The best restaurants Pelagonia

This restaurant (Македонска Куќа), whose name means "Macedonian house", is worth a stop for its traditional dishes and rustic decor. The rooms spread over two floors are decorated with exposed dry stonework, handmade weavings and dried peppers. Specialties on the menu includeurnebes (a mixture of cottage cheese, sweet paprika, garlic and olive oil), pileški (chicken skewers stuffed with cheese and surrounded by bacon), makedonskla or Macedonian hamburger (minced steak stuffed with yellow cheese). Annexes in Skopje and Ohrid.

The "Couscous" restaurant (Кус Кус) owes its name - which sounds very exotic here - to a French woman who founded it in 2003. She left, but the name stuck. Today, it's the address most often recommended by locals. No longer serving couscous, it still serves tabbouleh (French-style), good pizzas, pastrmajlija (the local version of pizza), falafel and meat dishes. We're not a big fan of the menu, but it's still more varied and polished than most of Bitola's other restaurants.

This restaurant (Пепсито) is very pleasant with its small terrace on the cobblestones of the promenade along the Dragor, at the entrance to charchia. The menu goes to the essentials: grilled meats and salads. The food is good and the waiters are efficient and smiling. What we don't understand, however, is why there's only one restaurant along this promenade, despite it being the nicest place in town. There's just one other tiny terrace a little further along, that of the Ulaf Ste café (Улаф Сте, daily 8am-0am, Sunday until 6pm).

This panoramic restaurant (Аурора Козјак) offers grandiose views of Lake Kozjak. People also come here for its good food, with local recipes and international dishes that are quite rare in the country, such as T-bone, tartare or carpaccio. Prices are a little high (some pieces of beef are over 1,500 MKD), but on the whole it's still affordable. The terrace is, of course, superbly pleasant, as is the indoor dining room, with its well-crafted wood and mineral decor and large picture windows. Enough to enjoy the scenery even in winter.

The Cerera bakery (Пекара Церера) is well placed for a quick meal or breakfast on the go right in the center of town. It prepares the best burek in town. This specialty of Ottoman origin with phyllo dough is eaten hot, made à la minute. There are several versions to choose from: with spinach, cheese or marinated lamb. Going up Širok-Sokak, towards the clock tower, you can test the difference with Bitola's other good burek address: Fresh (Фреш), 13, rue Petar-Petrovikj-Njegoš (daily 5am-5pm).

Surrounded by a beautiful forest, this family-run restaurant (Ресторан Костенче) is located at the entrance to the Dame-Gruev Memorial Park, above the village of Smilevo. On the pretty little terrace are served traditional dishes from the region (including a very good pita), cheese accompanied by pitulici (small doughnuts), grilled meats and meat dishes, salads, rather good French fries and a few desserts including homemade candied fruit. Around the village, which houses the Smilevo Museum, you'll find several abandoned monasteries.

Founded in 1977 by local singer Jovan "Šape" Zdraveski, this restaurant (Ресторан Шапе) is Kruševo's most famous address. Still run by the Zdraveski family, the establishment offers plenty of grills, stews and local specialties like kruševska pita (spinach, greens, cheese). It also serves pizzas, salads, breakfasts and sandwiches. A guitar and photos of the musician's ancestor are part of the warm decor. Large terrace overlooking the street on the second floor. Ski rental in winter.