The best restaurants The Great Lakes

Dalga is one of the local population's most popular restaurants for its fish (grilled or baked trout or carp, cassolette of eel, etc.), traditional recipes and waterfront terrace. The walls of the dining room are covered with photos of celebrities who have dined here. In the evening, with a superb view over the lake, an orchestra accompanies the dinner for couples in love. Excellent service and cuisine. Alternatively, in a similar vein, you could go next door to Momir.

This restaurant (Кај Местоно) is located opposite a pier and right next to Peštani beach. It has a pleasant terrace flush with the waves and serves good Ohrid trout, as well as Macedonian meats and specialties. The waiters are friendly. They translate the menu into English for foreign customers. You can also sip a drink on the deckchairs. Opposite, on the other side of the road, the Dac restaurant (Дац) is more popular and less expensive. It serves Ohrid trout, fish soup and grilled meats.

The "two pearls" restaurant (Два Бисера) is one of the most famous on Lake Ohrid, especially for its grilled belvica or letnica trout and baked carp. Perfectly cooked, with a terrace and a warm welcome. You can even eat here by boat, as there's a pontoon for the purpose. The establishment also offers four rooms with lake views. This is where you can pick up the key to the Archangel Michael church when it's closed. Radožda's other two good fish restaurants are Albatros (Албатрос) and Letnica (Летница).

This restaurant (Етноресторан Св. Петка) is one of the best in the region. It serves well-executed traditional Macedonian cuisine. On the menu: cheese pie(pleskavica), plenty of dishes cooked in earthenware vessels (including tavče gravče), assorted mezes, stuffed bread, whole piglet (to order), formage, burek, salads, meats, decent wines and cherry rakija. The owner's son, Viktor, speaks good English.

This restaurant (Ресторан Билјанини Извори) is appreciated for its setting and the freshness of the Biljana "springs". According to legend, it was here that a young girl named Biljana once came to wash her clothes and, forgetting to turn off the water, gave birth overnight to Lake Ohrid. The establishment boasts a large shaded terrace lined with water and play areas. It serves good traditional cuisine. The same owner also owns the Belvedere restaurant, on the Makedonjia promenade near the port (same opening hours, menu and prices).

Set in a stone house, this pizzeria (Пицерија Ангела) is well placed with a terrace along the Black Drin promenade. It serves not only good pizzas, but also rather successful Italian-style pastas as well as a few local dishes: wild mushrooms sautéed in cream, spicy meat bowls(souflaka) and furnagiska, a variant of pastmalija (the national and traditional version of pizza) topped with pork or chicken. The pizza oven is also used to bake homemade bread. There are occasional evening concerts.

This restaurant (Летна Бавча Канео) enjoys a beautiful setting on the shores of Lake Ohrid and beneath the magnificent Church of St. John in Kaneo. It features mainly fish and seafood such as Ohrid trout, Mediterranean turbot and mussels from Butrint (Albania). The cuisine is quite elaborate, with dishes such as ravioli with shrimp, truffle and foie gras, pasta with lobster, strawberries with pepper and vanilla ice cream. The wine list includes a selection of the best bottles from the country's top estates. Efficient service.

Cheaper but just as well placed as the Letna Bavča Kaneo restaurant, this establishment (Кај Каневче/Kaj Kanevče) has a beautiful terrace between the small beaches of Kaneo and Potpeš. It offers popular and traditional cuisine. The menu ranges from Ohrid trout and carp to dishes prepared in earthenware dishes(tavče gravče, ohridski čomlek, turli tava...). The wine list is decent, without more. But vegetarians will appreciate the wide choice of salads (we stopped counting beyond ten).

Founded in 1995, the "Fisherman" (Рибар/Ribar) is one of the region's most renowned fish restaurants, with a terrace and prices right on the water. Trout and carp from Lake Ohrid are presented by friendly, English-speaking waiters before being grilled. The cooking is perfect. The salads are also very good, prepared with vegetables from the garden. On the other hand, the meats (apart from roast chicken) are of limited interest. But that's not why we come here. In fact, the only real drawback is that it's often full in summer.

Founded in 1960, this restaurant (Ресторанот Острово) enjoys a superb setting, on one of the islands of the small Lake Ostrovo, right next to the St. Naum monastery. Fish specialties from Lake Ohrid and a whole range of typical local dishes are served here. Our tip in summer: arrive early or make a reservation to enjoy one of the tables set up on the pontoons. The hotel offers boat trips on Lake Ostrovo and modern, well-equipped apartments at Villa Risteski in Ljubaništa ([email protected]).

Set beneath Mount Galičica, this restaurant (Домаќинска Куќа) has a terrace with a grand view of Lake Ohrid, the town and Mount Jablanica. It serves good, rustic home cooking: burek, shopska salad, sausages, tavče gravče, Ohrid trout, grilled vegetables, cheeses... You can also have a solid breakfast here (omelette or scrambled eggs with vegetables) or simply a drink between courses. It's simple, inexpensive and the staff are friendly. Otherwise, another "classier" option, in Velestovo: the Bravo restaurant (Браво).