Restaurant Sophia

The restaurant was designed as an affectionate tribute to Loren’s Mediterranean beauty, and the cooking follows the same line. The menu changes with the seasons, starting from traditional Istrian cuisine and adding Italian flavours, fine French ingredients and local produce.

The Michelin Guide recommends Sophia, and the Palace itself, with 183 rooms and suites, is a cultural landmark on this stretch of coast.

The menu centres on fish and seafood from the Adriatic, and the shellfish is the part not to miss. The Michelin inspectors singled out the turbot steak with prawns, leek and chive-scented olive oil.

There are carefully chosen meat dishes and truffle specialities too, and a long wine list of local and international bottles to go with them.

From Marina Portorož it is about 20 minutes on foot along the seafront promenade to the hotel at Obala 45, or a few minutes by taxi. The restaurant is inside the hotel, which faces the sea in the centre of Portorož.

Sophia serves dinner from Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Book through the hotel by phone, especially for a weekend table in summer. The room is elegant rather than casual, so it suits a special evening ashore.

As it opens in the evening only, plan lunch on the beach or in Piran and keep Sophia for a long dinner after a day at sea.