The Mystic Rose in Leshë

Trëndafili Mistik or Mystic Rose is one of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve visited recently. To get there you have to enter the Kulë-Vain-Tale nature reserve (there’s an entrance fee) and drive a few miles into the park before arriving at the restaurant. It is right beside a lagoon with a view of the mountains in the distance. It can’t get any sweeter than this.

We were there in early May and it was warm outside. We sat at the outdoor terrace and this was our view.

This is the entrance to the wood and stone house on the premises.

This is the living room with photos of famous people who came to dine at the restaurant including the former U.S. Ambassador to Albania. There’s a dining room upstairs.

These photos are of Diella Loshi who started serving food in her own house in the early days.

You can’t go wrong ordering fish or seafood as these are their specialties and served fresh. My grilled sea bass was moist and tender. Make sure to ask how large the fish is because you may not finish eating all of it. Also they charge by weight.

Here are some of the side dishes we got - tomato and cucumber salad, white Albanian cheese with yoghurt dip, French fries and another Albanian salad.

The bill for two with beverage (bottled water and cola) was about €50 euros. This is due in large part to the fish I ordered.

How to get there:

As mentioned in my article about Shkodër, I had a private tour with Albania on tour with Eddy and we stopped by the Mystic Rose restaurant on our way back to Tirana. Read my post about it here: https://www.travelswithcharie.com/2024/05/shkoder-and-legend-of-rozafa-castle.html

The best way to get to the restaurant is by car because the restaurant is deep into the reserve. But it’s possible to take a bus to Leshë then take a taxi from the bus station to the restaurant. There are bus services between Tirana and Shkoder which stop at Lezhë. Check https://albania.al/tirana-transport/ for details.

Directions from Shkodër and contact information:

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Images by TravelswithCharie

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