Žućenica Fest
Tivat's 20-year-old gastro feast of wild chicory — tastings, awards and klapa on the waterfront.
The setting is the town's living room: the Pine waterfront, where Tivat meets the bay, cafés spilling toward the water and the mountains of the Boka rising across the strait. In mid-June the promenade is warm and easy-going, and for one day it fills with tables, tasting plates and the smell of home cooking done in public.
Tasting stands line the promenade, where cooks compete to prove how far this humble bitter leaf can go — from traditional preparations to inventive chicory dishes you will not find on any restaurant menu. Wander stand to stand, taste as you go, and talk to the cooks; recipes here are family knowledge, shared generously for one afternoon.
A jury awards prizes for the best dish and the best-decorated stand, which keeps the presentation as spirited as the cooking — expect flowers, embroidered cloths and real competitive pride among the stalls.
The food comes with a soundtrack: the Tivat city music and klapa groups perform through the day, giving the festival the feel of a proper Boka fešta — local, unhurried and sociable. The choice of žućenica is itself the point: a foraged, bitter, resolutely everyday green elevated to guest of honour, celebrating the frugal coastal kitchen that fed the bay long before restaurants arrived.
Entry and tastings are free. The festival makes an easy half-day stop in mid-June, when Tivat is warm but not yet crowded, and it is one of the best windows into the everyday food culture of the Boka — come hungry and pair it with a swim from the town beaches afterwards.
What to expect
The bitter green of the Boka
Žućenica — wild chicory — is a defining home-cooking ingredient of the Bay of Kotor, celebrated here for over 20 years.
Free tastings
Stands along the Pine waterfront serve chicory dishes from traditional to experimental.
Jury prizes
Awards go to the best dish and the best-decorated stand.
Klapa and city music
Live traditional music gives the day the atmosphere of a classic Boka fešta.
Community-run tradition
Organised by the Women's Organization of Tivat with Radio Tivat — a festival made by the town itself.
Easy half-day stop
Mid-June warmth without crowds: taste your way along the promenade, then swim from the town beaches.
What happens when
June 12, 2027 · 20:00
- DaytimeTasting stands with traditional and inventive žućenica (wild chicory) dishes along the Pine waterfront
- Through the dayPerformances by the Tivat city music and klapa groups
- ClosingJury awards for the best dish and the best-decorated stand
Photos
Where it takes place
Plan your stay
Tivat — where to stay and how to get around
Live offers from local hosts on our booking platform. Nothing is charged online — you pay the host on site.
Booking requests are confirmed by the host; payment on site. Offers come from the Travel to Montenegro booking platform.
More events
What else is on in Montenegro around the same time.
Maslinijada (Olive Festival)
Stari Bar's olive fair — 70 exhibitors, oil awards and live music in the old bazaar, late November.
Wine and Bleak Festival
Traditional festival of wine and lake fish in Virpazar on the shore of Lake Skadar, in the heart of the Crmnica wine region.
International Children's Carnival
An international children's masked parade takes over Herceg Novi each early June.
