TAVERNA SHPELLA

Nestled on a small hill off the Vlora-Tepelena road, this restaurant is quite astonishing: you enter through a cave(shpella). Once back in the daylight, you discover a terrace with a panoramic view. On the menu, there's not much choice, but it's all good. A succulent grilled lamb and a host of cheeses from the adjoining dairy: salce kosi (a variant of tzatziki with garlic and walnuts), gjizë (a kind of unsalted cottage cheese), kackavall (a mature yellow cheese). Cheese is also found inarapash, a creamy cornmeal puree.