Food and drink in Albania: what to eat city by city

Berat food is Albanian home cooking: lamb baked with yogurt, grilled meat, fresh cheese and wine from the surrounding hills. Here is what to order, which quarters to eat in, and how to fit a proper lunch around the walk up to the castle.

A practical pick of restaurants in Berat, grouped by the Bazaar quarter, the historic centre and the riverside, with the Albanian dishes to order at each and a note on why spring to autumn gives the widest choice.

Eating in Dhërmi splits between the beach promenade and the stone village above it. Here are the tables worth knowing, what to order, and how sunbed charges and seasonal openings shape a lunch by the sea.

Durrës eats like a Mediterranean port with an Italian accent: byrek from the bakery, qofte and shishqebap off the grill, Tavë Kosi when you want something traditional, and seafood along the promenade. Here is what to order, how a simple local meal works, and where prices climb.

Durrës eating splits between the seafood tables along the promenade and the everyday cooking around the amphitheatre and castle walls. Order byrek in the morning, look for Tavë Kosi and Fërgesë at lunch, and treat fish sold by weight as the one number to agree before you order.

Elbasan rewards eaters who slow down: a bakery bugaçe in the morning, a long grill lunch, a fish counter where you point at what you want. This guide picks the named places, explains the dishes that come from the town itself, and sets out how an Albanian meal is actually ordered and eaten.

Eat your way through Gjirokastër with our own picks: bazaar tavernas and family-run terrace tables worth the climb, the dishes that define the local kitchen, and what a meal costs.

Gjirokaster food is built around qifqi, lakror, Tavë Kosi and oshaf, and most of it is served in and around the Old Bazaar. Here is what each dish is, which kind of kitchen serves it, and how to order a shared table without overspending at the castle gate.

Himarë eating splits into three useful groups: seafood tavernas for a sit-down dinner, grill and fast-food counters for a quick cheap meal, and pastry shops for coffee and something sweet. This guide names the tavernas, grill counters and pastry shops that appear in restaurant listings and traveller guides, and explains how the seafront by Spile beach and the old town lanes divide the town's eating.

Our picks of where to eat in Korçë, from slow-cooked Tavë Kosi and lakror to a summer terrace with live music. Names, streets and what to order, with notes on portions and noise reported by reviewers.

Korçë food runs from lakror and grilled meat in the Old Bazaar to taskebab, Fërgesë and moussaka at a restaurant table, with Birra Korça alongside. Here are the dishes to order, how the bazaar and boulevards fit into a day of eating, what one Korçë menu charges in lek, and the vegetarian options that actually appear on it.

Eating in Krujë follows the hill: the bazaar lanes, Rruga Kala climbing to the castle, and quieter tables behind the day-tripper flow. Here are the places we would pick, what each suits and how to fit a meal around the walk.

Ksamil's best tables sorted by job: seafood grills and whole fish on the north strip, west-facing terraces for sundown, a wide menu for mixed groups and one kitchen cooking Elbasan lamb and lakror away from the sea. Each entry gives the street, the hours the restaurant publishes and the dish to order.

Ksamil eating runs on fish, seafood, lamb and moussaka, served in tavernas that borrow heavily from Greek cooking across the water. This guide covers the dishes to order, the vegetarian plates and mezze, what a beach day adds to your food bill, and how to order without overfacing the table.

Përmet's restaurants cook from seasonal, local produce, and the strongest meals often come from addresses a short walk off the promenade. This guide names the places worth your evening, picks out what to order at each, and explains how to choose between a quick local lunch and a long dinner.

Përmet food is built around gliko spoon sweet, fruit preserves, raki and wine, with byrek, goat meat and kebabs sold at the riverside stands below Katiu Bridge. Here is what each dish is, how gliko is made, why the fruit lists differ, and how to order without guesswork.

Pogradec eats around one long table: lake fish, family grills and pizza, most of it within fifteen minutes' walk of the centre. Here are the places worth planning an evening around, with streets, walk times and what to order.

Saranda's best eating splits three ways: seafood near the port, grilled meat in family tavernas and traditional Albanian cooking in the quieter streets. This guide names the places worth your evening, what to order at each, which neighbourhood they sit in and what a meal typically costs per person.

Saranda eats around fish and seafood first, with grilled lamb, Italian-style pizza and pasta, and slow-cooked Albanian taverna dishes filling out the menu. Here is what to look for, how a seafood meal is built, and where the eating happens.

Shkodër's best eating is organised around a handful of local dishes rather than a list of famous addresses. This guide sets out what to order, which kind of place serves it, what a meal costs and how to handle breakfast, vegetables and desserts.

Shkodër eating splits into two rhythms: a slow sit-down meal of lake fish or grilled meat at a traditional taverna, or a fast bakery and grill lunch between the old town and Rozafa Castle. This guide covers the dishes to look for across the city, how to order and pay, and how to fit food around a day of sightseeing.

Our picks of the best restaurants in Tirana, grouped by what you actually want on the night: traditional Albanian cooking, zgaras, pizza, seafood, truffles, burgers and vegetarian plates, with what to order and which area each place sits in.

Tirana's café culture runs from morning espresso to late-evening chats, with Blloku as its hub. Here are the named cafés to know, what to order and how a long sit fits around sightseeing.

Tirana food is Albanian cooking with Mediterranean, Ottoman and Balkan roots, plus plenty of Italian and Greek options. This guide covers the dishes to order first, how byrek bakeries and grill houses work, and how to fit eating into a day around Skanderbeg Square and the New Bazaar.

Tirana's street food runs from flaky byrek and pita-wrapped souvlaki to falafel and grilled plates. Here is what each one is, which neighbourhood to head for and how to time a quick meal around sightseeing.

Vlorë rewards a little planning at dinner time: pick the area that matches your evening, then choose between seafood on the water, spit-roast meat in the centre or traditional cooking on the side streets. These are our picks, with the dishes to order and the booking quirks worth knowing.

Vlorë eats simply and well: warm byrek in the morning, an espresso you linger over, grilled sardines or calamari later, and a market street behind the fishmongers. Here are the dishes worth ordering, the zones where they turn up, and rough price bands so you know what a meal should look like.

Albanian food blends Mediterranean produce with Turkish and Balkan influences, and the menu shifts between mountain towns and the coast. Here are the dishes to order first, how a meal is structured, what to ask for as a vegetarian, and where farm-to-fork cooking and family-run restaurants fit in.

An Albanian breakfast is a savoury spread, not a single dish: flaky byrek, warm petulla, eggs with peppers, Fërgesë, fresh cheese, olives, whole-fruit gliko and small cups of strong coffee. Here is what each item is, how the table is shared, and how to order a sit-down spread or grab a bakery breakfast before an early start.

Albanian coffee comes in two registers: kafe turke, boiled in a small xhezve with the sugar set during brewing, and the Italian-style espresso bar. Here is how each drink is made, what to ask for, and how café sitting works.

Albanian desserts are built on syrup and sugar rather than cream: revani sponge soaked in lemon and vanilla syrup, dense tespixhe, and crisp kadaif. Here is how each one is made, how it is served with coffee, and which to choose when you want something light and which when you want something rich.

Albanian olive oil rests on the Kalinjot olive, a native variety grown mainly around Vlorë and Fier. This guide covers how the oil is made, what it tastes like, how to choose a bottle from a small producer, and how to get it home.

Albanian raki is a clear, unflavoured fruit brandy, usually between about 40 and 55 per cent alcohol. This guide covers how it is distilled, what each region makes it from, the difference from Turkish rakı, and how to sip it politely when a host pours you a glass.

Albanian street food is built on pastry, fried dough and small bakery counters: byrek, lakror and petulla eaten standing up or on the move. Here is what each one is, how it is sold, where to find it in Tirana and what to drink with it.

Byrek is a savoury filo pie built from paper-thin layers of dough around a filling of cheese, spinach, meat, leek or pumpkin, baked in a round pan and cut into wedges. It is everyday food in Albania, sold by the slice and served warm or at room temperature. Here is how the naming works and what to expect from a counter.

Fërgesë is a traditional Albanian dish of peppers, tomato and salted cheese from the Tirana to Elbasan area. Learn what it is, how it is made, how it is served and which Tirana restaurants list it.

Flija is a highland Albanian dish built from thin batter layers cooked one at a time and brushed with butter and yoghurt. Here is how the saç method works, why it takes hours, how it is served and how it differs from byrek.

Qifqi is a baked rice dish from Gjirokastër: boiled rice mixed with eggs, dried mint and black pepper, browned in the hollows of a purpose-made copper pan. This guide covers what goes into it, how the pan is hammered and tinned by hand, what the texture is like, and how to look for it while you are in town.

Qofte is a spiced, flattened meatball of minced beef or lamb, bound with bread and onion and seasoned with mint, oregano and paprika. It is fried for a crust or baked as round balls, and served with salad, yoghurt, bread or a glass of dhallë at breakfast.

Tavë kosi is a baked casserole of lamb and rice under a set yoghurt-and-egg topping, often called Albania's national dish. Here is what it contains, how it is cooked, why it is also called Elbasan tava, and what to expect when you order it in Albania.

Trileçe is a light sponge cake soaked in three milks and finished with whipped cream, usually with a caramel layer on top. Here is what goes into it, why the caramel sets the Balkan version apart from Latin American tres leches, how the cake is assembled step by step, and where it fits among Albanian desserts.