Four Years in a Row. Thank You, New York.
A milestone we could not have reached without you
We have some news to share, and we want to share it the way we share everything at Çka Ka Qëllu, with a full heart and a grateful table.
For the fourth consecutive year, The New York Times has named Çka Ka Qëllu one of the Top 100 Restaurants in New York City. This year, the recognition came from co-chief critic Ligaya Mishan, and we are deeply honored.
Four years. We still have to stop and let that settle in.
What this means to us
When we opened Çka Ka Qëllu, our dream was a simple one: to bring a little Albania to New York. To set a table where Albanian culture, food, and warmth could find a home in this city, and where anyone, whether they grew up in Tirana or had never heard of Albania before, could sit down and feel welcome.
To be recognized four consecutive times by The New York Times is something we could never have imagined when we first opened our doors. It tells us that what we are doing matters, that the stories we tell through food are being heard, and that Albanian culture has found its place in this city.
This belongs to all of you
Awards like this are not won in the kitchen alone. They are won at every table, with every guest who trusted us with their evening, their celebrations, their first taste of Albanian food. They are won by every member of our team who shows up every day with pride and care.
To our Albanian community near and far, this one is for you. Every time you walked through our doors, brought your friends, shared our story, or simply told someone “you have to try this place,” you made this possible. You are why we do this.
And to every New Yorker who found their way to us, thank you for being curious, for being open, and for letting Albania into your hearts.
What comes next
We celebrate for a moment, and then we get back to work. Because the best way we know how to say thank you is to keep doing what we do, a little better every day. The same warmth, the same food, the same Albania, right here in New York.
Come see us. The table is always ready.
Four years of trust, four years of community, four years of bringing Albania to New York. We are grateful beyond words.
Faleminderit. Thank you. 🇦🇱