In the northern port of serves fish and shellfish, with dozens of portraits of her on the walls.

"When cuisine, art and politics come together, you can make beautiful things," restaurant owner Gjergj Luca told AFP.

Funded by Italy, the asylum centre -- one of two in the area due to open in coming weeks -- has been largely welcomed by local people for creating jobs in an impoverished region.

Human rights groups have branded it illegal under international law, warning that Albania, a n Shengjin -- by the Adriatic Sea where many migrants risk their lives trying to cross to Italy -- the "Trattoria Meloni"on-EU country, offers limited protections for the asylum seekers.

Meloni visited the future centre in Shengjin in June, before the restaurant was opened.

The 58-year-old owner Luca, son of a famous Albanian actor and a former actor himself, said he was charmed by her personality, calling her "extraordinary".

He said he hopes she will come back to taste his food and admire her portraits, which adorn every inch of the restaurant's walls.

The portraits were all painted by Heliton Haliti, a well-known Albanian artist.

A smiling Meloni, a serious Meloni, an angry Meloni, Meloni as a child, teenager or politician -- 70 portraits of the leader of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party hang in the restaurant.

Meloni is a "very interesting, strong character, and even if her political convictions aren't my own, that hasn't stopped me from doing a passionate job," Haliti told AFP.

"Did I need a permission to paint her portrait?" he added.

"Did Andy Warhol need permission to paint Marilyn Monroe? In postmodernism, it's allowed, and I think that with Meloni, I've succeeded."

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© Agence France-Presse