EBG Rating: 7.8/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️
Sadly basic Croatian caffe bar wares, with occasional bottle options, though they can be unavailable depending on the season.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The standout, a grand old-world saloon decorated with ephemera from the late 1800s into early 1990s, the belle époque, seafaring, Pula’s old tramway and of course James Joyce. A Narrow entrance up steps off the street leads past a corner bar with lounge seating in the rear. Tinted glass panels, varnished wood and brass fittings in a smart, but worn-in space.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Typical town gossip in quieter hours, and lively in the evenings, though during the day the music selection does not fit the environment.

Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Food, snacks, merchandise, outdoor seating.

Value For Money:
❤️❤️
City centre prices. This is not Czechia, the idea of a cheap Croatian beer is long gone.

Description:
Located right by the James Joyce statue, Uliks (Ulysses) is a direct reference, as it is for Pula in general. The establishment city bar with a whiff of that as soon as you walk in, from the merchandise in glass cabinets to its old world wood fittings. A narrow space opens out as you wander past the bar into a rather opulent art nouveau influenced space with tinted glass panels and varnish wood and brass fittings. All a little bit distinctive in comparison to the typical Croatian Caffe Bars which plumb the depth of blandness.

James Joyce briefly lived and worked in Pula, reportedly in the building itself but left a sprinkling of his stardust behind to allow it to trade off – how kind.

Not only is the bar opposite the statue, but also the triumphal Arch of the Sergii, one of many Roman remains scattered around the city, giving it the Istrian flair.

Drinks are typically below par and prices are politely described as ‘central’, but if you’re around the city centre you’ll struggle to do much better for atmosphere.

Be warned that just like many Croatian caffes they permit smoking.

(Added October 2025)