Restaurant Ararat is one of the better-regarded places to eat traditional Kosovar food in central Gjilan. The menu covers the ground you would expect — grilled meats, qebapë, shish qebab — but also goes further, with fli (a layered pancake cooked slowly over an open fire) and tavë kosi, the baked lamb and yoghurt dish that appears on feast tables across Kosovo. It is the kind of restaurant locals bring guests to when they want to show the city at its best.
The setting is unpretentious and the portions are generous. The bread arrives fresh and the dairy — yoghurt, white cheese — is local and noticeably good. If you are eating here for the first time, ask the staff what they recommend; the menu changes with what is seasonal and fresh that day. Prices are well below what you would pay for equivalent food in Western Europe.