To be perfectly honest with you all, I am not very comfortable in posh settings as I tend to eat a bit too “brutally” if the food is good, and you do not really get to do that in certain venues. This, combined with the fact that I will likely not even going to be paid properly before turning like 35 (joys of pursuing an academic career) means that I do not opt for pricier restaurants, both during my travels and back at “home.” This does not mean that I avoid them like the plague, as some “decent” restaurants do in fact have better food every now and then, especially some that specialize in a cuisine or a specific dish or two. It just so happens that Albania is quite an affordable destination, meaning that I could in fact enjoy some of its finer establishments without much worry. You can find a few examples of such fine establishments just below!
Vlorë
LaNonna Pizzeria (https://goo.gl/maps/Z7rpEqGTu68RPgTt6)
When you pay around 5 USD for a truffle oil Neapolitan pizza (as is pictured above) it really makes me wonder whether it is even just to put LaNonna under the category of “expensive” restaurants. A superbly airy dough, tasty and tangy tomato sauce, unbelievably fragrant truffle oil, all for only 600 leks. The same can be said for our second choice of the night, a simpler pizza with salty slices of yummy Turkey ham on top. Simple yet delicious! The service was top notch, as the staff was as friendly as it gets. The whole meal came to around 1600 leks, which is certainly worthy and not even expensive for “Western” standards.
Restorant Tradicional Zgara (https://goo.gl/maps/d98QtfwoLZ5Xtf4z8)
Once again, I am quite confused as to how to appropriately label this wonderful venue. In all honesty, the seafood feast we had in Restorant Tradicional Zgara was by far the best meal we had in Albania, period. If they asked for 3000 leks for it, we would be fine with, perhaps even a bit more. However, we ended up paying less than 2000 leks for a mixed fried seafood platter, perhaps the best plate of seafood pasta we ever had, a large bottle of Kaon beer (the best Albania has to offer in my opinion), a glass of wine, and two bottles of water.
It was not the cheapest meal we had in Albania, not by a long shot, and in fact now that I look back at it, it may be the most expensive one. However, look at those huge shrimps, yummy calamari, and beautiful pasta! Seafood is cheap anywhere in the world, so classifying this gem as an expensive place is hardly appropriate. The reason why it is in this list is because the service was top notch, and no matter whether the food is more than worth it, at the end of the day, we did end up paying around double or even triple the normal amount we pay for a “normal” meal. I should add that it is not a posh place at all, with everything being clean and orderly but not luxurious, which is highly appreciated!
Tirana
Tek Zgara Tirones (https://goo.gl/maps/rAo97mUzUez3fDJ96)
At this point I feel like I can just list some relatively cheap places (for Western standards) and call them “luxurious” or “expensive” just because they are relatively pricy compared to some other local alternatives, Tek Zgara Tirones is such a place. In fact, it is not even considerably more expensive than other Zgara (grill) places. The reason why it is here is because of its extremely rich menu, since if you want to have a decent meal full of meat, sides, drinks etc. then you will quickly be looking at paying a few thousand leks that night.
We were quite tired by the time we went there and thus opted for a “lighter” meal, paying around 1500 leks for the two of us. If we went ahead and got some drinks, two appetizers, some bread, and a bit more meat, we would easily pay around 2500 leks or more. It is not expensive per se, but chances of spending “little” in this establishment is quite low. Portions are huge, and the prices reflect that. Try to go there with a bigger crew to enjoy all they have to offer in one go!
Pastaria Tirana (https://goo.gl/maps/yTLuZ4FCjManxNY88)
Paying 1000 leks to two of the best pastas I have ever had outside of Italy is hardly expensive, but I must argue that Pastaria Tirana is one of the more luxurious spots in Tirana for two very simple reasons. Firstly, we had some of the cheapest options they had available since my mom wanted to try the pasta with eggplant in it as an eggplant aficionado and I wanted to go for a proper carbonara as it is very hard to find it in Turkey. We were both extremely satisfied with our choices so the quality of their pasta can hardly be criticised.
Secondly, the tables around us ordered soups, wine, salads, and desserts alongside with or right after their proper pasta dishes, which was not even imaginable for us for a simple lunch. We could barely finish the serving as is, but I got the feeling that a more proper “dining experience” was expected of all clients. If those other items were added to our receipt, we would easily be looking at around 2000 to 3000 leks for a pasta-oriented lunch. Not that I have any issues with pasta but as someone who can cook some such dishes quite decently at home, this price tag certainly is a bit too steep for me.
These are all I could share vis-à-vis some of the “pricier” or should I say “splurge-friendly” restaurants that I have been to in Albania, however, I feel like I should add a final note here, to avoid any misunderstandings. Albania is home to many more, much more luxurious places to dine in, and tons of gourmet spots to have anything from truffle-infused steak to extremely good-looking sushi prepared using the freshest of fish. We simply did not get to try most of them because neither myself nor my mom was willing to pay thousands of leks for a meal when we know that a sufllaqe or a platter of qofte satisfied us far more for far less cash.
This is not to say that we did not enjoy these less budget friendly meals, we certainly did as some more variety in what we eat in a day is always good. However, it was truly hard to find any dish for which we said that “we are glad we paid four times the price of a decent sufllaqe for this, it was really four times better than it.” In most cases, the joy we got from having “cheaper” food was simply much better, well, apart from the Tradicional Zgara of course, our experience there was just otherworldly! In any case, no matter whether you are after some hearty and quick meals, or if you want to save some cash, please do refer to THIS piece here to find out more about the budget-friendly dining options in Albania.