The Adriatic Restaurant and Bar is the Place to Dine for Mediterranean

By Sue Ellen Woodcock

If you’ve never been to the Adriatic region — go. If you can’t make it there stop in for dinner at The Adriatic Restaurant and Bar.

Restauranteur Eddie Banks serves up authentic dishes from countries that border the Adriatic region of the Mediterranean Sea. The Adriatic Restaurant and Bar, located in Crystal Cove Marina on 503 Shirley St., serves Mediterranean cuisine from the countries touched by the sea. Dishes are inspired from the former Yugoslavia, Greece and Italy and some American classics.

Banks is inspired from his life growing up in Bosnia, especially during the civil war that ravaged the region in the 1990s.

Today he calls Winthrop home and a great place to raise his family.

“I take pride in the neighborhood I work and live in,” Banks said.

He’s proud to have been able to take over the space once occupied by the Rustic Table. In addition to the restaurant, The Adriatic Restaurant and Bar also has a full bar, wide screen televisions, craft brews, inventive cocktails and wines from the Adriatic region. With 80 seats and ample space the restaurant is very accommodating.

Visitors to the restaurant must try the Lepina bread – a homemade flat bread made on site. The bread goes great with Cevapi – little beef sausages cooked on the grill. Top it off with Tufahija, a traditional dessert with a baked apple willed with walnuts, topped with whipped cream.

For appetizers there Meze, a smoked Bosnian beef. There is also chicken souvlaki, grilled calamari and grilled octopus. For a great Mediterranean taste the Sopska salad made of cucumber, tomato, tabbouleh, feta cheese and olives.

“There is an old saying, money can’t buy happiness but it can buy cevapi!,” joked Banks.

For the main course try the Balkan inspired burger on Lepina bread, or a seafood stew called Cioppino. There’s also seek tips, salmon, fish and chips and Orreccietti pasta with Italian sausage and broccoli rabe, tomatoes and basil almond pesto. There is also a variety of vegetables either, roasted, grilled stemmed or stewed.

As for alcohol, there are the traditional libations, but their are also several varieties of brandy made in Bosnia. The plum brandy is called Silivovica and there is also one called Rakija. If you’re looking for good wine from the Balkans try the Croatian and Montenegro wines.

“The wines come from the same climate of the regions where Italian wine is made,” Banks said. “Croatia is exploding with wines.”

One wine to try might be the Skrapari, a cabernet sauvignon from Albania. For beer there is Korca from Albania and Skopsko from Macedonia.

Banks is also committed to bringing great new music to Winthrop from around the world. Recently he hosted a Serbian jazz and blues musician and more musicians are planned in the future.

“I like to bring music from the former Yugoslavia,” Banks said, adding that his place is a great one for watching sports, especially World Cup soccer.

The Adriatic Restaurant and Bar is open Monday through Thursday from 5-10 p.m. on the weekends it is open from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.