Homemade Food Lili — Restaurant in Berat Municipality

Peak Albanian hospitality! I’m not sure what I can tell you that hasn’t already been said but I’ll say it anyway. We turned up without reservations hoping we’d get lucky since it is shoulder season. When we walked up the stairs we saw a hand printed sign that said Full Tonight. Lucky for us we stopped to talk to Lili’s fluffy white dog and while sweet talking the dog one of Lili’s family members warmly greeted us and asked us to wait while he checked with Lili. Moments later Lili came bounding out with the exuberance of a grandmother welcoming a favorite grandchild home from a semester overseas. Lili asked our names and heartily shook our hands. Lili explained that he happened to have a table with two open seats if we didn’t mind joining a very nice German couple. We told Lili we didn’t mind if they didn’t mind. He then implored us to come into his home and freshen up in the family’s bathroom as my spouse got quite sweaty on the walk up. While the bathroom serves patrons, it was clear this is the family’s bathroom too as their toothbrushes were hanging neatly on the wall above the sink.

Lili then ushered us into his stone walled garden and sat us with the lovely German couple who tolerated sharing the 2ft x 2ft table with us. Lili introduced his daughter who seemed to be on drinks duty. Moments later Lili brought out a small photo board and explained the 9 items on offer and what their ingredients were. We ordered the ricotta dish which was absolutely delicious, a green salad and two of the cheese stuffed pork rolls, which were also delicious. We also had a glass of the red wine made by his father.

It was incredible to watch Lili dart around the small porch with its 4 tables packed with folks from all over the world. The most impressive part was watching Lili call everyone by name. The second most impressive part was watching Lili play Tetris and figure out how to get everyone’s dishes and cups on the small table.

To finish Lili offered homemade raki made from the same grapes as the wine.

This was the most memorable dining experience of my life. I’ve never felt more welcomed by a stranger. Lili truly made us feel like members of the family. We also really enjoyed chatting with our German tablemates and hearing about their adventures. They were incredibly kind to tolerate our inability to speak any language other...

This place is absolutely out of this world, best restaurant experience of my life, normally I say when a place is amazing it deserves 6 stars, well this place deserves 7! Lili is the kindest restaurant host I have ever met, his service is sublime!

It started with calling for the reservation (which is a must, 99% of the time you cannot just walk in), he answered like we are old friends, there were still places available. we had to call back on the day itself because my friend was sick to change it to the next day which was luckily possible, Lili was very understanding and asked about my friends well being (also on the night itself).

When we arrived we found out how personal this place is, the restaurant is actually located in the ruins of the house of the father of Lili, and the bathroom/kitchen are just within Lili's own house. Basically this place isn't a restaurant, it's like eating at someone's home. There are only 6 tables (including a shared table) with 22 chairs, there is a small smoking area in Lili's garden, which is very considerate for the guests that don't smoke!

Lili's explanation of the food was done on a big sign where he explained it like he was giving a sales pitch with PowerPoint presentation, very enjoyable to watch. The menu is very small which is really good as it means they focus on what they're good at.

The food was so good, Lili recommended us to order the egg plant, we both don't like eggplant but this was probably the best vegetarian dish we have ever tried, it's like magic. The ricotta was so Creamy and delicious and both the meats had great flavour, especially the meatball was just amazing. Lili's wife does the cooking and I want to thank her for the great food.

Drink wise you get free tap water and can order homemade red wine, which was great. Some people might be scared of Albanian tap water which is fair but I have heard that Berat has its own water plant which gives the city very safe tap water, so you don't have to worry about this. At the end of the night Lili also had Raki shots with us!

Thank you Lili, your wife and your son (who btw was also very friendly and a good waiter, like father like son) for the absolutely amazing experience. This was an unforgettable night. Thank you for all the great conversations and when we are back in Berat We will have...

I ate here with my wife & my mother while the 3 of us were on vacation in Albania (Summer 2023). At first we just happened to walk by this restaurant as we were wandering through the beautiful historic district of Mangalem; as we asked to see if we could be seated, the owner (Lili) very kindly told us that unfortunately he's all booked for the night, but then he really went out of his way to then get us a spot for the following day, even giving us a personal phone call the following day letting us know we got a spot. And only later did we realize how lucky we were! The vibe of this restaurant is so lovely, intimate, and magical -- it's literally in a backyard, that maybe fits only 10 people, and you feel like you are part of a family and get authentic home-cooked food. We know this because we literally met the chef — who happens to be his wife — after the meal to tell her how incredible it was. And during the evening we even had friendly chats with the other guests, because everyone is seated pretty close together and pretty much gets the same dishes (all delicious btw) and served roughly at the same time. So it really is more like having dinner at a friend's / family's place than a traditional restaurant.

And probably the best part of it all: Lili himself. This guy is unbelievable. I have never had such a welcoming experience at a restaurant before. The hospitality and warmness and empathy he gives is just on another level. We left that evening feeling full, happy, wholesome, and overjoyed that we just discovered the best little "hidden gem" ever. Whenever I have friends who tell me that they are visiting Berat, I say only one thing.... you MUST GO TO LILI!

(and honestly, the next time I'm in Albania at all, I'm definitely...