Luciano

The restaurant began in April 1998 as a small family business, named after the owner’s second child. The first years were hard: roads to Dhërmi were poor after the unrest of 1997, and few visitors made the trip.

To mark its 20th year, in 2018, the family set a large fork on the cliff beside the restaurant, now a popular photo stop. The restaurant and rooms were rebuilt from scratch in 2020, and the family also sells its own olive oil.

The restaurant buys fish through the week from the morning’s catch, it says before the boats reach the shore. Start with the crudo: scampi, red prawns, tuna tartare, oysters or a mixed crudo plate for two or four, or try the octopus carpaccio. Then choose a whole fish, such as dentex, grouper, red mullet or John Dory, grilled and sold by weight, or order the seafood risotto or the house Luciano pasta. Lobster is on the menu too.

There are no yacht docks on this part of the coast, so yachts anchor off Dhërmi and guests come ashore by tender. Luciano is on the beach itself, so the tender can land on the white pebbles in front and guests can walk straight up to the terrace.

Luciano is open every day from 08:30 to 23:30 and serves breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. The website gives no phone number: book by email or through the restaurant’s social media pages, and allow time for a reply in high season.