With fish this fresh you expect to look out on the terrace and see an ocean view, but the mountains and trees you see instead are still a pleasant environment
On the way out of Prishtina’s busy center, away from the dense pollution and noisy traffic, there’s a wide road that stretches to Germia Park, where the air is far easier to breathe and the sound of cars less frequent.
Along that road, there’s “Casa Rita,” a charming wooden house with an outside garden surrounded by trees. In this rural, bucolic setting, Casa Rita serves up some of the best seafood in town.
The interior has a modern yet elegant feel to it. There’s also a collection of bizarre but intriguing artwork. The huge restaurant is has seating on an outside terrace, inside and even on the second floor balcony.
Fish is the focus of the restaurant, with the menu offering octopus, stingray, and catfish, rare on most Prishtina menus.
Let’s just say that I try to avoid fish in Kosovo completely. Partly because it usually isn’t fresh and who really knows where it comes from.
Casa Rita’s fish comes from Ulcinj and one of the owners is an Ulqinak, so after months of being deprived of good fish, I decided to take my chances.
During my first visit to “Casa Rita,” I tried salmon carpaccio appetizer, which was excellent. The salmon was perfectly fresh and salty, and rubbed with aromatic spices and topped with a tuft of arugula (rocket).
On my second trip, I selected the octopus salad appetizer. It was a large portion of octopus, chopped tomatoes, potatoes, lemons and onions covered in a sweet oil. Together the rather unconventional mix created the perfect dish with a hint of sweetness.
For my main course, I ordered the spaghetti fruta di mare, which had diced tomatoes, basil, shrimp and octopus: the simple ingredients of pure Mediterranean bliss. I scarfed down every last bit of spaghetti and seafood.
I wasn’t too impressed with my dining partner’s dish, chicken penne alfredo. The chicken was tasty, but the Alfredo sauce reminded me of an all-too-common ingredient in Kosovo, Hopla.
For dessert, we tried the chocolate souffle (served with ice cream) and panna cotta. Although the souffle was a bit flat, the chocolate was rich and melted in our mouths. The panna cotta, served under a strawberry syrup, was also perfectly sweet and soft.
Casa Rita has an elegant atmosphere that doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable. Its serene setting more than makes up for being a bit out of town.
The staff is particularly inviting. One of the owners, Dzato Tivari, is constantly sparking conversations with diners and making sure the cuisine is up to their standards. The prices are decent too: our dinner for two was a little under 25 euro.
06 June 2014 - 15:01
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