Restaurants and Bars in Tirana

Restaurants

Albanians are a social, fun and food loving people. As a result Tirana has seen a huge increase in restaurants and bars in the last 15 years. We have made a selection of some of our favourites offering the best of traditional as well as Mediterranean cuisine.

Chablis
Restaurant ‘Chablis” is probably one of the best restaurants in Tirana when it comes to gastronomy as an art form. The chef has worked in some excellent restaurants such as that of the Ritz hotel in London, which shows through in his menu. The restaurant offers an exquisite fusion of French and Italian cuisine. The presentation and taste of the food prepared here is a testimony that high-end culinary has finally arrived in Tirana. As if this was not enough the owner of the restaurant, as it is easily noticeable from the name of the place, is a keen sommelier, who imports some of the best world wines to be enjoyed here. Specialities like “Surf& Turf” and “Florentine Steak” are absolutely delicious and not to be missed.
Atmosphere: Elegant, Modern Cuisine : Italian, French Mediterranean

Piazza
Piazza was and remains one of the first upper market restaurants to open in Tirana. It was also one of the first investment of this nature in Tirana by an experienced professional in this sector. The owner of Piazza owns several restaurants and Diners in the United States. This meant that Piazza had to offer extremely good food and impeccable service, which it continues to do to this day. The restaurant offers mainly Italian dishes and a variety of good wines. It also possesses a private room, which can be used for private business dinners.
Atmosphere: Elegant, Modern Cuisine : Italian, Mediterranean.

Sky Club
Sky Club is a panoramic restaurant situated on the 17-8th floor of a Tirana high raise called Sky Tower. Unlike many panoramic restaurants all over the world it offers excellent, tasty dishes prepared with fresh ingredients. The panoramic view of Tirana especially on the veranda is an absolute bonus for anyone dinning at this restaurant in any season. The restaurant offers a good selection of world wines. Not to be missed are the tomato soup with a touch of orange juice and the crepe with mushrooms.
Atmosphere: Elegant, Modern Cuisine : Italian, French Mediterranean

Taiwan
Situated in the centre of the Rinia Park close to ministries and the entertainment district The Taiwan Complex offers an ideal atmosphere for relaxation. You can relax at its huge bar, play a game of bowling or pool or enjoy a casual dinner out. The restaurant itself is very Mediterranean with light coloured wood furnishings an open kitchen and “trattoria” style furnishings. It is obvious therefore that the cuisine this restaurant offers is almost entirely Italian based, to the point that the head chef himself is Italian. It offers great food and a very friendly atmosphere that can be enjoyed by businessmen and families alike. This mix is unusual for many restaurants but Taiwan with its charm and light heartedness manages to make its customers blend together. It is renowned for its “Trelecce” a desert made with three different kinds of milk absolutely delicious and hands down the best in town. Atmosphere: Mix of Traditional & Modern Cuisine : Italian,

Serendipity
This is a restaurant specializing in southern United States and some Mexican cuisine. The chef has worked in London for both Maxwell’s and Hard Rock Café known for this combination of cuisines and the experiences gathered there mirror in the menu and show through, in his cooking. The place offers a very relaxed atmosphere, apart from the organized special parties, and has a small outside patio where a tasty Tapas and a cold beer can be enjoyed with friends during the lovely Albanian summer evenings. Do not miss the chicken casadias, the pumpkin soup and ceaser salad, the later the best in town.
Atmosphere: Modern Relax Cuisine : Southern USA & Mexican,

Pirro Mani
Pirro Mani is a traditional Albanian restaurant situated slightly away from the city centre but worth every penny of your taxi fare. It is a huge house, barn style with wood and iron furnishings, fireplace and a wonderful garden for outside dinning in the summer. It offers delicious traditional Albanian dishes in a friendly and quite original atmosphere. Do not miss delicatessen like “Tave Dheu” a type of stew with meat, onions, cottage cheese and tomatoes. Very tasty.
Atmosphere: Traditional Cuisine: Albanian & some Italian

Bujtina e Gjelit
“Bujtina e Gjelit” is a very traditional restaurant both in terms of ambiance, atmosphere and menu. It is a restaurant where one can even explore some of the Albanian dishes, which are normally, cooked at home, such us stuffed peppers, zucchini and eggplants. It is renowned for its roasts on the spit something that any customer of this restaurant cannot go without noticing as the spit and roasting pit are situated nearly at the heart of the dinning floor, making the dinning experience at this place even more authentic. As mentioned the mix of Albanian stuffed vegetables and roasts are the stronger points of this restaurant. Atmosphere: Traditional Cuisine : Traditional Albanian

Sofra e Ariut
Sofra Ariut is an upper market traditional restaurant situated on the green hills circling Tirana. It is a restaurant which is very nicely cured from an interior design view point making for a interesting dinning experience. The food is a mixture of traditional with Italian and Mediterranean elements. The distinctive feature of this restaurant is the live classical music played by a quartet that is almost always present in the evening. Of course food and wine seem to taste much better under such an elegant setting this restaurant offers you day in and day out.
Atmosphere: Classic Upper market Cuisine : Traditional Albanian

Serenata
This is a traditional restaurant faithful to the cuisine of Korca region one of the well known in the southern of Albania for its delicious cooking, in particular its pastries. The unusual thing about this place is the fact that the chef is a women from Korca who really cooks home made food which is delicious and heart warming. The atmosphere is simple traditional and easy going. If you are lucky you may even happen to find some clients who love to pick up the guitar of the restaurant from the wall and sing the Serenata a tradition of Korca. This is really an ideal place for sampling some traditional Albanian food at reasonable prices without venturing far from the center of the city.

Gurra e Perrise
A restaurant situated in a natural site on mount Dajti around 10 minutes drive from the final cable cart station of Dajti Express, well worth a visit. It combines a beautiful setting, with stone work architecture, and a combination of traditional and Mediterranean cuisine. The restaurant is characterised by a huge pond of strema water where fresh trout stocks are constantly added for clients to fish them out if they prefer to do so. A relax atmosphere, tasty cuisine and friendly staff make this a very popular spot especially on weekends when people escape the city’s chaos.

Bars

Living Room
With its famous terrace it is a great place to pass your summer weekends in the company of good music and beautiful people. Situated close to the Parliament building.

Buda Bar
Situated in the Blloku area it is one of the trendy bars of Tirana with an internatonal brand name.

Mumja
A very trendy bar with great atmosphere and elegant settings situated in the main boulevard at the side of the Centre of culture a.k.a “The Pyramid”

Jazz Club Take Five
Situated on Elbasani Street opposite the US embassy is a place frequented by both locals and foreigners who love jazz and live performances.

Sky Club
A panoramic bar which gives you a bird eye view of the recent developments in Tirana.