I received nothing but quizzical looks when I told a select few friends that we're vacationing in Tirana.
Tirana? Are the hotels still wire-tapped? And isn't that the car theft capital of Europe? My smartass friends quipped.
"Cars don't get stolen in Tirana," I countered. "It's where stolen cars go." Of course there is -- or was -- some truth in that joke, but to me it doesn't make Tirana any more unsafe than say Athens.
A month later we returned with fond memories of a vibrant European capital that became my wife's second favorite city in the Balkans after the haunting Mostar. As of 2018 Tirana is very safe yet remains fun in a disorganized way, and offers fantastic modern gastronomy at unbelievable prices.
Nearly 30 years after the fall of communism, Tirana still remains in the backwaters of international tourism, though that is rapidly changing with increasing numbers of visitors from Eastern Europe and Italy. Most touch down at Tirana's airport; some arrive on luxury cruises at nearby Durres; very few take the highway bus on cross-country road trips like we did.
Those skeptical about Tirana's rise as a bonafide tourist destination should first acclimatize at the revamped Pazari i Ri, textbook example of urban revitalization in which a crumbling, unhygienic wet market was successfully transformed into a chic entertainment hotspot full of upmarket cafes and restaurants, aspiring to become Covent Garden of the Balkans.
Its legions of street hawkers have now been gentrified into a modern glass-roofed bazaar known as Markata e Gjelber, still peddling fresh and dried fruits from the nearby countryside, fish from Durres and an eye-opening selection of fiery Raki. We were looking for a cheap lunch of grilled Qofte before being convinced by the freshness of the fish that this would be the perfect place to splurge on a seafood meal, which turned out to be the best idea.
Restaurant Review: MARKATA E PESHKUT (Tirana) (Location Map)
We both agreed -- this was our favorite restaurant of our 22-day journey through 6 countries in the Balkans.
I don't care for the polarizing reviews on TripAdvisor and Google. Over 22 days we sampled numerous seafood eateries along the Balkan riviera from Montenegro to Dalmatia to Istria, and this upmarket fish restaurant in Tirana was our top choice for its wonderful flavours as well as an unbeatable price-to-quality ratio.
If sweetness and stickiness to the tongue are the best indicators of absolute freshness in raw shrimp, these trio of Adriatic prawns in our Crudo di Pesce would rival the freshest Botan-Ebi-no-Sashimi in Japan, almost relegating to afterthought the incredibly tender octopus, softly blanched cuttlefish and squid, vinegared anchovies and mouthwatering Albanian olives from Berat.
And here's the kicker -- this platter of Crudo di Pesce for two cost just 830 Leke or 6.5 euros, a fraction of what one would expect in Rome.
After a creamed soup of white fish that turned out decent but unspectacular, my wife ordered a caesar salad topped with generous strips of sharp Kashkaval cheese and three mid-sized but superbly flavorsome shrimps that tasted of the Adriatic Sea. The price? Just 400 Leke or 3.1 euros.
And most surprisingly, possibly the best pasta sauce either of us have ever tasted within or outside of Italy.
The perfectly al dente linguine was no surprise at a restaurant of this calibre, as was the small hill of painstakingly peeled baby shrimps. But it was the thick sauce of masterfully condensed shrimp essence -- shell, caviar and all -- that became one of our most delicious memories of the entire 22 day journey. A month later and I'm still dreaming of this dish that cost an amazing 500 Leke or 3.9 euros. I'd be willing to pay four times that price in Rome.
Meal for Two Persons
| Crudo di Pesce | 830 Leke |
| Fish Soup | 300 Leke |
| Caesar Salad with Grilled Shrimps | 400 Leke |
| Linguine con Gamberetti | 500 Leke |
| Table White 0.5L | 500 Leke |
| Bottle of Spring Water | 200 Leke |
| TOTAL | 2730 Leke (CAD$32.1) |
Minutes after a classy seafood lunch at the 21st century glass-roofed bazaar, we descended into the darkest era of Albania's communist past at Bunkart 2, one of two subterranean museums dedicated to exposing the classified secrets of the old People's Socialist Republic. The entrance's roof still bears the scar of rioting demonstrators of the past, preserved here for an extra dose of realism.
Housed in a multi-level bunker designed to withstand nuclear attacks from both America and the Soviet Union, the 1000-square-metre dungeon was affiliated with Albania's secret police during Enver Hoxha's reign, complete with a clandestine backdoor into the bowels of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Filling the austere hallways and sombre rooms are decommissioned wire-tapping equipment and switchboards, pinhole cameras and disguised miniature firearms for assassinations. Presenting various instruments of torture, video interviews of former political prisoners and records of the missing, this exhibition was nearly as depressing as Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Museum.
Gasping for fresh air we re-emerged at the expansive Skanderbeg Square, epicentre of anti-government demonstrations that overthrew the communist regime in the early 90s. Monuments to Enver Hoxha and Joseph Stalin have since made way for national hero Skanderbeg who united Albanian chieftains against -- ironically enough -- Islamic expansion in the form of the Ottoman Empire.
South of Skanderbeg Square is the one landmark that best epitomizes Tirana's transformation, the unmistakable Piramida inaugurated as the Enver Hoxha Museum in the twilight years of communism, hosted Albania's first night clubs and free radio stations of the 90s, served as NATO command post during the Kosovo Wars before falling into disrepair. This was our last chance to see the pyramid in its original grey concrete appearance before it receives a futuristic makeover as a 21st century tech hub and incubator.
Across the Pyramid is the formerly elitist neighbourhood of Blloku that once housed Enver Hoxha and his closest circle of party officials. The tree-lined boulevards now host Tirana's highest concentration of fashionable cafes, contributing to Albania's recent claim as the nation with most cafes per capita, bettering even the Italians and the Spanish. Just one of the things Albanians can thank their old Ottoman overlords for.
For dinner we specifically asked the young concierge at our hotel for his favorite Zgara, the Albanian institution of cheap barbecue houses often frequented by cash-strapped students. We were totally blown away by Berat's Zgara Kaon the previous day, and were anxious to sample Tirana's best.
Restaurant Review: ZGARA PARKU (Tirana) (Location Map)
We would have never found this place on our own.
Tucked away in a middle class neighbourhood west of Skanderbeg Square, this stretch of Rruga e Kavajas is apparently known as Tirana's battle arena for barbecue houses. Our concierge purposely didn't recommend any particular Zgara over the others -- in his opinion it was impossible to go wrong with any of the four or five Zgare within the same block.
Once again we started with the Albanian national dish of Qofte. While these grilled meatballs did turn out well-charred as expected, they were still a notch below the gold standard of Zgara Kaon in terms of flavour and succulence to my biased tastebuds.
After a puzzling green salad with lemon slices for fruit, our barbecued wings arrived with a thick dip of Xaxiq, the Albanian variant of Turkish Cacik or Greek Tzatziki. At 350 Leke (CAD$4) this might have been the cheapest pound of wings I've ever ordered in a pub.
For the first time I found myself having pork, in the form of shish kebap, while downing an alcoholic drink in a Muslim majority country. Now this may sound completely normal for readers from Malaysia or even coastal Turkey, but for a Canadian traveler this was bragging rights territory.
Appetizers of qofte and green salad, followed by a shish kebap, wings, lamb ribs and washed down with a couple pints, and the total bill came to 1700 Leke or 13 euros for two. The next morning we would depart Albania for Montenegro and subsequently Croatia, where meal prices would easily triple.
Meal for Two Persons
| Green Salad | 190 Leke |
| Qofte x 2 | 50 Leke |
| Pork Shish Kebap | 120 Leke |
| Barbecued Wings | 350 Leke |
| Lamb Ribs 0.5 kg | 750 Leke |
| Pint of Draft Beer x 2 | 240 Leke |
| TOTAL | 1700 Leke (CAD$20.0) |
Special thanks to the helpful and multi-lingually proficient staff at Hotel Dilos, spotlessly clean, reasonably priced and located conveniently next to the international bus station for our early morning bus to Montenegro. After traveling the length of Albania from south to north, I now have no hesitation in recommending this small and misunderstood nation to fellow travelers.
IF YOU GO
Tirana is served by a few major airlines including British Airways from London Gatwick. Those on a tighter budget like us may consider taking a cheap flight to Corfu or Kotor/Tivat and visit Tirana as part of a road trip across Albania. And remember: while Tirana serves as an attractive port of entry, the best of Albania lie further south at Berat and Gjirokaster.
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