Blue's in Southsea is the first Albanian and Kosovan restaurant in Portsmouth after opening in Osborne Road

Blue’s restaurant in Osborne Road is the first dedicated restaurant to provide Albanian and Kosovan food in the city. Kaltrina Azemi opened the doors to the restaurant in March as she followed her dream of owning her own restaurant.

Kaltrina (which means blue in Albanian) is excited to show people the foods from her home country. She said: “It’s something different. It has some similarities with Mediterranean food but we do homemade pastries here and traditional Albanian and Kosovan dishes. We do a dish with pastry and lamb mince as well as stuffed cabbage. It’s all authentic food.”

The new flavours have been welcomed by Southsea locals who have enjoyed the new option available. Kaltrina said: “We have had some very good reviews, people are finding the flavours interesting. We have had a lot of support from Southsea groups who have booked events here and they have found the food very tasty.”

Blue’s serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner options throughout the week, opening from 9am until 10.30pm everyday except for Sunday when it opens at 10am, and Monday when it is closed. There is one dish that has proved to be very popular with customers.

Kaltrina said: “Our most popular dish is the Albanian breakfast. It has Albanian sausages, a creamy peppery cheese, feta, tomato, cucumber and olives. There is also a thing called Ajver, which is made with roasted red peppers and aubergines and you cook it for a long time and it becomes a creamy dip for the bread.”

For those that are not sure what to expect from Albanian food, you will find a friendly face in Kaltrina who is happy to talk through the menu and make recommendations. Go in and give it a try.

Watch the video embedded in this article for the full interview.