Bulgarian food is Balkan in character — generous, seasonal, and built around a few very good ingredients: sheep's cheese, fresh vegetables, pork, lamb, and dairy that is genuinely excellent. The country has a long tradition of fermented dairy, and the strain of bacteria used to make yoghurt worldwide (Lactobacillus bulgaricus) is named for Bulgaria. The yoghurt here is thicker and more sour than what you'll find in a supermarket at home.
Dishes to order
Shopska salad is the national salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onion, and a generous grating of white sirene cheese. Simple and excellent when the tomatoes are good.
Banitsa is the national pastry — filo dough stuffed with eggs and sirene cheese, baked until golden. Available everywhere in the morning. A good banitsa with a glass of cold ayran (diluted yoghurt drink) is a fine Bulgarian breakfast.
Tarator is a cold cucumber and yoghurt soup with walnuts, garlic, and dill. Exactly what you want on a hot Bulgarian summer day.
Kavarma and gyuvetch are clay-pot dishes — meat and vegetables slow-cooked in a ceramic pot. Kavarma is typically pork or chicken; gyuvetch can include lamb, peppers, tomatoes, and aubergine. Both are standard tavern food and rarely disappointing.
Meshana skara — mixed grill — is ubiquitous: kebabcheta (minced meat rolls), kyufteta (meatballs), and pork chops. Better than it sounds at good places.
Rakia is the national spirit — fruit brandy, usually made from grapes or plums. Homemade rakia, offered as a gesture of hospitality, can be exceptional or extremely rough. Either way, refusing is slightly rude.
Where to eat
Mehanas (traditional taverns) are the best places to eat Bulgarian food — rustic interiors, long menus, low prices. In Sofia, the center has good restaurants of all types; look for mehanas in the backstreets of the old center. Plovdiv has a particularly good eating scene concentrated in the old town. On the Black Sea coast, seafood is worth ordering — fresh fish, mussels, and Black Sea turbot.
Prices remain low by European standards. A full meal with wine in a mid-range restaurant costs €15–25 per person.