Zagreb's pastry scene just got a new entry point for anyone with a morning sweet tooth. Croasan, the family-run bakery that made a name for itself in Split with warm, freshly filled croissants, has opened its first shop in the Croatian capital.
The concept is simple but rare: rather than croissants baked in batches and filled hours earlier, everything at Croasan is prepared and baked on site, then filled and served warm shortly after. The brand bills itself as Croatia's first shop dedicated specifically to freshly filled croissants, and that focus has earned it a strong social media following in Split.
The menu runs sweet and savoury. Chocolate and pistachio are the crowd-pleasers, but the real draw for curious visitors is the rotating cast of unusual fillings that made the shop Instagram-friendly in the first place. Behind the counter it's a family affair: brothers Davor and Ante Matijaš run the business together with their mother.
The Zagreb opening is part of a wider plan. Coffee is on the way — the owners want to pair the croissants with speciality coffee and turn the shop into a proper breakfast and brunch spot rather than a grab-and-go counter. Longer term, they see it as an all-day place: morning pastry, mid-morning coffee, an afternoon treat.
For travellers, this fits neatly into how people actually visit Zagreb. The capital's café culture is central to the experience — locals spend hours over coffee in the city's terraces and arcades around the main square — so a dedicated croissant-and-coffee stop slots right in. It's an easy addition to a morning walking the Upper Town or browsing Dolac market, and it offers a change from the traditional Zagreb pastries like buhtle and šape that dominate most bakery windows. If you're building a Croatian food itinerary around Split and the coast, it's now possible to taste the same thing in the capital without flying south.
It's also a small signal of where Croatian food retail is heading: small family-run concepts with a single sharp specialty, expanding from the coast inland. Worth a stop if you're in the city centre and hungry — and worth checking their social channels before you go, since the fillings change and the more interesting combinations tend to sell out early.
