ExperienceKsamil & the far south

Mussels of Butrint Lagoon

The far south's signature dish — mussels farmed in the lagoon beside Butrint, steamed with white wine, garlic and lemon, eaten minutes from where they grew.

Type: Food · local speciality
Cost: Order a bowl
Time needed: One very good lunch
Best base: Ksamil

Directions

Updated October 2026

Worth the detour

Beside the ruins of Butrint stretches a lagoon connected to the sea by the Vivari Channel — and strung across its waters are the mussel farms that supply the best tables of Ksamil and Sarandë. Butrint mussels have been cultivated here for decades; the lagoon's mix of fresh and salt water gives them a sweetness locals will defend at length.

The classic preparation is the simplest: steamed open in white wine with garlic, parsley and lemon, mopped up with bread. You'll also meet them fried, in rice, and in saganaki-style tomato and cheese — but order the classic first, ideally at a Ksamil table with the water in view, and you'll understand why the dish never left the neighbourhood.

Local dishLagoon farmsSeafoodKsamil

The practical bits

Where to eat them

Almost every good restaurant in Ksamil and along Sarandë's seafront lists them — look for 'midhje Butrinti' and ask if they're from the lagoon (the proud ones will tell you before you ask).

Ordering well

A bowl of steamed midhje with bread and a cold white wine or Korça beer is the benchmark. They're at their plumpest outside the hottest weeks of summer.

See where they grow

The mussel lines are visible across the lagoon from the Butrint site and the Vivari Channel ferry — dinner with a backstory.

Build the day around it

Ruins first

Work up the appetite at Butrint National Park, ten minutes from the table.

Beach after

Sleep it off on Ksamil's white sand — the full guide covers the coves and crowds.

Make a day of the south

Add the Blue Eye or the Lëkurësi sunset and the far south is complete.

Local businesses

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Nearby

Beachkm 158

Ksamil Beach

White sand, swim-to islands and Caribbean-blue shallows — Albania's postcard, with a UNESCO wonder ten minutes away.

ExperienceOff Ksamil Beach

The Ksamil Islands

Four small islands close enough to swim to, with water between them in the shades of blue that made Ksamil famous.

Sight10 minutes from Ksamil

Butrint National Park

A 2,500-year-old city wrapped in forest and lagoon — Greek theatre, Roman ruins, Byzantine mosaics and Venetian towers, all on one shaded walking loop.

SightOn the hill above Sarandë

Lëkurësi Castle

The definitive sunset of the Albanian south — a hilltop castle terrace with Sarandë bay below, Ksamil to the south and Corfu floating on the horizon.

Along the coast road

North along the coastThe Ksamil Islands South along the coastButrint National Park