Vela Marine Restaurant — Restaurant in Bashkia Sarandë

We chose to visit the place due to the overall beautifull atmosphere and good reviews, even though its on the pricier side for the area. Unfortunatly we had a very bad experience. At the entrance they told us to pick whatever table we liked, but after seating we noticed that we had to wait a long time and not less than 3 tables left due to long waiting times. After having to ask the menu ourselves and appologies of the waiter we could finally order. We ordered 2 cocktails, an appetizer and a main course and clearly stated we wanted our appetizer before our main. Our cocktails and appetizer followed quickly (1 cocktail filled 2/3rd and for the other the straw was added later), but before we could even finish our appetizer, our main arrived. The staff, who was already clearly stressed due to being understaffed, noticed the mistake and appologized. Even though the food was really good, our experience was ruined, also by the fact we had to ask for EVERYTHING (menu, napkins, seafood tools). We noticed a lot of mistakes with nearby tables too and saw even more people leave. We fully understand circumstances can happen and realize its not the fault of the waiters who clearly tried to do their best, but the management should be able to better adapt to given circumstances instead of only wanting to make the most money as possible. Both men and women toilets were really dirty as well, not in proportion of the image they...

Beautiful restaurant with a great view of the promenade and the ocean. We ate in the restaurant one night and the food was amazing and fresh, with freshly caught fish on the menu as well as meat and vegetables. The chicken was seasoned perfectly and the grilled prawns in particular were delicious.The staff were also very kind, funny and friendly. A couple if nights later we visited the upstairs bar, and the staff couldn’t have been more accommodating. We were celebrating our 5 year anniversary and the owner Niko personally found a rose wine that my partner and I had on our first date. They recommended wines to try after the first bottle, and also recommended local beaches and attractions that we could visit. Our waiter upstairs, Imer, was amazing, always checking on us to make sure we were having a good time and had everything we needed, even visited the local shop for us to buy cigarettes (for those that smoke) - we truly could not recommend this venue enough, it had a beautiful atmosphere, great food and amazing staff. Would revisit every time we...

When coming to Vela Marine, you must recognise that this is a tourist trap. Also if you’re Asian, keep an open mind and approach the dishes as if they’re Albanian interpretations of sushi. If you do, then you will not be disappointed.

I sat at the upstairs lounge and ordered an Aperol Spritz, Mosaic Sushi and Dominica Sushi. The drink was good. Sushi was fresh. I would describe the flavours as distinctly Albanian wrapped up in Japanese packaging. The Mosaic sushi was warm, crunchy, sweet and saucy - I think they may have deep fried the sushi for a few seconds. The Dominica sushi more closely resembled the traditional maki with a fusion twist.

Decor was nice, a bougie hippie theme. I had a seat directly facing the promenade so the view was great. Service was excellent. The staff were polite and attentive. Music was very loud! And prices are closer to what you’d pay at a British or Western European bar-lounge.

Vela Marine plays its part nicely as a tourist-focused hangout for drinks & food by the promenade....