Foodie Paradise in Struga!
Anyone who knows us in the slightest will doubtlessly know that food and drinks are some of the things we live for! We are not people who care a whole lot about material things, but rather experiences, good food, and yummy drinks. And wow, Struga was outstanding for checking all of these boxes!!
Along the way into Struga, we passed a ton of cafes and restaurants, with one being our particular favourite at almost the exact halfway point. It was a Turkish restaurant called Adenia. It had the most amazing food and tea, as well as a huge playground with greenspace and a beach area for kids to play. We became regulars here, even coming here on Mother’s Day for a full Turkish Breakfast! However, it was hard to commit to going too often, as there are just so many amazing cafes in and near Struga that we never did make it to all the places we wanted to go in our five weeks. And we went to a café almost daily in Struga!
Along the main stretches of beach right in Struga, we also managed to find several favourite little cafes, each with its own uniqueness and charms. Most of which had a beach, playground, or both for the kids. Jon was also excited to try an apple shisha at one cafe. We asked the waiter for his recommendation, and he said apple was the most popular with the locals… so he decided to trust the locals and give that flavour a shot. I tried a little bit of it and it was quite yummy tasting, but I did not enjoy how it made my head swim!
We also had a spot we loved that was on the river but on the second floor of the building. They had a small balcony area and tons of windows to enjoy the beauty of the river. This spot was called Chocoworld, and as you can imagine, they served a whole menu of chocolate deliciousness. Our favourites were the waffle on a stick that was covered with chocolate and little chocolate sprinkle balls and a platter that came with mini pancakes drizzled with white chocolate, a side of fresh fruit, and a jug of melted chocolate to pour all over (or dip). This place was a chocolate lover’s dream!
There were tons of small little bakeries, cafes, dessert spots, and other specialties dotted throughout the pedestrian area and adjacent streets/areas. We tried a lot of these, as well, and became regulars at a few! There was one bakery that had exceptionally delicious fresh bread and other little treats for the kids to nibble on when they were hungry. We also became regulars at another little bakery that sold the best snacks! They had a small outdoor eating area and the one woman who worked there was sooooo nice. We loved their traditional burek, which is like a flaky pastry with filling, usually cheese or meat. We adored the cheese one. The cheese they use is soooo good! Honestly, the cheese in this country is some of my favourite ever. A lot of white cheese, which is like feta cheese essentially.
There are a surprising number of cafes that only serve drinks or only drinks and desserts. I suppose Macedonians love sweets? I’m not sure. But all the cafes were always packed full, even if they only sold drinks. It’s a very social place to be, as is most of Europe, where people meet to have a coffee and chat at all times of the day! We mostly just got macchiato coffees, teas, and sparkling waters. But I will admit, we ate more than a few pieces of tres leche cake in Struga (and Macedonia in general!). It was an exceptionally prevalent cake almost everywhere they sold desserts!
One of our favourite streets in Struga ran parallel to the river, but one block west. We nicknamed it Happy Street. We found the most amazing little restaurant there, run by a husband and wife duo who were just so insanely kind and lovely! They made great food and sold a variety of drinks. But not coffee. But don’t worry, because there are a variety of places on Happy Street, including an upscale wine bar and a café selling only coffee and desserts. And they all work together, as he explained to us.
Go into the restaurant, but want a coffee and a piece of cake after your meal? No problem, the owner walks down and grabs whatever you want. At the wine bar and want a platter of meat? No problem, he walks down to the restaurant and grabs you one from the restaurant. They are all friends and all work together, filling in gaps for each other where needed. It was so amazing to see that level of cooperation! You might walk into the wine bar one day and find people from the various Happy Street establishments all in there together having a chat and a drink, because in Struga people work, yes, but they are always sure to take time to enjoy their workday and that includes spending time with friends.
Even when we were visiting Valentina’s shop, the number of friends and family who would pop in just for a few minutes to say hello, ask how her day was going, hug her, and otherwise carry on with their day was fascinating to see! Even her teenage kids would pop in there at times just to say hi to their mom for no real reason. You’d walk by or in shops and find them sitting and having a coffee and a chat, always happy to put that on hold to help customers while their visitor would either wait or carry on to leave them to it. It was a very interesting, social, laid-back way of life that I am so incredibly jealous of!
Our first experience in the wine bar was a total blast. We went in there for a glass of wine and a small snack to tide the girls over until we got home to have some dinner. We bought a bottle of wine, intending to have one glass and cork the rest to bring with us. Well, after our charcuterie board came, they just kept bringing more and more dishes for us on the house. Fresh bread with salt and olive oil, fruits, cheeses, homemade apricot preserves, and homemade rakija. We ended up ordering some tres leche cake, as well, because why not!?!? Our “brief” stop for a glass of wine and quick snack turned into us staying there for almost two hours, finishing our bottle of wine, and walking out so stuffed we definitely did not need to eat anything else that evening!
We spent a lot of time on Happy Street in the restaurant enjoying some truly delicious and authentic local food, in the wine bar down the street having wine and charcuterie boards, and once at the dessert and coffee café. We spent our anniversary in Struga and made sure to go to the restaurant for lunch and then later to the wine bar for dinner. When they learned partway through our evening that it was our anniversary, they were so sweet! They showed up in our little private room (each table in the wine bar had its own private room, which was so cozy, private, and extra special feeling. They gave us a doorbell thingy to ring them if we needed anything) with a cake, sparklers, and a live musician! They wanted to make sure our night was special and chastised us for not telling them in advance so they could do more for us!
There were so many other places we stopped at to eat and/or drink that I just can’t mention them all. And there were still so many places we had wanted to eat and drink in Struga that we never made it to. They have sooooo many places in this town it’s unreal. We ate out here far more than we typically do, as this is such an affordable country that it was hard not to indulge. But, we definitely made sure to eat at home as often as possible, too. Typically, we would eat out at lunch while we were out and about, and then breakfast and dinner was at home. We went into Macedonia not knowing much about the food, but the blend of amazing Greek, Balkan, and Turkish food was just such an amazing blend and made for so much variety and deliciousness that it is up there as one of our favourite countries food-wise!
