and salmon) and seven nigiris. There’s a handsome choice of wok-fried dishes and some truly inventive exercises in east-west fusion, with fish, chicken and veal dressed in exotic spice combinations.

Located in a wooded dell between the Upper Town and the Tuškanac woods, it features a cool minimalist interior full of dark-brown furniture tones and low-key lighting. Seafood remains the kitchen's strong point, and both the baked fish (420kn/kg) and a 12-course tasting menu (465kn per person) are well worth the splash-out. Otherwise choose between exquisitely prepared and presented mains such as monkfish in black-olive paste, rack of lamb or ox tail, all in the 130kn range. It's also a stylish venue for an intimate drink, with hundreds of wines to choose from and a tempting menu of nibble-snacks chalked up on a board beside the bar.

This might be one of the cosiest locales in Zagreb – on a narrow passage among the cobbled streets behind St Mark's Church and the Croatian Parliament in the Upper Town. But even as quaint as this is, the food matches it. This is Dalmatian food with a Neretva Valley twist. Frogs' legs with prosciutto and eels speak of the owner's heritage and may not be for everyone but other choices such as pasta with snails (75kn), the veal (70kn) and baked lamb for two (170kn) are also well-prepared. The interior is faux Neretva village, with stone walls, red-checked tablecloths and dried tobacco leaves hanging from sturdy wooden beams. A meal for two with a litre of good house wine will run between 200kn and 250kn.

The brightest spot on the gentrifying Tkalčićeva thoroughfare, Agava offers a professional and cosmopolitan approach to dining. It comprises a cabin-like main interior and the terrace below. The menu features starters such as mushroom carpaccio at 45kn; a good choice of pastas and risottos from 70kn, and a dozen or so mains (baked octopus 90kn; roast duck breast 105kn). Before your dish arrives, a side basket of warm focaccia bread sprinkled with rosemary keeps hunger at bay. A fair selection of Istrian and Slavonian wines may complement the meal; plums in red wine (30kn) provide a suitable dessert.