In which we mingle with Albania's influencer set...

I am, it's fair to say, not the sort of person who photographs their meals, poses in front of hot venues or influences very much, if anything. I understand that there are (mostly) young people who do these things, and I wouldn't stand in their way for one moment, but such behaviour mostly engenders a wry smile and attempts to make sure that I'm out of shot. I hadn't expected to encounter such a phenomenon in Tirana though.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised - Albania has a relatively youthful population, despite significant levels of outward migration. And, in truth given that I don't meet many young people even in the workplace, my grasp on youth culture is tenuous at lbest.

Having found another highly-regarded restaurant, we walked across town and found ourselves in a somewhat dimly-lit street. At least, it was dimly-lit in the context of my gradually deteriorating eyesight but I spotted our destination and walked through the rather stylish entrance to be met by two stick-thin young woman, dressed wholly in black, who were tasked with greeting guests, taking their coats and suchlike.

It was at this point that I began to sense that their idea of "smart casual" and mine were slightly at odds. But the restaurant was still quiet - yes, we were early again - and whilst we had clearly chosen one of the hottest restaurants in town, I take the viewpoint that, if I'm the one paying, then I have the right to be treated properly. Our waiter was charm itself though, and we settled down to peruse the menu.

SALT is one of a pair of restaurants - the other is in Pristina, Kosovo's capital - and the goal is evidently to serve high quality food in an elegant setting. Clearly, they've convinced so far, as we were increasingly surrounded by young people taking photographs of each other and the food, posing in front of the decorations and the like. We focused on the food, pretending that we weren't raising the average age of the customers by a decade or two.

One thing that surprised me was that not only was virtually everyone around us young, but female, which strikes me as not being that common. I suspect that they don't eat much though, and the kitchen were probably grateful for customers who actually eat more than a light salad.

And, it has to be said that the food was very good indeed. I would even go as far to suggest that, if you're in Tirana by any chance, it is well worth a detour. Do book in advance, just in case, but their website is easy to use.

As meals out go, it was a nice way to finish our trip. And we did rather have to be back home...