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Ragusa Restaurant

Nina Rousseau

The apricot dumplings from Ragusa restaurant in Williamstown.
The apricot dumplings from Ragusa restaurant in Williamstown.Eddie Jim

Croatian

''CHECKMATE,'' I said with unbridled accomplishment. He had plied me with home-made slivovitz but after myriad contests with my former Croatian boss, I'd managed to trap his king. Did he let me win? The hat-down, brooding hosing of the cafe's driveway that followed indicated not.

Thinking about that awesome family I worked for yonks ago, I now wonder why they didn't dish up any Croatian food in their cafe. Croatian restaurants are few in Melbourne, especially given its large community.

There's Dalmatino, the ''Cro Club'' in Footscray and newest contender Ragusa, in a Gothic former bank on Williamstown's waterfront. ''All the Croatians and Bosnians live on this side of town,'' says Sasha Vasic, co-owner with Leo Padovan. They met and worked at Dalmatino and Ragusa buys its Croatian wines from there.

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Ragusa.
Ragusa.Supplied

Vasic left Croatia after the war, working on cruise ships before marrying an Aussie girl. ''I got sick of working for Italians,'' he says, laughing, having done stints at Florentino (before Grossi), Scusami and Matteo's. ''We are quite temperamental like they are. I might as well work for myself.''

Padovan is from coastal Dalmatia, Vasic from the mountainous capital Zagreb, and seafood and meat share equal billing on the menu.

Portarlington mussels are steamed with white wine, garlic, sugo and a little chilli, served with fluffy flatbread to dunk in the juices - good.

''A mate's mum'' makes the struckli, poached pastry parcels stuffed and topped with ricotta and sour cream, drizzled with white truffle oil and baked with a dusting of breadcrumbs; beautifully grilled asparagus frame the pastry pillows.

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Cevapi - skinless beef and pork sausages, simply seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika - are tasty little numbers, well-matched with red cabbage and a home-made ajvar (capsicum and eggplant relish).

Servings are hefty and the rustic dishes are spot-on, such as blackened chicken marinated in garlic and thyme. But things went awry when dishes got too tricksy, like the baby calamari stuffed with tentacles and rice on blue-black squid-ink polenta, scattered with watercress - the ink overpowered the lot. Deboned, twice-cooked duck was crisp-skinned and the sour cherries were delicious but the mlinci (like lasagne sheets) that it sat on were a bit soggy and overcooked.

Go the sides - a cardinal rule in eastern European places - such as skin-on potato rounds with rosemary salt and garlicky green beans. Expect a menu change in the next week with the inclusion of cabbage rolls.

I had fun here. The service was great and the young waiter - the only non-Croatian, according to Vasic - read the table well. Worth a look if you're in the area.

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Croatian food in a smart, wood-panelled dining room - try the brujet (seafood stew).

Dalmatino 280 Bay Street, Port Melbourne, 9654 6584

Katarina Zrinski Restaurant Australian Croatian Association

A big-hearted, low-fuss place serving up thumping serves of meaty Croatian food.

72 Whitehall Street, Footscray, 9689 5866

nrousseau@theage.com.au

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