Potam · Himarë · Albania
Brunch, then
cocktails.
One room, two shifts. Eggs, sourdough and coffee while the light is still coming off the water — then the mesh above the bar lights up, the neon comes on, and the same tables are pouring cocktails into the evening.
Morning
The board
Breakfast
Eggs however you want them, on sourdough, with the vegetables that came in that morning.
- Omelette
- Eggs, bacon or sausages, fresh local veggies, sourdough bread, feta cheese, herbs, Lurpak butter.
- Scrambled Eggs
- Eggs, bacon or sausages, fresh local veggies, sourdough bread, feta cheese and Lurpak butter.
- Astros Omelette
- Eggs, turkey bacon, fresh tomato, fresh onions, cheese and herbs, wrapped in a tortilla.
- English Breakfast
- Fried eggs, sausages, bacon, baked beans, fresh veggies, sourdough bread, herbs, feta cheese, Lurpak butter.
- Bowl my day
- Two boiled eggs, sliced avocado with sweet chilli flakes, cottage cheese with herbs and black sesame, sourdough with arugula, tomato and cucumber with strips of radish.
- Oat me up
- Cinnamon porridge with banana and apple, greek yogurt, milk.
- Astros Bowl
- Greek yoghurt with granola, fruits of your choice and local honey, topped with chia seeds.
- French Toast
- Sourdough bread paned in eggs, with fruits, nuts and maple syrup.
Smoothies
Blended to order, alongside the espresso and the pots of tea.
- Tastes like Strawberry
- Organic kiwifruit, strawberry, milk, greek yoghurt, honey.
- All of my Peaches
- Peach, banana, almond milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon.
- Passionate from miles away
- Passion fruit, forest fruits, coconut milk, chocolate chips, oats.
- Call me Caramel
- Apple, milk, caramel dulce de leche, cinnamon.
Desserts
Waffles and pans, which is what most tables order once the plates have gone.
- Rodeo Waffle
- Waffle, chocolate praline and a rodeo of fresh fruit, topped with biscuit and dark chocolate chips, with vanilla ice cream.
- Astro Waffle
- Praline, vanilla syrup, smarties, biscuit, chocolate truffle.
- Astros Pan
- Praline, smarties, peanuts and biscuit flakes.
- Goose Pan
- Bueno praline, oreo cookies, banana.
Ingredients sourced from local farmers.
The room
Sailcloth, marble,
and the water
The terrace sits under white sailcloth strung in a lattice, with rattan pendants and banana plants along the rail; inside, the tables are dark and the floor is white tile. It looks west, so the light comes off the sea and straight across the plates. If you are working through the town's breakfast places one at a time, this is the sit-down end of that list rather than the counter-and-byrek end.
The turn
Then the sun goes behind the headland, and the tubes come on.
The disc carries the same mark that sits at the foot of the menu — a ringed globe standing in for the O. It is the last thing the light catches before the room changes shift.
After dark
Cocteleria
The same room, later. A red tube over the bar, a violet one running the length of the terrace ceiling, a counter of timber slats under a black steel grid — and cocktails poured while the last of the light goes off the water.
Finding it
Potam, on the
shore road
Rruga Vangjel ZotoPotam, Himarë 9425
Vlorë County, Albania
40.0973° N · 19.7537° E
The pebble shore starts on the other side of the road, and the beaches along this stretch run south from it, so most tables fill on the way down to the water or on the way back up from it.
- Rruga Vangjel Zoto
- The bistro sits where the road meets the shore, on the Potam side of Himarë. The terrace is the one under the white sailcloth lattice.
- Himarë town centre
- Just over a kilometre to the north-west along the shore road. Potam is the stretch south-east of it, on the water.
- By car
- The SH8 runs past the door. Rruga Vangjel Zoto is the shore-road stretch of it, south-east of the town centre.
Questions
Before you come
Where exactly is Astro?
On Rruga Vangjel Zoto in Potam, the part of Himarë on the bay south-east of the town centre, in Vlorë County, Albania. The pin is 40.0973° N, 19.7537° E.
Is it a brunch place or a cocktail bar?
Both, in the same room. The kitchen serves breakfast and brunch through the morning; the bar runs cocktails from around sunset.
What is on the menu?
Eggs several ways, bowls, French toast, smoothies, waffles and pans, alongside espresso and pots of tea. The printed card is set out on this page. Ingredients are sourced from local farmers.
How do I get in touch?
Call +355 69 611 7515, or message the bistro on Instagram at @astro_brunch_cocktails, where the day's plates are posted.
Is there a sea view?
Yes. The terrace looks west over the water and the headland, which is why the evening here starts with the sun going down behind it.