If you are travelling to Albania and looking for the best restaurant Albania serving delicious, fresh Albanian food then you’ve come to the right place. We found this hidden gem Albanian restaurant on our Albania road trip and it was, without a doubt, the best restaurant Albania that we came across.
What is the best restaurant Albania?
In our humble opinion, eating out twice a day, The Barrels Gjirokaster (or Te Fucite in Albanian) is the best restaurant Albania. The Barrels Gjirokastra is a small, family-run business set on the most stunning winery in Albania. The restaurant is run by a small family. Husband and wife who now have their son run it for them.
Also, lets not forget the puppy Roco! He may not be a puppy anymore but when we visited we were absolutely delighted to see a gorgeous, placid labrador puppy lazing about in the sun. Made my boys’ day!
Where is this best restaurant Albania?
The Barrels Gjirokaster is, believe it or not, in Gjirokaster. It is better to stop at this Albania winery on your way to, or from, The Stone City. It is about a 10minute drive from the old city. Set on the most beautiful, picturesque vineyard Albania.
The setting of this restaurant certainly help to make it the best restaurant Albania (in our opinion!). When you arrive, there are only a few parking spaces and a farm house. When you walk around to the vineyard side you will find around 15-20 tables overlooking the lush, green vineyard. We were completely awe-struck when walking in.
We have visited a fair few wineries on our travels but this was special as it is so small and family-run.
What is the food like?
Another thing to add to the list of why this is the best restaurant Albania. There was no menu! Simply whatever was freshly picked and in season that day. For foodies like us, this is music to our ears. Let’s try it all!
We opted for the lamb (our boys LOVE lamb!) and a traditional platter with salad. We were not disappointed. The lamb had been slow cooking all day and was soft and tender. The plate of traditional Albanian food had all the Albanian dishes we wanted to try.
If you are looking for food to try in Albania then this is your place. We had Albanian byrek, a spinach and feta pie. Fërgesë, a yoghurt, feta cheese and pepper dish. Pispili a corn bread feta and spinach type pie and many other incredible salads. As well as fresh fruit grown from the trees – plums, pears, apples and grapes. Our boys were in their element!
What about the wine?
Albanian wine surprised us. I can be a bit of a wine snob (something that has developed through age!). However, wine in Albania was decent!
Albania has been a wine making country since the 8th century BC. It was one of the oldest wine-making countries. However, many Albania winery were abandoned during the communism reign. Wine in Albania is getting more popular and exported more internationally.
Albanian raki is also very popular in Albania. Similar to Greek Ouzo, it is an anise-flavoured liquor. It is not something I would usually drink, however the Albanian raki cocktails at The Hangover Bar in Gjirokaster were delicious and highly recommended.
Anyway, the white wine at The Barrels Gjirokaster was light, cold and very easy to drink. Unfortunately we had driven there so we could only try one. We would recommend getting a driver or a taxi to take you there so you can relax and try some more!
How much will my meal cost?
Like everywhere in Albania, one of the main draws for us visiting this beautiful country. Food and eating out is cheap. Our meal here – lamb for 3, traditional Albanian food platter, salads, wine and soft drinks cost us around 32Euro for everything. For that delicious food in such a wonderful setting, I dread to think what that would cost in Dubai! We love Albania!
Where can I stay if I visit this restaurant?
As mentioned, The Barrels Gjirokaster is just outside Gjirokaster. So make sure to include this as part of your stay in Gjirokaster. Gjirokastra, or The Stone City is a medieval, mountain town. It has incredible views, cobbled streets, traditional bazaar, a huge caste with wonderful high views and scenery. Make sure to include a few days here.
We stayed at the Hotel Gjirokaster which has the perfect location being situated just above the main bazaar. It is also just below Gjirokaster castle so there is no need for long walks up and down the cobble hills to see everything.
We also ate dinner at another popular hotel in the old town Hotel Kodra. It has a bar and restaurant offering breathtaking views over Gjirokaster and the mountains in the background. We didn’t see the rooms but the dinner was great!
Booking.comRound up of why The Barrels is the best restaurant Albania
- The delicious traditional Albanian food with no menu
- The Albanian wine
- The incredible views and setting
- The friendly people
- Supporting a small, family-run business
- The cost
- The puppy!
We were genuinely blown away by this restaurant. We found it on Trip Advisor and then checked out their Instagram and were so glad we found it. Our afternoon spent here was one of the best during our time in Albania.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post Why this Restaurant is the best restaurant in Albania. Please do get in touch and let us know if you visited, we would love to hear from you! Make sure to include a stop at Blue Eye Albania either on your way to, or from, Gjirokaster. For more information on what we did during our time in Albania check out 10 days Albania itinerary or Albanian Road trip for the Albanian Riviera. Everything you need to know about Albania can be found in our Albania Guide, including Saranda and Dhermi Beach.
If you are looking for other family travel inspiration then check out our Destinations Page for lots of information on Corfu, Kefalonia, Thailand, Vietnam, Oman and Dubai to name a few!
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