El Gancho: A new mexican taqueria in Split

El Gancho is now open. A modern seaside taqueria and cocktail bar, built by a local family whose roots in hospitality run deep in Split’s streets. Mexican cuisine, interpreted through Croatian hands, values, and a lifelong love for good food and good company.

Behind the project are brothers Ivo and Krešimir Kelez, familiar faces in Split’s hospitality scene. They grew up inside their family’s legendary venue Kuka, the iconic café bar and disco on Ul. Zrinsko Frankopanska 17. Long nights, early mornings, music, guests, and the rhythm of a place that never really slept. The name El Gancho, “The Hook” in Spanish, is a quiet wink to that legacy. A reminder of where it all began.

A family that learned hospitality at home

In the Kelez family, hospitality was not a concept. It was daily life. Ivo and Krešo learned from the ground up. Carrying things, listening to guests, watching how a place becomes part of a city’s pulse. How people return not only for what’s served, but for how they feel when they walk in.

Their biggest creative influence came from their mother. In a small home studio, she crafted extraordinary pastries and cakes, precise, beautiful, made by hand. They watched her turn simple ingredients into something unforgettable, and learned that excellence does not need big spaces, only care.

That spirit lives inside El Gancho. Small kitchens. Big craft. Food that feels handmade. A philosophy that quietly connects Croatian and Mexican traditions.

From Split childhood to a Mexican dream

Ivo’s love for Mexican food started in high school, when Split briefly had a small Tex-Mex spot. When it closed, the craving stayed. So he began cooking everything himself. Tortillas. Salsas. Sauces. Searching for flavors that did not yet exist in local shops.

A kitchen at home became a laboratory. Mistakes. Adjustments. Long evenings chasing balance.

“I always loved how Mexican food feels alive,” Ivo says. “Colorful, fresh, comforting. A lot like our food at home, just with different ingredients.”

Krešo remembers Ivo saying, even in elementary school, that he would become a cook. Between them now lies decades of experience in kitchens, behind bars, in dining rooms. El Gancho is where those paths finally meet.

Mexican cuisine that feels at home in Dalmatia

Traditional Mexican cooking is not heavy. It leans into vegetables, citrus, herbs, slow-cooked proteins. It breathes. In many ways, it mirrors the Dalmatian table. At El Gancho, the approach is simple. Let ingredients speak. Fresh shrimp, chicken, veal, slow-cooked beef. White corn tortillas and masa, still rare in Croatia. Salsas made daily. Guacamole mashed by hand. Flavors balanced and gentle, with heat always optional. Food that satisfies without weighing you down. This is not a copy of Mexico. It is a Croatian interpretation of a cuisine that naturally aligns with Dalmatian values. Fresh. Handmade. Honest.

A warm winter place by the sea

Winter in Split has its own beauty. Quieter streets. Softer light. But also fewer places to gather. Fewer rooms that feel alive once the season slows. El Gancho wants to be that room. A colorful corner by the sea where coats come off, glasses clink, and conversations stretch. A place to bring friends after work, to sit with family, to meet someone new, or simply to warm your hands around a cocktail while waves roll a few meters away.

“We want people to feel calm when they eat our food,” Ivo says. “That moment when you finally sit after a long day and everything softens. That’s what we want El Gancho to give.”

The menu: comfort, craft, and hands at work

The menu moves between street classics and deeper, celebratory plates. Tacos, tostadas, flautas, nachos, burritos, pozole, tuna dishes. And two signatures that carry time inside them. Chiles en Nogada and Birria Beef Rib Royale. Slow-cooked. Layered. Built for sharing. Desserts bridge cultures. Churros with caramelized banana cream. Corn ice cream. Citrus espuma. Sweet notes inspired by rođata, familiar yet unexpected. Behind the bar, Krešo brings tequila and mezcal into Adriatic rhythm. Classic Margarita. Paloma. Cantaritos. Naked & Famous. Mexican Old Fashioned. The Mexican Carajillo. Cocktails that feel both coastal and far away.

A local gift to a growing city

El Gancho is not an imported idea. It is a local story. Built by people who grew up here, for the city they love. A new chapter in Split’s evolving food scene, where tradition and curiosity meet more often each year. As Split grows, it deserves places that stay true to its soul while inviting new flavors to the table.

Find El Gancho at Trumbićeva obala 13.

✨ Photos by @lottofsocial