Looking for somewhere tasty to eat this month? Here are a selection of some of my favourites!
Chakra Jone
I adore Indian food but it can be quite difficult to get a good quality Indian outside of India, or the UK! Chakra Jone is the only Indian restaurant in Albania (correct me if I am wrong) and I must say I was a little dubious about what sort of level of authenticity to expect. We turned up on a Saturday evening with empty bellies and open minds and sat down to peruse the menu. They have all the usual suspects on offer- butter chicken, tikka masala, paneer, rogan josh, naan, and a lot of things I wasn’t familiar with. We ordered a selection of starters and a selection of main course dishes, as I was unable to choose and my partner has never tried Indian food before!
The starters consisted of bhajis, dips, pakora, samosas and bits and bobs of fried veg and meat. Accompanied by two sauces it was a delicious way to start the meal. The mains were delicious as well- creamy and perfectly spiced butter chicken and a lamb rogan josh that I never wanted to end. I was extremely happy with my Indian food fix and I cannot wait to visit again to check out more on the menu. Fresh ingredients, mouth-watering spices, and very friendly service- I couldn’t find many faults! The restaurant is beautifully decorated in bright colours and fabrics and the staff were polite and smiley. This is not the cheapest restaurant but it is still great value for what you get. They offer delivery as well!
The Arabic Restaurant
What was once Yasmine’s and situated next to ETC has now been rebranded and moved out to behind the Ministry for Foreign affairs. Serving up authentic Arabic food, The Arabic Restaurant has been one of my go-to’s for a long time now. The restaurant itself is nothing fancy inside, but the food is to die for- colourful, healthy, plentiful and well priced, it always hits the spot for me and I look forward to each meal I have there. I recommend the bright pink hummus-like dip made from beetroot, any of the grilled meats, and their selection of salads. If you are looking for a hummus fix, then this is a place to check out! You can eat in or order through Baboon.
Gjakova
If I have friends coming from abroad or out of town and I want to give them a food feeding, then I always suggest Gjakova. Situated on the outskirts of Blloku near the Dinamo Stadium, Gjakova serves up unashamedly big portions of meat, Albanian cheese, veg, and salad that will satiate your appetite to the point that you cannot move. The service is always very good and the staff are very friendly and tolerate my bad attempts at ordering in Albanian! They have a great wine selection as well including my favourite, Nurellari which goes perfectly with pretty much everything on the menu. If you are hungry, hungover, or looking for a big dose of food that will fill you up and make you happy, Gjakova will make you happy.
Pavarotti
What constitutes as a “good” or “amazing” pizza, I find is as subjective as someone’s favourite colour but one of the consistent winners in my eyes, is Pavarotti. Located a stones throw from the Artificial Lake, Pavarotti will fill you full of doughy goodness and then you can go and burn it off with a brisk stroll around the lake before falling into a 12-hour food coma. The pizza’s here are excellent- the dough is just that right mixture of chewy, light, and puffy, and the toppings are quintessentially Italian and combined with some kind of alchemy at the hands of the chef. Not too much tomato, just the right amount of cheese, and a whole lot of “wow”, I blame Pavarotti for at least 1kg of weight gain over the last year.
InPuglia
Sticking with an Italian theme, InPuglia in the heart of block serves up some splendid seafood and Italian dishes at pretty good prices. The restaurant itself is airy and nicely designed and the menu is authentically Italian and delicious. I had some TO DIE FOR calamari here followed by Tiramisu and washed down with some lovely Pinot Grigio. If you are looking for an Italian fix at reasonable prices in Tirana then get yourself a table at InPuglia.
This article was originally published on The Balkanista.
