RestaurantTopli Val

Topli Val is now run by the third generation of the Hvala family. Brothers Žiga and Nejc continue the family tradition that started back in 1976. Cvetka and Vladimir Hvala first gained culinary experience and knowledge in Portorož before returning to their hometown and opening the first fish restaurant in this part of Slovenia. Just like their love, their culinary inspiration was born by the sea.

The restaurant is based on Mediterranean cuisine with an Alpine touch. They personally supply fresh saltwater fish several times a week from Trieste, Umag, Rijeka, Novigrad, Poreč and Krk. They also prepare local trout, supplied by a fish farm in Kobarid, and game from local hunters, as well as a variety of homemade cured meats and dairy from local farmers and producers. They also devote a lot of attention to select wines and their cellar contains more than 300 different labels.

Another house signature dish is a cream oyster soup in which you can taste the real flavour of sea waves. Chef Gorazd lovingly tends to his homegrown tomatoes, which he uses for his house pasta sauce.

Betting on top ingredients, Topli Val believes in minimal interference in their dishes. A real delicacy is the local culinary specialty, for which each house has its own recipe: kobariški štruklji, dumplings which the restaurant prepares based on Grandma Pepca’s recipe. As the chef swears by using ingredients as a whole, he does not just cut out the finest fish fillets, but makes a stock from the bones, serves the cheeks in a fish soup and uses the remaining meat for the house pâté, served with the amuse-bouche.