Dva Elena Restaurant — Restaurant in Municipality of Centar

Several weeks ago my wife and I made a reservation for Dva Elena for our first night in Skopje. Specifically we were looking for a restaurant with great traditional food in a quieter atmosphere after a long day of travel from the US. We were not disappointed.

Our waiter greeted us warmly and we chose to sit outside as it was a lovely evening with a pleasant breeze through the garden. The enchanting family run restaurant is built into a wooded hillside and tree trunks can be seen actually growing up through the decking and roof. Vines wrap around the fascia and posts and warm lighting sets the scene for a special meal.

The menu is expansive and they have a great local wine list. A bit jet-lagged and not knowing exactly how hungry either of us were, we selected the Dva Elena starter. We took our waiter’s advice and mixed the starter up a bit to take advantage of the very seasonal gigantic tomatoes that are at peak ripeness right now. The single tomato was likely over 2 pounds, topped with fresh sliced red onions, parsley and olives. Combined with the Pindjur, fresh white cheese and the just baked garlic bread we nearly had an entire meal out of the starter. Everything was spectacular and the tomato was memorable. A bottle of Bovin winery Pinot Noir worked perfectly for us.

Early on we were planning to pick our mains shortly after the starter but knowing what was in store our waiter suggested that we do the starter and see how we felt after that. So glad we did, it would have been far too much food. After a short time both of us agreed we needed a protein boost and settled on sharing the Dva Elena special steak as suggested by our waiter. It was divine, cooked perfectly and came out on a still sizzling plate. To finish off the meal we were each treated to a glass of chilled Rakija distilled from grapes.

The entire meal was a two and a half hour experience and we could easily have stayed longer had we not just arrived in Macedonia after 24 hours of travel. We chatted with our waiter quite a bit and learned that we had done an admirable job at eating as the Macedonians do. And you always know you’re in the right restaurant when all the other patrons are locals. Highly recommend and do not miss this experience for a great meal...

I heard so much about this restaurant. Even last year New Year I was thinking to visit. Finally I visited this place with my friends. I was disappointed and didn't reach my expectations. I gave atmosphere rate # 3 coz its not like as in pictures and congested. Service rate # 2 waiters are unprofessional, not giving attention, when they realize that we were giving money to live music singer then they are coming around us. In Mk, Pork rib is common dish in every restaurant which they didn't have even it was in Menu. My friend had to change 3 times dish coz they didn't have it. If you can't provide those dish then why don't you remove from the Menu. One of my friend order Biftek (1100MKd) requested to be well done unfortunately when it came, it was rare. We have to sent it back to cook it well done. I forgot to take the picture coz we were upset.

We just enjoyed the music only. Honestly, I amnot going back to this restaurant and won't recommend. Really one of the worst experiences...

I have ordered from this restaurant and been in person as well. And on both occasions i've had an absolutely terrible experience. First day had ordered a Pork Filet Catalonia. The food arrived stone cold and had a hair in it. When I tried calling the restaurant about the issue, no one picked up. The next day, as the restaurant was close to where we were staying, my wife and I tried dining in hoping for a better experience. After being seated, it took a long time and several attempts to manage to get a menu. The wait staff was unhelpful and barely spoke any English. At one point we could hear them yelling at each other in what was presumably the kitchen. We ordered some bread, and two salads. A Macedonian Country Salad and a Shopska salad. It took around 30 minutes before we got our simple salad and bread. And after all this time, they ended up giving us 2 Shopska salads. Would not recommend this restaurant to anyone, least of all to...