Tirana Cooking Class with Sindi: I’d Actually Recommend It (Honest Review)

What actually happens

You meet near the Blloku neighbourhood

We met Sindi outside her studio at 5.30pm and waited there for the rest of the group to arrive. If you haven’t settled on where to base yourself yet, Blloku’s covered in my guide to Tirana’s neighbourhoods.

Once everyone was there, we went in.

Then the wine comes out before anything else does

Before we’d even started cooking, we were told to help ourselves to red wine and water from the fridge.

The wine is made by Sindi’s own father, and it’s genuinely good.

Sindi talked us through the three dishes we’d be making that day and how the afternoon would run, and only then did we actually get started.

The three dishes we made

Firstly it was time for tavë kosi since it takes the longest to make.

This is my personal FAVOURITE Albanian dish.

Tavë kosi is lamb baked in a yoghurt sauce, though we used beef the day I went.

Sindi said lamb is the traditional choice and it really depends on the season what’s easiest to get.

My group made the sauce, which has no actual cheese in it but somehow tastes rich and creamy like it does anyway.

Next was Byrek me spinaq dhe gjizë.

That’s a spinach and gjizë pie (gjizë is a soft, salted Albanian curd cheese, somewhere between a sour ricotta and a sharp cottage cheese), wrapped in pastry you roll yourself.

I’d never actually made the dough from scratch before!

I’d always just bought the pastry sheets from the supermarket, which felt a bit embarrassing to admit to Sindi.

She showed us exactly how to roll it out properly, and it is NOT as easy as she makes it look.

Her neighbour came over to help out too, and watching her put a byrek together was honestly one of my favourite parts of the whole afternoon.

Last up were bollakume, a traditional cookie from the Elbasan region.

By that point I’d had a fair bit of Sindi’s dad’s wine, so a friend of mine ended up doing most of the work on these while I supervised, loosely.

🍽️ What we cooked: Byrek with spinach and gjizë, tavë kosi, and bollakume from Elbasan. Unlimited red wine and raki.

If that sounds like your kind of evening, book your spot here before it fills up.

What I LOVED about this class

Sindi has a genuine passion for cooking and teaching, and it comes through in everything.

You can tell she actually loves showing people this stuff, rather than just running through a script for the tenth time that week.

The other thing I really liked: at the end, you get a QR code to download all the recipes from the class.

So I’ve actually got proper written recipes now for byrek, tavë kosi and bollakume, ready to make for my family whenever I’m back home!

Our group was properly international too, people from all over, and with unlimited wine and raki flowing, it turned into a really fun few hours rather than just a lesson!

If you want to keep eating well for the rest of your trip, I’ve rounded up the best restaurants in Tirana I’d actually go back to, and if you’re after somewhere to keep the wine going, my picks for the best bars in Tirana are there too.

Things to keep in mind

It’s a genuine four-hour commitment, so don’t plan on doing much else that evening.

There’s unlimited wine and raki throughout, so this isn’t the one to book right before you need to drive anywhere, or before an early flight out of Tirana the next morning. If you know you’ve got an early flight, check my guide to getting from the airport and plan the night before around that.

This class has been running since 2018 and clearly has a loyal following, so I’d book ahead rather than trying to book last minute, especially in peak season. Worth checking my guide to the best time to visit Tirana so you know when demand is highest.

If you’re still deciding where to base yourself while you’re in the capital, here’s where I’d actually stay, in my guide to the best hotels in Tirana.

If you’ve got extra days either side of it, it pairs well with one of the best day tours from Tirana or one of the day trips from Tirana, plenty to choose from either way.

Can Sindi cater for dietary requirements?

Yes! When you book, Sindi will reach out to you and confirm whether you have any dietary intolerances or allergies.

How to Book This Tirana Cooking Class

You can book this Tirana cooking class online, where you’ll also see the current price per person.

Book the Tirana cooking class with Sindi here

Would I do it again?

1000% yes!

I’d wanted to do this specific class for three or four years and kept missing my window, including a whole stretch living in China where it just wasn’t happening.

Finally getting to sit down at Sindi’s table made the wait feel worth it. It’s exactly the kind of experience that makes me confident saying Tirana is worth visiting for its own sake.

The class runs late into the evening, and Tirana is safe enough to walk back to your hotel afterwards without worrying.

And if the capital is just one stop before you head down to the coast, here’s exactly how to get from Tirana to Saranda, which is the route I usually take myself.

If you’re spending any real time in the capital, Tirana has plenty going for it beyond this class, but honestly, this is the one thing I’d tell a friend not to skip.