So you’re planning a trip to Albania and you want to find out how to travel Albania as a vegan.
We spent 2.5 weeks in Albania eating at restaurants most days, buying food from grocery stores and finding the best vegan snacks in the country!
Is it easy to be vegan in Albania? Yes! But you definitely have to do some research before going, which is why we’ve written our Albania vegan guide with all of our tips and recommendations. We did get stuck a few times where we could only see salads and french fries!
Albania has some incredible traditional food with quite a few vegan options! We ate stuffed peppers and aubergine almost every other day, but it was so good – we didn’t get too bored of it.
We’ll share our best knowledge on how to travel Albania as a vegan with all of the delicious places we found along the way. Throughout the country, we visited Tirana, Shkoder, Theth, Valbone, Berat, Gjirokaster and the coast of Albania.
Note – We update our restaurant guides as much as we can, but sadly places close or change opening times. Double-check online for the correct information!
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Quick Tips for Travelling Albania as a Vegan
- Vegan isn’t a known term in Albania
- Luckily, some traditional Albanian food is naturally vegan!
- Grocery stores have vegan options like plant milk
- You’ll eat a lot of the same type of food at restaurants
- Happy Cow is great for finding vegan options at restaurants
- Bring your own energy bars or protein sources if you can
- Think about renting a car in Albania so you can get around easier
➤ Check out our 2 Week Albania Itinerary to plan your trip!
Vegan Food in Albania
Most of the vegan food we found in Albania, was very hearty, oily and vegetable-heavy! It was quite rare to come across a soy product (other than soy milk) or many meat alternatives.
Some of the supermarkets had a small free-from section with oats, organic peanut butter and dark chocolate. Most of the produce was gluten-free rather than vegan-friendly and much more expensive than the rest of the store (although that’s common with vegan food).
When exploring vegan food in Albania, we soon realised most of the options were traditional Albanian food. We did find places serving wraps, pizza and more international options, but most of those existed in Tirana and Sarande.
When it comes to Albanian cuisine, there are a few naturally vegan options and luckily they are very tasty! The cuisine is focused on meat and vegetables with lots of fresh produce. Food is mostly cooked in olive oil rather than butter as olives grow throughout the country!
Sadly cheese is used a lot in Albanian cooking, so we always made sure our dishes were cheese-less even if the menu didn’t mention cheese.
Traditional Vegan Dishes in Albania
Here are a few vegan-friendly traditional Albanian dishes! Remember to always ask if they contain any animal products as different places will serve them differently. But, generally, they should be vegan.
- Stuffed Peppers – grilled peppers filled with savoury rice
- Stuffed Aubergines – grilled aubergines with tomato cooked on top
- Byrek – filo pastry with spinach or tomato & onion (not always vegan, mostly meat & cheese options)
- Fasule – butter beans in a tasty tomato sauce
- Baked Potatoes or Fries – potato wedges covered in olive oil
- Grilled Vegetables – freshly cooked Albanian vegetables with olive oil
- Wine leaves – grape leaves with rice inside
- Vegetable Soup & Cream of Veg – Cream of veg means blended vegetable soup
Most of the time we ordered a mix of stuffed peppers, stuffed aubergines and potatoes! As we mentioned before, we ate this a lot, every day or every other day!
Vegan in Albania Travel Guide: Places To Visit
So now we’ll jump onto where we visited as vegans in Albania and all of the restaurants we found with vegan options in Albania! We used a mix of Happy Cow, Google Maps and checking menus whilst walking around to find vegan food.
Vegan in Shkoder
Shkoder is a lovely mountain city in the north of Albania! We found some great vegan options in the city and as it was our first destination in Albania, we tried Albanian food here for the first time.
We recommend staying at Mi Casa es Tu Casa. We also have a Best Things to do in Shkoder Travel Guide! Here’s a few places we recommend visiting in Shkoder:
Fisi Restaurant
Although Fisi isn’t the most vegan-friendly restaurant in Shkoder, they do have a tasty vegan dish with a little bit of all the Albanian dishes. We would call it a tasting plate! It was really good!
M’Kanda Gelateria
There’s a few ice cream stands in Shkoder, but M’Kanda is the only one that serves creamy vegan pistachio ice cream and dark chocolate sorbet. Technically they’re both sorbets, but they taste like ice cream! The cones aren’t vegan though.
Stolia Coffeehouse & Brunch
We only spent 2 days in Shkoder, but having a place like Stolia in the city really helps to break up the Albanian food! It’s a popular brunch spot in Shkoder with quite a few vegan options. They have avocado toast, smoothie bowls, smoothies and plant milk for coffee.
Arti Zanave
One of our favourite places for vegan food in Albania is Arti Zanave, which serves delicious homemade food with amazing service!
Like most places in Albania, they aren’t fully vegan or vegetarian, but they have a big veggie menu and we double-checked before ordering. We ordered the stuffed peppers, stuffed aubergine and potatoes.
PURI
Another place for vegan food in Albania is Puri! They serve a dish called vegetarian father’s rice that can be made vegan! The dish comes with salad and grilled vegetables along with a big portion of rice and beans and the portions are absolutely huge! It was one of our favourite meals!
Vegan in Tirana
Tirana is the wonderful capital city of Albania filled with historic gems and amazing vegan food. We spent 3 nights in the city and booked an apartment so we could cook tasty pasta dishes! Tirana has some of the best vegan food in Albania with a variety of options!
We recommend staying in Mosaic Home in Tirana! We’ve also created a detailed Tirana guide so you can plan your trip!
Veggies
Close to the beautiful lake in Tirana Park, Veggies has a full vegan variety on its menu. It’s a little more pricey than other vegan options in Tirana – but a great choice if you’re craving Asian fusion food!
Falafel House
We ate at Falafel House twice on our Albania trip as you really can’t go wrong with a falafel wrap, especially for a few euros. There’s no seating there, so we took our wraps away to the nearby park. The staff were so friendly and it was a popular spot! You can get wraps or salad bowls.
Hanna Corner Cafe
In the heart of the trendy Blloku neighbourhood is Hanna Corner Cafe serving drinks and snacks late into the evening. We were walking by in the evening and grabbed a delicious vegan walnut cookie. They serve plant milk for coffee and have both indoor and outdoor seating.
Oda
After all of the vegan Albanian food we had in Shkoder, Theth and Valbone we chose to skip the Albanian cuisine in Tirana, but Oda is the most recommended!
Fabrika
Finding an ice cream parlour with a big vegan selection was the highlight of our time in Tirana – so of course we had to visit twice! Especially as it was 35°C! They have an incredible range of vegan flavours from peanut butter protein to vegan salted caramel and apple cinnamon! We recommend all of them!
More vegan options in Tirana:
- Happy Belly / Eat Smart – a veggie restaurant serving lots of healthy options!
- Panja Tirana – a luxurious pastry shop with vegan labels on most of their cakes & pastries.
- Gjelber Tirana – serving Buddha bowls and vegan wraps!
- Pizzarte – lovely tomato-based pizzas filled with veggies!
- Green & Protein – serving up healthy bowls with a mix of vegan options!
- TeDuKtu – the best place to get vegan breakfast in Tirana.
- Çoko – a brunch-style place in Tirana with avocado toast and plant milk for drinks.
There are many more vegan options in Tirana and it’s one of the most vegan-friendly places in Albania! Whether you’re spending 2 days in Tirana or longer, you’ll be fine exploring as a vegan. Hopefully, our recommendations keep you full!
Vegan in Berat
Berat is known as the city of a thousand windows due to the impressive hill of houses in the old town. We loved our time in Berat, exploring the historic city and the best vegan food is next to the castle ruins!
We recommend staying at Ariabaci Guesthouse during your trip. Browse our Berat itinerary to find the best things to do in this old city!
Temi Albanian Food
This was our favourite restaurant for vegan food in Albania! Temi serves the best homemade food in Berat with delicious vegan options. It’s located at the top of the Old Town along with the castle, so it’s a 20-minute uphill climb from the main town area.
We dined at Temi twice and tried the stuffed peppers, stuffed aubergine, okra, potatoes and soup!
Friendly House
It’s safe to say we ate a lot of Albanian cuisine whilst in Berat. Friendly House is another traditional restaurant with vegan options. The interior feels really historic and the prices are fair!
Zonja Gjene
Just in case you need another traditional Albanian option, Zonya is a great option. We didn’t manage to eat here during our trip, and the prices are a little higher than Friendly House.
Zeri Traditional Food
At the top of the castle close to Temi, we found a quiet little restaurant with a home-style kitchen. Zeri is one of the five places on our Berat list serving traditional Albanian cuisine! You can’t get enough! They all serve similar vegan options anyway.
We saw Lili Homemade Food recommended on Happy Cow but sadly the vegan options aren’t very good anymore and you have to book a table in advance! We recommend visiting Temi Albanian Food if you’re after homemade vegan food in Albania!
Eni Traditional Food Berat
Similar to Temi, Eni serves delicious traditional Albanian food in Berat. The potatoes are more like oily fries, but the stuffed peppers and aubergine are amazing!
Vegan in Theth
Theth is a little more challenging to find vegan food but luckily we found a gem that made our time in the small village much easier. Theth is nestled in the mountains and is one of the most popular places for hiking in Albania. We spent 2 nights in the village jumping in lakes, hiking and staying in a lovely guesthouse.
We recommend staying at Rrashkadoli Guesthouse and check out the best things to do in Theth to plan your trip!
Gjeçaj Guesthouse and Restaurant
We can’t recommend this place enough! Gjeçaj Guesthouse had the friendliest staff, possibly the best during our trip! They have the most incredible outdoor seating with the mountains as a backdrop. It’s honestly the best place in town for food, especially vegan food!
They do get quite busy in the evenings so we had to wait for a table the first night we visited. We dined with them twice and had stuffed peppers, aubergine, fasule (beans), soup and potatoes.
Pizzeri Jezerca
This spot is one of the most backpacker-friendly restaurants in Theth and it’s right in the heart of the village. After hiking the Valbone to Theth trail, we grabbed a vegan (cheese-less) pizza and rested for the afternoon.
The staff weren’t that friendly, so the service felt a bit off, but it was nice to have a pizza in between Albanian cuisine.
Royal Land Hotel & Restaurant
On the other side of Theth, you’ll find Royal Land Hotel serving a vegan-friendly breakfast and other vegan options. It’s a little far from the main centre, but a lovely accommodation if you have a car!
Theth supermarkets
There aren’t many restaurants in Theth and most of them serve Albanian food. If you’re after snacks for hiking, there’s a few small supermarkets in the village. We recommend bringing any food you want to cook as these shops only supply the basics. We found Oreos, digestive oats biscuits and lots of fruit.
Vegan in Gjirokaster
Gjirokaster was one of our favourite places in Albania and the castle is also the best in the country. We spent 2 days here and cooked a meal or two in our hostel kitchen. There’s plenty of vegan options in Gjirokaster to spend a few days though!
We recommend staying at Friends Hostel during your trip to the historic city and browse our Gjirokaster itinerary to find the best things to do !
Te Kube
The perfect place to visit for a break from Albanian cuisine. Te Kube is a vegetarian cafe serving vegan-friendly quinoa salads and a couple of cakes. The location is right underneath the Bazaar Mosque and there’s a little shop nearby. We also tried some fresh plum juice here!
Edua
Another amazing place in Gjirokaster that serves Albanian food in the heart of the Old Town. Although we didn’t get to eat here, we checked the menu out whilst exploring the city. They have pumpkin soup, fasule and grape leaves along with a few common vegan Albanian dishes.
Taverna
As for traditional Albanian vegan food, we heard some good recommendations about Taverna! Spend your morning exploring the castle and have lunch only a 2-minute walk away. The stuffed peppers and eggplant were really good here and the staff understood veganism.
Odaja
The last spot on our Gjirokaster list belongs to Odaja, a lovely Albanian restaurant with more great vegan options. The stuffed peppers here look wholesome!
Vegan in Sarande
Sarande is the last destination we visited in Albania, so as you can imagine we were a little tired of Albanian food. As much as we loved having stuffed peppers and eggplant most days, we were craving other dishes!
We recommend staying at Vila Marina apartments and take a look at our Sarande Travel Guide to plan your trip.
Green Life Market
Sarande is home to the only vegan restaurant in Albania and we were so excited to dine here. The menu changes daily and they serve food until it’s run out for the day. We ordered the popular vegan meatballs and potato mash along with a bean curry! The brownies are also pretty good!
Te Becqua
If you need your fix of Albanian food along the Albanian Riviera, try Te Becqua and fill up on tasty stuffed peppers and eggplants.
Salad Farm
For healthy wraps or and salads head to Salad Farm on the east side of Sarande. There’s a lot of beach clubs around this area, so you may be able to grab this as a takeaway on your adventures for the day!
Tako Taco Pub
This place was high on our list as we love tacos, but sadly we didn’t get to make it! They have a good selection of vegan and veggie tacos using fresh vegetables and they also serve margaritas.
Meraki
The day before we headed off to Greece we tried a tasty gyro from Mekuri. We would never have discovered this place if it wasn’t for their big menu next to the walkway. They have one vegetarian gyro which is naturally vegan as it’s chickpea, hummus, salad and fries!
More vegan options in Sarande:
Trumeza – serving fresh Albanian food with vegan options.
Rossmann & Lala – a German drugstore with vegan grocery items.
More vegan options in Albania:
Our vegan Albania guide covers all the places that we visited as vegans travelling Albania, but we just wanted to point out a few more that may only have one or two options. We did visit Himare and Ksamil on our trip but only ate at one restaurant during our time.
Himare
To Steki sti Gonia – Greek and Albanian restaurant with vegan options.
Merkur Merkuri – Albanian food with a vegetable risotto on the menu! We ate here and it was tasty!
Ksamil
Papu Gyros – tasty vegan gyros with fries! We ordered one each.
Vlore
Novus Traditional Food Restaurant – Albanian cuisine with lovely vegan options.
➤ Check out our 2 week Albania Travel Guide with all the best places to visit!
Grocery Store Vegan Options in Albania
We worried that Albania wouldn’t be the easiest place to find vegan food, but the country exceeded our expectations! Before our trip we made sure most of our accommodations had a kitchen to cook and prepare food for our meals.
Meals we love to cook when travelling in Europe:
- Pasta with tomato sauce (jar or homemade with chopped tomatoes, onion & spices), plus a can of lentils and any vegetables!
- Vegan pesto pasta
- Stir-fried rice
- Fajitas or bean bowls
- Sandwiches or a vegan deli mix of food (couscous, vegan deli meat and salads)
We usually eat breakfast at our accommodation, have a lunch out and then come home and cook dinner after popping to a shop. Here’s a few supermarkets in Albania:
Conad – the most vegan-friendly supermarket in terms of alternatives but quite pricey.
Spar – a few vegan options like snacks, porridge packets and cereal bars. Very common!
Big Market – a very popular supermarket in Albania, you’ll find basic vegan options here but good for cooking pasta!
Rossman – a German pharmacy and supermarket with eco-friendly and vegan options!
Vegan in Albania Tips
So far in our Albania vegan guide, we’ve shared a few tips and all of our restaurant recommendations! Now we’ll share a few more handy tips that we’ve learned whilst when travelling as a vegan in Albania.
Use Happy Cow in Albania – Happy Cow is one of our favourite apps for travelling the world as a vegan and Albania is no different! We’ve done our best to include lots of vegan options around the country, but if you find yourself in a different location, use Happy Cow to find more vegan recommendations! Grab an e-sim from Airalo to have phone data!
Learn Some Words in Albanian – Learning a few words will help you order vegan food at restaurants.
- Unë jam vegan – I am vegan
- Unë nuk ha mish – I don’t eat meat
- Unë nuk ha djathë – I don’t eat cheese
- ka djathë në këtë? – Is there cheese in this?
- Unë nuk ha gjalpë – I don’t eat butter
- Unë nuk ha peshk – I don’t eat fish
- Unë nuk ha pulë – I don’t eat chicken
- Vetëm perime – Only vegetables
Bring snacks from home – Albania doesn’t have a lot of vegan-friendly snacks, so we recommend bringing cereal bars and other healthy on-the-go food with you. We bought nuts and fruit in Albania but really missed out on our normal protein sources.
Don’t forget to use Google Translate if you’re unsure about ingredients at the grocery store.
There is a lot of olive oil used in the cooking of Albanian cuisine, we like oil, but sometimes it is too much!
Vegan in Albania (Ethical & Animals)
There’s more to being vegan than food, and we try our best to travel as ethically as possible. We used public transport as much as possible in Albania but did rent a scooter twice.
We came across stray dogs and cats multiple times throughout our trip and often bought some food for them. It’s not as bad as other countries in Europe, but it’s still different to places like the UK.
In Theth, we sadly witnessed donkeys carrying the luggage of other tourists doing the hike and it was horrible to see! We couldn’t believe people would let donkeys hike with their belongings willingly.
Is Albania good for vegans?
Overall Albania was a lot easier than I thought to eat vegan food. We definitely ate the same sort of food most days, but at least there were options!
So Albania is slightly good for vegans, it’s not impossible, but it’s not really great either. We loved exploring the country, so eating mainly vegetables for a while didn’t bother us that much.
If you’re worried about protein sources, it might be worth bringing your own food (and vitamins). We travelled with 40L bags and a day bag and managed to squeeze 30 energy bars into them! We were mostly worried about hiking without a good source of energy.
Have the best time finding vegan food in Albania! If you need any more help planning – send us a message on Instagram (@thesunrisedreamers). Check out our other Albania travel guides!
- 2 Week Albania Itinerary
- Things to do in Sarande, Albania
- 2 Day Berat Itinerary
- Best Things To Do in Theth
- 1 day Gjirokaster Itinerary
- Top Things To Do in Shkoder
- 2 day Tirana Itinerary
- Best Things To Do in Krujë
- How to travel Albania on a Budget
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