It was in early last September when we dined at Saranda first time. It was interesting that the restaurant's menu covered not only traditional Greek but also Albanian (and other Mediterranean) cuisine. In fact, the restaurant's owner is from Saranda, a resort town located between the Ionian Sea and hills of olive groves in southern Albania, which is very close to the border with Greek. I am not familiar with Albanian food. According to the restaurant, you can see "a certain amount of similarity
in culinary styles" between Albanian and its neighbor Greek food.
Our starters were
Tiropitakia - blend of speciality Mediterranean cheeses with a hint of mint, wrapped in lightly-fried filo pastry triangles and served with tzatziki for dipping and
Dolmades - hand-rolled vine leaves stuffed with minced lamb, rice and mint, served in a creamy avgolemono and dill sauce. Both were very tasty! J said their Dolmandes were one of the best stuffed grape leaves he has ever had.
My main was chargrilled fish and prawn kebab, served with with a side of Saranda rice and green salad. Very nice. J's main was, I think,
Tavë Dheu, a traditional Albanian dish - tender pieces of beef(?) fillet with onions, green peppers, flour, paprika pepper, olive oil, tomato sauce and garlic, cooked with feta cheese and served with Saranda rice and flat bread. Based on my quick online research,
Tavë Dheu is usually made with beef liver and cooked in cray pot although this dish was apparently made with beef fillet. Anyway, J seemed to like it very much.
Their food was excellent. The variety on the menu was great. Our waiter was attentive and friendly. The restaurant was open and cozy. Saranda will be our first choice in the town whenever we would like to taste Greek-ish food. For traditional Albanian food, they will be the only one.
At that time the restaurant was just about a month old and there were only a few reviews on tripadvisor. Today there are almost 150 reviews and the total rating score is 5 out of 5! Great job! I hope the restaurant keeps the high quality of food and service.
