The story
Cap Aureo is a Mediterranean restaurant at Smareglijeva ulica 1A in Rovinj, Croatia, where chef Jeffrey Vella holds one Michelin star (2026). The dining room is open for dinner only and serves a seasonal tasting menu in the Grand Park Hotel.
Vella is a Maltese chef who settled in Croatia and has overseen the kitchens of the Maistra hotel group for years. He works with contemporary technique and leans on local produce, and the restaurant notes where each ingredient comes from. Gault&Millau gave the restaurant 17 points for 2026, praising plates that put the ingredients first.
Three menus are offered: My Istria, built on produce sourced within 50 km, A Journey Since 2019, a retrospective of signature dishes, and Towards a Greener Thought, a vegetarian menu. A three-course menu costs 130 € per person and a seven-course menu 185 €, and the whole table must order the same menu. Gault&Millau singled out a creamy risotto with a small omelette of red shrimp and fennel, and lamb wrapped in fig leaf with pancetta and anchovies.
The glass terrace on the fifth floor looks out over the marina and the old town. A seven-glass wine pairing costs 110 €, and a seven-course non-alcoholic pairing costs 70 €. The cocktail list includes the Golden Cape, with herbarium, elderflower, jasmine and fig, for 19 €.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
Location