Bansko more or less invented the modern Bulgarian mehana — the traditional tavern of dark wood, copper pots, sheepskin rugs and an open hearth — and the town now has more of them per capita than anywhere in the country. The food is rich, generous and cheap by Western European standards: grilled meats (shashlik, kebapche, kyufte), bean stews, kapama (the Pirin specialty of layered meats and sauerkraut, baked overnight in a clay pot), banitsa, and aged sheep's kashkaval and sirene.
Most mehanas have folk music on weekend evenings — usually a small live group, sometimes with dancing. Among the better ones in Varosha and around it: Dedo Pene, Mehana Bansko, Kasapinova Kashta and Mehana Molerite. Walk in without a reservation midweek; on Friday and Saturday nights book ahead.