AlbaniaReview

Mrizi i Zanave Restaurant Review

Mrizi i Zanave is Altin Prenga's farm restaurant in Fishtë, 80 minutes from Tirana, and my number 1 in Albania. There's no printed menu. The chef picks the tapas and you pick the meat. It was about $18 per person.

Written by Xhulio June 19, 2022 / 5 minute read

From the archiveWritten after my visit. Places change, so check before you go.

Battered and fried stuffed zucchini blossoms on a brown clay plate at Mrizi i Zanave

Where: Fishtë, Lezhë, Albania
Website: mrizizanave.al

Here is my Mrizi i Zanave restaurant review. Earlier in 2019, when I was in Albania, I tried to experience as many restaurants as possible to come up with “10 Best Restaurants in Albania You Must Eat at”, and Mrizi i Zanave was on top of the list. Some might wonder, is Mrizi actually the best? YES, it is, and here is why.

Diners at tables with white cloths under a vine-covered pergola strung with lights, as the sun sets over the hills at Mrizi i Zanave

Mrizi i Zanave

A little bit of history

Mrizi i Zanave was built in 2007 in Fishtë, Albania. Fishtë is a village of Lezhë and it is located in between Shkodra and Lezhë. What makes this place special is that one of the most famous Albanian poetry authors, Gjergj Fishta, was born there.

Outstanding food experience

The genius behind Mrizi i Zanave is chef Altin Prenga. The motto of the restaurant is “Think Globally, Eat Locally”, infusing old traditional Albanian recipes with new cooking techniques and ingredients.

Round pans of freshly baked fli lined up on a brick ledge at Mrizi i Zanave

Fli

What’s incredible about this restaurant is that they grow everything they cook on their local farm, even the animals. Since Albania has 4 seasons, the menu changes 4 times a year. Altin also made sure to include local farmers in his project. He buys raw ingredients from all the local farmers to use at Mrizi i Zanave.

One thing that drives people crazy is that you cannot go to the restaurant if you don’t have a reservation, and here is why. Since the kitchen uses only fresh products from the farm, they need to know the exact number of people they have to cook for in a day, so that they can minimize food waste. Can you blame them now? I don’t think so.

A table at Mrizi i Zanave full of bread, cheese, cured meats, olives, tomatoes, zucchini blossoms, grilled vegetables, desserts and wine, above olive groves and vineyards at sunset

Lunch

The fact that the menu is seasonal and depends on daily fresh produce also limits your choices. That is why, at Mrizi i Zanave, the chef decides what the tapas will be for the table. Next, you will not be welcomed with a printed menu, but the servers will present the meat menu to you so you can choose the protein for the table. Ask the server what their meat special for the day is.

Warm atmosphere

As soon as you jump off the main road and enter the road to Mrizi, you will notice the huge farms surrounding the place. When you enter the premises, you will notice a beautiful natural plant ceiling covering the parking lot so that your car doesn’t get hot during the sunny days of summer.

The stairs to the restaurant are full of fresh flowers. The moment you enter Mrizi, you will feel the warm atmosphere I am talking about. Most of the time there is live music being played by local artists. To your right, you will notice a small store, where you can buy products for yourself. You will be greeted by the host, who will help you locate your table.

One thing you will notice right away is that they use both modern and old decorations in their restaurant. That’s the first hint that the food is a combination of both. In addition, local designers such as Thuaje me Lule have created art pieces for the interior of the restaurant. They use all-natural dried flowers to create art pieces that will live forever.

Recently, they also built a brand-new hotel, with the exact same idea, infusing old designs with modern ones. Their design went viral and was featured in many well-known blogs.

Fun activities at Mrizi i Zanave

When the food is done, the experience is not over. If you have kids, they will love this activity. Mrizi has created a ‘train’ that drives around their farm, so you can see where the food you ate came from. Also, you can visit the live animal farm and be introduced to some cows, pigs, ducks, chickens, etc.

A red tractor pulling a line of barrel-shaped cars decorated with cartoon drawings, on a paved path between olive trees with mountains behind

The Mrizi i Zanave train

Cheap, cheap, cheap

Next, believe it or not, all these experiences, including alcohol, come at around $18 per person. Yes, only $18, and you will experience some of the best Albanian traditional recipes. And not to mention their incredible dessert menu. I usually order all of them, and my favorite is the coffee dessert.

All in all

Furthermore, I highly recommend Mrizi i Zanave! If you are going to visit Albania, or if you live in Albania, you should definitely experience this incredible restaurant at least once. If you are on your way to visit the north of Albania, this will be a great stop for food. From Tirana, the capital, it only takes 80 minutes to get there.

Tips for Mrizi i Zanave

Make a reservation 1 week in advance if you want to have flexibility on the hour of the day, especially if you are going on a weekend.
Avoid the 3–5 PM time frame. The kitchen is transitioning from the lunch menu to the dinner menu, and it’s not a good time to have the best experience.
Ask the server what their special meat of the day is. He or she will usually recommend what the chef is most confident of.
Do not go without a reservation. They never accept walk-ins.
Ask the server to explain what’s on your plate if you do not know what you are eating. They usually give you a very detailed explanation.

Did you know that Mrizi i Zanave is my number 1 in the Top 10 Best Restaurants in Albania? Check out the full list here.