Shkodra Food Tasting: 20 Traditional Northern Dishes with Bleona
Sit at Bleona's table in Shkodra and work through 20 traditional northern Albanian dishes, cooked by a woman who has been making them for 30 years. €33 per person, wine and raki included.
Tour Overview
This is home cooking, not a restaurant. Bleona makes the food of Shkodra and the north the way it has always been made, and you eat it at her table as each dish comes out of the kitchen. There are 20 dishes in all, including Tave krapi, the local carp baked with dried plums and grape vinegar, plus jahni, jufka and flija, the slow layered pastry of the mountains.
Is it good for families and groups? Yes. It is a shared table, relaxed and friendly, and Bleona walks you through each dish as you go. Local Shkodran wine and homemade raki come with the meal. Tell us in advance and she will cook a vegetarian version, with 24 hours’ notice.
Why do this? Because it is the kind of meal you cannot book in a normal restaurant. If you want to understand northern Albania, you do it at a table like this. It pairs well with a day in Shkodra and the castle, lake and old town nearby.
Day Trip Itinerary
Stop 1: Arrive & cold opening
14:00Welcome raki at Bleona’s table, then the first plates — pickled vegetables, three local cheeses, cured meats, olives and bread.
Stop 2: Warm starters
14:45Jufka tossed with butter, petulla with white honey, and a fërgesë in a clay pot.
Stop 3: The lake course
15:15Tavë krapi — carp baked with dried plums and grape vinegar — or lake eel with rice, whichever Bleona is cooking that day.
Stop 4: Meat course & flija
16:00Shkodran jahni (slow-braised lamb or beef in a dried-plum-and-vinegar sauce) with flija baked over open flame, plus a round of roast peppers and cornbread.
Stop 5: Sweets, coffee & final raki
17:00Petulla with grape preserves, trilece, hallvë and Turkish coffee, then a final raki and recipe cards before you walk back to your hotel.
What's Included
What's Not Included
Price & Booking Details
Pricing coming soon.
Booking: Request to book
Meeting Point, Pickup & Logistics
Transportation: Walking
Bleona — your guide for the day
Home cook & host — 30 years of northern Albanian cooking
Who This Tour Is Best For
Best for couples, foodies, and slow travelers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it really 20 dishes?
Yes — served progressively across the afternoon: small plates at the start, big plates in the middle (lake fish, Shkodran jahni, flija), sweets at the end. You do not finish everything; you taste everything.
What's the headline dish?
Tavë krapi — whole Lake Shkodra carp baked with dried plums, garlic and grape vinegar. It is the dish that defines Shkodran cooking and the one most guests message about afterwards. Lake eel with rice is the alternate when carp is not running.
Is there a vegetarian version?
Yes, on 24 hours’ notice, properly cooked from separate ingredients — jufka, fërgesë, flija without meat, roast peppers, byrek with greens, cheeses and sweets. Vegan is harder because northern Albanian food leans heavily on dairy; ask at booking.
Are wine and raki really included?
Yes — local Shkodran wine and Bleona’s family raki at the table throughout the meal. Extra bottles to take home are available to purchase.
Can I do this as a day trip from Tirana?
Technically yes, but it is tight — a two-hour drive each way plus 3.5 hours at the table makes a long day. Staying overnight in Shkodra, or pairing with the Koman Lake / Shala River trip, is the strong recommendation.
How long is the meal?
About 3.5 hours at the table. Most groups stay longer because nobody is rushing you out for a next seating.
What language is the tasting in?
English. Italian, German or Spanish may be available on request for private bookings — ask when you book.
How much does the Shkodra food tasting cost?
The tasting costs €33 per person for all 20 dishes, with local wine and raki included. You sit at Bleona’s table and eat your way through northern Albania in about two hours; come hungry and skip lunch. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Verified Customer Reviews
Customer reviews coming soon.
