Tirana Desserts & ice cream

Albanian sweets sit between Ottoman and Italian traditions and the city serves both without comment. Bakllava, kadaif and other syrup pastries are sold by weight at bakery counters, heaviest around Pazari i Ri and the older streets. Trilece, a milk-soaked sponge, is on almost every restaurant dessert list and is the one to try first.

Gelato is taken as seriously here as in Italy. Counters run along Rruga e Durresit, through Blloku and around the Grand Park, and they stay open late into the evening in summer, when walking with an ice cream is a normal way to spend the hours after dinner.