The best restaurants Tirana

Turn right up Dervish Hima Street from the stadium and you will only see a small sign indicating the restaurant. But nothing else, because it's located in the basement. You should know that... They serve a rather Italian cuisine, some Albanian dishes and very good fish well prepared. Except for the TV in the background and the smokers who are tolerated, everything is perfect here. The impeccable service, the generous plates and the bread that comes out of the pizza oven is a pure marvel! For smaller budgets, we recommend the cheap mussels and pasta.

If you have to try just one address in Tirana, it's "Le Meunier"(mullixhiu, pronounced "moulidjou"). Trained in some of Europe's finest restaurants (including Noma, in Copenhagen), chef Bledar Kola brings a touch of modernity to Albanian cuisine in a rustic, intimate setting, reminiscent of an old mill. It's very good, a little overpriced, but excellent value for money. We also like the gourmet store and details like the cutlery hidden in the table drawers.

One of the last popular offal restaurants in Tirana. It's located in the "bicycle district" (Tregu i Biçikletave), at the intersection of the street leading from the Pazari i Ri market. In the early hours of the morning, locals come here to eat soups made from offal and the less noble parts of beef or lamb. Don't worry: you can make yourself understood if you want to avoid pieces of brain or heart. Sprinkled with chilli and accompanied by a pilaf, it's really good, even for breakfast.

You have to take theelevator to enjoy the beautiful views from this chic, fine-dining restaurant on the fourth floor of the ABA Business Center, an 83-meter-high tower built in 2009. The menu combines quality meats and seafood at more truly Balkan prices: seafood platters from 9,000 to 13,500 leks, Kobe beef at 9,000 leks, as well as caviar and more. All in all, a very reasonable price of around 2,000 leks per person without drinks. Reservations recommended.

This Italian fish restaurant is run by an Albanian. But visitors from across the Adriatic are fans: here, in this basement on the boulevard bordering the Lana, they find the same flavors as at home, but at a much better price. Chef Aldo Trebicka carefully prepares extra-fresh fish and seafood, varied and colorful small assortments, pastas and risottos, a luxurious whole lobster or very simple, perfect little anchovies.

The "chapeaux" restaurant is one of the many panoramic establishments that have opened in recent years along the road climbing to Mount Dajti. The room is huge (around 400 covers) and the dishes are a little bland (small starters to pick at, grilled meats), but it's obviously for the views over Tirana that the local youth flock here. When the weather's fine, the large bay windows open up and you're in for a treat. As the wine in carafe is quite decent, you can have a good time here.

A great address for meat lovers, near the Grand Parc dike. Beautiful, well-cooked cuts, simmered dishes, plenty of truffle shavings, good Albanian and Italian red wines. But the room is very small, and salads and seasonal vegetables quickly disappear from the menu. If you're not 100% carnivorous, you'd better make a reservation and don't come too late. And don't forget, you can only pay in cash here. But Tirana's small French-speaking community loves this place with its bistro atmosphere.

This restaurant claims to offer Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. That's not wrong, but it's mostly for his homemade pasta that you have to come. Located in a small white villa, between the American and Italian embassies, the hotel also offers a charming garden for romantic outdoor dining. At least, the decoration is sober and rather nice, and we will always find a waiter who speaks English. Nearby, Mustafa Matohiti Street is very lively, with some of the trendiest night bars in the capital.

This popular traditional rotisserie(zgara) offers inexpensive grilled meats (lamb chops, sausages, pork, etc.) and fergëse (stews). It has two addresses in the lively Kavaja street. The one closest to Skanderbeg square (Zgara e Tironës by Le Noir) offers a slightly cold, fast-food atmosphere, close to the Tirana Backpacker Hostel. The second (Tek Zgara e Tironës), 250 m further along the same sidewalk, is our favorite, with its rustic decor, terrace and checked tablecloths.

This traditional restaurant is well placed for partying in the Blloku district, as there are several well-known bars nearby. The establishment is a piceri (pizzeria), but it offers a wide range of local specialties: soups, various fërgesa (simmered tomato and cheese dishes), meatballs in tomato sauce, pickled vegetables, salads, grilled meats... It's not haute cuisine, but it's a good introduction to local gastronomy. Another address is on rue Papa-Gjon-Pali-II, near the national stadium.

Not easy to find (GPS: 41.368907, 19.742311), this farm-restaurant is well worth a visit. It was founded in 1996 by Rexhep Uka, an agronomy researcher and former Minister of Agriculture. Tables covered with checkered tablecloths line the vineyards and orchards. Superb cuts of meat grilled on the spot, antipasti and seasonal organic vegetables, estate wines, efficient waiters and a warm atmosphere. Perfect before catching your plane at the nearby airport. Reservations are recommended.

This bistronomic restaurant is run by chef Avri Kita, who trained with Joël Robuchon. There's no menu, just a choice of two starters, two main courses and two desserts based on local seasonal produce. The dishes are well presented and often perfectly balanced in flavor. We also appreciate the work of the waiters, who succeed in instilling confidence in the Albanian clientele, unaccustomed to this approach. Intimate setting, interesting wines, good value for money and a pretty name:otium in Latin means "instructive leisure".

Situated at an altitude of 1,100 m, on the cliff overlooking Kruja, near the Sari-Saltik tekké, the bar-restaurant "Au bord de la montagne" offers breathtaking views over the entire Ishëm valley, the Tirana plain and the Preza hills. Simple, good home-cooked dishes: grills, salads, pizzas, etc. The place is also worth a detour for a simple coffee, as the scenery is so superb. Otherwise, down below, there are several restaurants within the Kruja fortress, including Bardhi, which boasts a beautiful panoramic terrace.

Housed in a colonnaded villa built in the 1930s, this gourmet restaurant is one of the most renowned in Albania. Here, according to the season, the brigade prepares dishes based on fish, meat and vegetables, all combining subtle aromas. A fine wine list is also available. No false notes in this superb establishment, which also doubles as a hotel. Chef Fundim Gjepali also runs the Antico Arco, one of Rome's finest restaurants, and the Agroturizëm Gjepali inn, between Tirana and Durrës.

Housed in a small red house, this restaurant offers refined, inexpensive seasonal cuisine in the pleasant Pazari i Ri district, alongside the fish and meat market: wild seafood risotto, shrimp and pumpkin emulsion, grilled octopus tacos, crab fagottini and, among the more expensive but still affordable dishes, a fine pork chop with honey or pigeon with foie gras. Perfect for breakfast too, with freshly baked pastries and two hearty brunch options.

This is Blloku's trendiest restaurant. You'll find everything here... except Albanian cuisine: sushi, seafood, tempura, tacos, fish ceviche or carpaccio, large cuts of beef and fusion dishes, accompanied by fine wines and plenty of good cocktails, all in a pleasant, modern setting. But be warned, the prices are almost Parisian, with, for example, a large seafood platter for 3 people at 13,000 leks or crab and truffle makis at 2,700 leks. Expensive, but good.

This farmhouse-restaurant, affiliated with the slow food movement, is pure bliss. Lost on the side of a small road beneath Petrela Castle (GPS: 41.255886, 19.846436), the establishment offers mezzés, salads and vegetables from the garden, classic Albanian and Greek dishes, including good meatballs with tomato, and even French bistro dishes such as terrine, not to mention a fine selection of wines from Berat, Koplik, Përmet... And in fine weather, you can enjoy all this on the terrace in the middle of nature.

This is one of those specialized bakeries where the national snack is prepared: the burek(byrek in Albanian, but it's pronounced "burek"). This is one of the best in Tirana. But be warned, there are plenty of others in the city with the same name, which means "burek a la minute". The establishment we recommend here is tucked away in a street behind Skanderbeg Square. All day long, it serves melt-in-the-mouth bureks straight from the oven: classic cheese or spinach bureks, but also meat, sausage or tomato-onion bureks.

Authentic Turkish and Ottoman cuisine is served in a refined setting and attracts loyal clientele for years. Very attentive service and traditional Turkish music in sound. The hotel is located near the intersection of S. Frashëri Street and Brigada VIII Street.