Çka Ka Qëllu

I am writing this review based on my experience from the Manhattan location of this Albanian restaurant, and let me tell you, this place is phenomenal. I am Albanian, born here in the States, but I lived in Albania for a while, and then came back here and have lived here most of my life. I consider myself a culinary aficionado and have a lot of experience with all sorts of cuisines, especially of course, Albanian cuisine, and I must say this is arguably the best Albanian restaurant I have ever been to in my life. Yes you heard that this place has better food than pretty much any Albanian restaurant in Albania I've been to, and I've been to some really fantastic restaurants in Albania.

This place isn't pretentious, nor does it try to pretend it serves anything other than truly authentic Albanian food. It sells extremely delicious food made by the freshest ingredients and served appropriately (the Albanian traditional way). Portion sizes are on point, and the prices are very reasonable especially for the quality and considering this is NYC.

Put it like this, I went to this place this past Saturday, and that day for lunch I went to the famous Emily's where I had their Burger (credited by most to be the best in America). It truly was a phenomenal meal, yet, I think the food that I had here at Cka Ka Qellu for dinner 9 hours later was better than Emily's! That should just tell you how great this restaurant is. I recommend it to everyone. This is one of the best restaurants I have been to my life, and as an Albanian, I am proud that it represents our traditional cuisine in such a fantastic way!