Kosovo, a country located near Italy and Greece, shows a beautiful amalgamation of the west and the east. Kosovo is a country rather known for the NATO intervention that was a result of the Kosovo war that was fought in the 90s. It has completed twenty years of its independence, and the transformation it has shown from a war ground to a tourist spot, is commendable.
The country hosts a perfect marriage of the western and the eastern culture. Its capital city, Pristina, is a major tourist hotspot for those who visit Europe, especially Greece and is considered as one of the most urban metros. From food to fashion, it does not disappoint its tourists in any way. If you're planning a getaway or a vacation to Europe, visiting Kosovo is something you cannot afford to miss.
Pristina hosts several big and small restaurants that offer the localities and tourists the most delicious food and warm hospitality. In Pristina, you don't just go out for dinner, eat, and leave the place, but usually, you stay for a while and have some more drinks.
What you never should do when you want to eat out in Pristina is to rely too much on Tripadvisor (some of their high ranked restaurants in Pristina are terrible) or other gastro-sites. This is a very dynamic place and a recommendation that has been given only six months ago can be absolutely worthless.
In this article, we shall be listing the most popular restaurants in Pristina, Kosovo.
1. Qebaptore Meqa
Meqa stands with pride in the center of the city as a traditional qebaptore which refers to a food outlet that sells kebabs. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the most successful Qebaptore in Pristina and most of Kosova, especially when most of its contemporary Qebaptore declined. Qebaptore Meqa is known for its kebabs.
The menu of the place isn't very fancy and they have instead kept it rather simple, serving what they are best at. They serve grilled chicken, liver, kidney, and their specialty, kofta (meat patties), qebapa (mini koftas), and pleskavica (burgers). Meqa is known for its excellent quality food and warmth in hospitality.
2. Renaissance
If you like traditional Albanian food and booze (raki), Renaissance is near the city center. The owner, Ilir, doesn't have a menu and you just eat what they bring to your table and pay a fixed price per person which includes the booze. It's about 15 Euro which isn't too much.
Where most restaurants managed to reach after decades of hard work and serving the public, Renaissance bagged a position in just four years of its service. Located in the heart of Pristina, Renaissance is a food spot, you just need to whisper in a crowd and taxis would line up to drop you at its door. The restaurant was brought to life by three brothers.
They collaborated with farmers and served the city and people from across the globe with traditional Balkan delicacies. Renaissance serves the top-notch Balkan delicacies. They serve local cheese, walnuts in olives, charred eggplant, which form the highlights of their menu.
3. Osteria Basilico
Like we mentioned previously, Kosovo represents a perfect marriage between the western and eastern cultures. From relishing the British cuisines to digging into the creamy pasta of Italy, restaurants like Osteria Basilico offer authenticity on a plate. Since Kosovo is located in close proximity to Italy, it has been heavily influenced by Italian culture.
In Kosovo, one can find the most authentic pizza or pasta, just as easily as they would find in Italy. Osteria Basilico serves authentic Italian Pasta and Pizza. Osteria Basilico is one such restaurant that is known for the authentic Italian Pasta and Pizza they serve.
4. Soma Book Station
Unlike the others, the Soma is not just a restaurant. Also, unlike what its name suggests, it is not a book shop. The Soma Book Station is a restaurant that hosts a bar, a food court, and an art gallery. It is in an altruistic way, a representation of how a modern gathering hub should look like. The restaurant often hosts several music concerts and special events dedicated to art.
It attracts tourists from across the world for its food and charisma. Soma Book Station serves stuffed peppers with cheese and thyme, mezze platters with authentic dips like ajvar. It serves stuffed peppers with cheese and thyme, mezze platters with authentic dips like ajvar which is a smoky pepper spread, tarator which is a sour curd spread garnished with cucumber, garlic, and lemon zest. Grilled meat is a major delicacy of the place.
5. Liburnia
Liburnia is a traditional Balkan restaurant that flaunts the Ottoman culture not just in its design and architecture but also in the food they serve. When looking for a good restaurant for dining, one must pay special attention to factors such as the menu, architecture, siding, and interiors. Liburnia stands well maintained and is one of the oldest places in Kosovo.
Liburnia serves casserole and homemade bread. The casserole and the homemade bread are a major delicacy of this place and attract tourists from across the globe to taste the heaven they serve on a plate.
6. HOME Restaurant
HOME Restaurant, in the center of Pristina has the best filet mignon, not only in Kosovo but in the whole region! The staff is super friendly and all the dishes are good. It's especially nice in summer when you can sit outside and have some beers or wine.
7. Ponte Vecchio
Ponte Vecchio also have excellent pizza. The chief has worked in Germany before and therefore, it's one of the few places where you get a decent vegetarian dish. Nice staff, especially the owner's daughter who is the most charming and beautiful person. And the prices are really low, you get a good dish for about 4 Euro.
8. Detari
It is a seafood restaurant near the KFOR headquarters. They prepare their dishes from fresh fish directly from the shores of nearby Montenegro. They also have very good shrimps. A little bit pricey but worth it.
9. Central Room
They have a meal du jour which is cheap and always excellent. As the name says, it's in the city center and it's highly frequented. You'll have a problem to get a free table at lunchtime. If you go a little later or earlier, however, there's enough place. After you've eaten at Central, you can go to one of the many bars which are just opposite to it.
10. Napoli
Here you can get the best pizza place in town, just opposite the famous NEWBORN monument. It's one of the few places where people only go to eat and won't stay around much longer. The prices are okay but you can get pizza much cheaper elsewhere.
11. Pishat
There is also a little eatery on the hospital grounds called Te Pishat, just behind the gynecology clinic where they have excellent pizza.
12. Tiffany
It's quite fancy and there are a lot of politicians, so the atmosphere isn't the same as in HOME but the food is perfect. They have some veal in garlic that melts in your mouth. The prices are also above average but still affordable.
13. Etno Kuca
It's a little outside of Prishtina, in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica. This is a place where you go in the evening and eat and drink until the late night or early morning. Very friendly local (Serbian) staff. Everybody speaks English. The owner whose name is Bata is a very interesting guy who is blind when it comes to people's ethnicity. He is equally respected by Albanians and Serbs.
There are some other nice places in Gracanica, too, especially when you like pork. In summer, many places put a grill in the garden and make a barbecue. The prices are also much lower than in Pristina.
14. Gresa
There are two Gresa restaurants, a small one and a big one. Both are good. They have excellent seafood (shrimps) and they aren't stingy when they fill your plate. You won't go out of there hungry. On the downside, there are cheaper places. Near little Gresa, there is a good Thai restaurant which is worth a try and also the decent Italian place called Basilico.
15. Country House
Almost forgot this one. It's a little bit outside of the city, to the north, near a place called Bernice. The place serves very good meat. It's nice in summer because it's in the countryside and they have a big beer garden.