Tirana Cocktail bars

Cocktails arrived in Tirana late and got good quickly. The scene is small, perhaps a dozen rooms that take it seriously, and almost all of them are in Blloku or a street or two outside it. Several build their lists around Albanian raki, mountain herbs, honey and local citrus rather than importing a standard menu.

These are evening rooms rather than late clubs, generally filling around ten and quieting by two. Prices are higher than the beer bars next door but still low against western Europe. Weekend tables are worth reserving; the better places hold only thirty or forty seats.