8 Best Durres Restaurants I’d Actually Recommend (After Eating My Way Through The City)

I’ll be honest with you, I spent years telling people to skip this city entirely.

Then I gave it five proper days and ate absolutely everything.

And the food? It’s the best reason to come here.

Not the beaches. Not even the Roman ruins, brilliant as they are.

I’ve lived in Albania since 2017, mostly down in Saranda, so I’m pretty hard to impress on Albanian food by now.

This is your guide to the best durres restaurants and what I ordered at each one.

1. Traditional Restaurant Liriada

If you only eat one meal in this city, make it this one.

Liriada is my favourite restaurant in Durrës and it’s not even close.

Proper traditional Albanian cooking, the kind that tastes like somebody’s grandmother is back there running the kitchen.

Here’s exactly what we ordered;

Six qofte (those little grilled meatballs you’ll see on every menu in this country), tavë kosi (baked lamb with yoghurt, basically the national dish), fried cheese, chips, tzatziki and two big beers.

That whole lot came to around 20 euro.

For two people. Eating properly. In a coastal city in summer!

That kind of value is getting harder to find in Albania, trust me. Prices right across the country have jumped in the last couple of years.

🍽️ What I ordered: Qofte, tavë kosi, fried cheese, chips, tzatziki, 2 big beers. Around 20 euro.

2. Pizzeria Terra Cotta Napoli

Best pizza in the city, no questions asked.

I had the truffle pizza and I’m not exaggerating when I say it was one of the most delicious pizzas of my life.

Not “good for Albania”. Just genuinely one of the best I’ve eaten anywhere!

It makes sense when you think about it. Durrës has a huge working port with a direct ferry over to Bari, so the Italian influence here is real rather than borrowed.

Go hungry. Order the truffle one.

🍽️ What I ordered: Truffle pizza.

3. ArtePasta

Staying with the Italian theme, because ArtePasta makes their pasta fresh and you can absolutely tell.

The carbonara is amazing.

If you’ve been eating grilled meat and byrek for a solid week (which happens in Albania), this is your reset button.

🍽️ What I ordered: Carbonara.

4. Trattoria Bledi H

I ordered the Tasqebap with pilaf, and it was absolutely delicious.

Exactly what you want after a morning wandering around the ruins in the heat, which is a very real problem in August (and not the best time to visit Durres in my opinion).

🍽️ What I ordered: Tasqebap with pilaf.

5. Aromë Zgare, Gatime Tradicionale

Zgarë means grill, and that’s the whole point of this place.

Amazing traditional food.

This is where you go if you want the full traditional spread with no Italian accent on it whatsoever.

If you want to actually understand what you’re eating rather than just enjoying it, doing an albania cooking class here was hands down my best food experience in the country.

🍽️ What I ordered: Traditional grilled plates.

6. Mediterran Durrës

Now I have to be honest with you.

I didn’t make it to this one.

But it came up again and again when I asked locals where they actually eat, so it’s going on the list and it’s top of mine for next time.

I’d rather tell you that than pretend I’ve eaten everywhere in the city!

7. Epidamn Restaurant & Garden

Also recommended by a local, also didn’t get there.

Fun bit of trivia though.

The name comes from Epidamnos, which is what this city was called when the Greeks founded it back in the 7th century BC.

You’ll find that history everywhere here, and I’ve listed the best of it in my guide to things to do in durres.

There’s a garden setting, which in a Durrës summer is worth quite a lot.

8. Te Nona N’Durrës

Last one on my recommended-but-not-yet-eaten list.

Homemade traditional food at reasonable prices, which is exactly the combination worth knowing about when everything else is creeping up.

Where to grab a drink afterwards

I’ll be straight with you, the bar scene in Durrës is thinner than the restaurant scene.

There just aren’t that many great bars here.

But Oborri is the one I kept coming back to in the evenings.

I had an Aperol spritz there one night and went back another time for a freddo espresso, which is what Albanians drink all summer long.

Good spot to sit and watch the city wind down.

What you’ll actually pay

Durrës felt noticeably cheaper than Saranda and the rest of the Albanian Riviera where I live, which makes sense as it isn’t a premium beach destination.

Our full traditional spread at Liriada with drinks came to around 20 euro for two.

💡 Top tip: I keep my own guides updated as prices move, but there’s plenty of travel content out there that hasn’t been touched since 2019. Always check the date on anything quoting you Albanian prices.

Most of these places are walkable if you base yourself properly, and the good areas here genuinely aren’t the ones you’d guess from a map.

I’ve broken both of them down in where to stay in durres.

If you’re still deciding whether the city deserves your time at all, I’ve been completely honest about that in is durres worth visiting.

Most of these are an easy walk from the centre, and getting to Durrës from the capital takes under an hour whichever way you do it, which I’ve broken down in my tirana to durres guide.

If you’d rather have the whole trip mapped out, my 3 days in durres itinerary puts Liriada on the first evening and the cooking class on the second.

And if you want to actually get a table at these places without queueing, come in shoulder season. I’ve made the full case in best time to visit durres.

So there you have it, my top picks for the best Durres restaurants.

Liriada for the traditional spread, Terra Cotta Napoli for that truffle pizza, and three more I’m going back for.

If you eat at one of these, leave a comment and tell me which was your favourite!