Ciflik Winery - Bitola

Ciflik Winery - One visit

We were very excited to visit our first winery during our recent travels to Bitola, Macedonia. Upon arrival, we had a rocky start, but our lovely waiter, Bojan, soon turned things around.

Bojan's warm and friendly nature, professional service, and knowledge were exceptional. After chatting, we learned he had been trained in Dubai.

You could see customer service was very important to him, and all guests received the experience they came to enjoy. After talking, we learnt he was trained in Dubai. You could see that customer service was essential to him,

We reserved a table for lunch via Facebook Messenger, which was all smooth sailing. Upon arrival, we were seated in the casual dining area on a small undressed table in the centre, as the dressed area was for a private function.

We asked to move to a larger table, and it was reserved. The waitress told us this was our only option after we sat unattended for five minutes waiting for menus. We decided to take matters into our own hands and give them a chance, as there was ample outdoor seating. We headed out and chose a table, which they kindly dressed for us.

Lunch was to begin with a bottle of fine French bubbles followed by an impeccable local red from the winery. Bojan definitely took us on a journey of wonderful food and wine.

There is a large menu full of traditional options and all your international favourites. We started out with a beautiful fresh salad with the most divine jam, accompanied by Bruschetta with a local roasted pepper spread called Ajvar. It was very special indeed.

We ordered steak and beef tagliata for our mains, which were delicious and cooked to perfection.

Desserts were a special treat from a fellow guest after his little son sampled ours from another restaurant the day prior. I was incredibly generous, and we were not concerned at all with the little one being brave and popping over to say hi and check out our dessert:-)

The winery is a ten-minute drive from Ohrid, and it is easy to catch a taxi. It is surrounded by lush green mountains, clean air, and nature.