As my adventures through Albania and Kosovo continued, I set out to explore the beautiful town of Gjilan, Kosovo! Come along with me as I enjoy some incredible grilled Kosovo food, including veal, boneless chicken, and cheese, before I check out some Gjilan attractions!
My afternoon began in Gjilan, a town in southeastern Kosovo, with my friend Erjan from Travel Media EU. It’s very close to Kosovo’s borders with North Macedonia and Serbia, and is also a one-hour drive from Kosovo’s capital, Pristina. We had two nights there, and I couldn’t wait to explore!
Gjilan is one of the biggest cities in southeastern Kosovo and is famous for its traditional restaurants. It’s also known for its unique architecture, which is different from other parts of the country. We passed a lot of markets and automotive shops along the main road our way to the city center, which is full of statues and very old-school Kosovo.
We passed lots of statues and mosques on our way to Restaurant Cuco, which has been open since 1996. In the kitchen, I watched them pound some beef and throw it on the grill. They also make some incredible salads, breads, and the best boneless chicken in Kosovo!
This family-owned restaurant is located in a 100+-year-old house in the city center with a small dining area inside, and a terrace with more seating outside. It’s very rustic, with lots of firewood stacked everywhere, as well as a collection of wines and beers.
I started with an amazing salad with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, and cabbage. We also had a potato salad with local cheese! The salad was super fresh and tasty. I love cabbage, and I love how you always get super fresh ingredients in small towns. The tomatoes were also full of juice!
The potato salad with cheese was phenomenal. The cheese was really dense, like a dense mozzarella, and I could taste some red pepper in it. It had a nice amount of spice to it!
Then, we had the boneless chicken on a cutting board. The chicken comes with an amazing garlic dipping sauce, which was super tasty and oily. It was super fresh and tender!
Next, we had some medium-rare beef, which our waiter sliced in front of us. It was so delicious, super tender, and very high quality. The serving size was huge—it was for at least four or five people, easily!
With our meal, I had some Karl Gega raki, which is the highest-quality raki in Kosovo. It was made from apples and was incredible!
At the restaurant, I met Suat and the rest of the amazing family who runs it. They were super hospitable and they even gave me a cutting board as a gift! After finishing up our grilled Kosovo food, we headed out to explore some Gjilan attractions! We passed through the gold market, where you can buy lots of jewelry. They’re small shops in a small square where men go to buy things for their wives and girlfriends!
Then, we walked to the boulevard to the square in the center of the city, where we saw lots of coffee shops and statues of local heroes including Idriz Seferi, who fought in World War I. Past his statue is the city park with lots of trees and benches and statues. It’s a nice, relaxing area with a cool breeze. The people there were so friendly!
Across the main square is a statue of Skanderbeg. Then, we headed into Papaku to have some raki on their outdoor terrace. It was super smooth, and the place was packed with lots of young people! Inside, it looks like an Irish pub. It’s one of the best bars in Gjilan.
Outside, we passed more bars down a hidden street on our way to AB Bio Farm, a bio food place where they make cheese, honey, sujuk, pickles, and more! They had lots of marmalades, jam, ajvar, raw meats, cevapcici, and more! We met Bleri, who let us sample some fresh goat cheese, an amazing and buttery sheep cheese, and some soft and spicy Albanian sujuk.
What an incredible experience trying the Kosovo food and exploring the Gjilan and its attractions! Huge thanks to my friends at Travel Media EU and Rental Car Albania for making this such an amazing trip!
I hope you liked coming with us to try some outstanding grilled Kosovo food, explore Gjilan, and check out its attractions. If you did, please give this video a thumbs up and leave a comment below. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell so you don’t miss any of my travel/food adventures around the world!
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