The best French cuisine restaurants Tirana

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.

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".

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.

Since 2018, this gourmet restaurant has been housed in a 1940s Italian villa. Chef Dritan Piti worked for many years in Greece and Switzerland. He prepares his own foie gras, which he serves as a starter with polenta or fish, or with a superb rack of lamb. Italian and French-inspired, his cuisine is refined, with an emphasis on seafood: smoked shrimp with pancetta, octopus with brie and peppers, sea bass with lemongrass and olives. Excellent wine list.