Where to eat in Virpazar

Three fish come out of this lake in commercial quantities: carp (šaran), bleak (ukljeva) and eel (jegulja). If a menu offers sea bass and salmon alongside them, that tells you where the kitchen's attention is.

Carp is the signature dish, usually grilled whole or baked with prunes in the Crmnica style — a genuinely old recipe and better than it sounds. Bleak is small, salted and dried or fried whole; it arrives as a plate of crisp little fish and is the best thing to eat with a cold beer at 15:00. Smoked eel is an acquired taste but an authentic one.

• Grilled carp — ask for it na žaru, whole, with blitva (chard and potato).
• Ukljeva — dried or fried bleak, the classic lake snack.
• Smoked eel — strong, oily, excellent with vranac.
• Njeguški pršut and cheese — the standard starter, from the mountains above Kotor.
• Crmnica vranac — the local red, dark and tannic; ask for a house carafe.

Virpazar has perhaps eight places worth eating at, most clustered around the bridges and the square. The differences are small and the standard is decent across the board, so choose on practical grounds rather than agonising over rankings.

Terraces over the water are the obvious draw and worth it in the evening. At lunchtime in July they are also the hottest seats in the village — the tables set back under the plane trees are more comfortable. Kitchens slow down noticeably between 13:00 and 14:30 when the morning boats return all at once; either eat at 12:00 or wait until 15:00.

Crmnica is Montenegro's oldest and most respected wine district, and it begins immediately behind Virpazar. Several family cellars in Godinje, Boljevići and Limljani receive visitors without an appointment for a few euros a tasting, often with home-cured meat included.

Godinje in particular is worth the fifteen-minute drive: a stone village of interconnected houses with vaulted cellars underneath, still farmed. It is also the natural turning point for a guided e-bike tour from the village if you would rather not drive after tasting.

• Several places are cash-only or take cards reluctantly. Bring euros.
• Reserve for dinner in July and August, especially for a waterside table.
• Portions are large; two starters and one fish between two people is a normal order.
• Vegetarians are catered for adequately but not imaginatively — expect grilled vegetables, cheese, beans and salads.
• Kitchens generally serve until 22:00, later on weekends.