Best Places to Eat in Bulgaria

Spring is officially here and in Bulgaria this means one thing - it is time to go out and start eating. From succulent pink tomatoes, fresh green salad, flavourful cucumbers and green peppers, the Shopska salad is at its best this time of year. But not only that - restaurants all over the country put their winter menus to hibernate and make their fresh spring options available. From Vitosha boulevard in Sofia, through Kapana in Plovdiv and the Sea Garden in Burgas, people flood the streets and start enjoying the good weather in the company of good food. But as we all know, finding those tasty places could sometimes tricky, so where are the best places to go to?

Bacchus magazine might have the answer for you. As the oldest magazine in Bulgaria dedicated to good food and wine, for sixteen years running it organises Bulgaria’s Restaurant of the Year awards. This year the winners will be announced on March 30th at an event catered especially to food lovers. During a gala dinner named 6 - Ceremony of the senses, six top Bulgarian and international chefs will prepare one unique dish dedicated to each sense. It will be a lavish celebration of food as the only art form that involves all our senses, our sixth sense including. Apart from food, there will be a live jazz orchestra to cater to your good mood and an exclusive selection of drinks.

After months of hard work, the jury of fourteen professionals have chosen nineteen restaurants from across the country, but only ten will receive an award at the ceremony - one for each of the categories: Restaurant of the Year Acqua Panna & San Pellegrino, Debut 2016, Tasty Place (for mid-range restraurants), Best service, Best Drinks and Wine List, Signature Dish, Sustainable Concept ‘Metro’, New Wave, Young Chef, and last but not least People’s Choice Award. These ten places will be the go-to restaurants in the coming year and the perfect spots to keep in mind for those long warm nights coming.

Tickets to the event can be purchased through the event's webpage, by dropping a simple email to [email protected] or by calling +359 883 467 400.

Time: 30 March 2017, 19:00 h
Place: Sofa Event Center (100 Cherni Vrah blvd)

Amuse-bouches by Red Devil Catering

Appetizer: Beetroot, krokmach and Shiroka Melnishka vine | Sight

Beetroot, black bread, Shiroka Melnishka vine and spicy krokmach

Chef Georgi Boykovski, Cosmos restaurant

Served with Zelanos Rosé Pinot Noir 2015 Easternmost part of Valley of the Roses Bulgaria

Appetizer: Three variations of salmon | Touch

Salmon tartare with sweet miso, salmon roe with crispy skin and seared salmon with sesame dressing

Chef Luca Spiga, Roka Restaurant Mayfair, London

Served with Esporão Reserva Branco 2015 Alentejo Portugal DOC

Appetizer: Earth and water | Taste

Pâté from duck liver served with tobacco aroma, eel, smoked duck magret and glazed chicory

Chef Andrey Stoilov, Chef and F&B Manager of Victoria Group, Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Professional Chefs

Served with Rocca di Montemassi Sassabruna 2013 Maremma Toscana DOC

Main course: Veal rapsody | Hearing

Braised veal cheeks, morels, root vegetables and cacao sauce

Chef Antoine Verhaest, L'instant Catering

Served with Antoine Moueix Château Grand Renom, Bordeaux Supérieur 2014

Cheese dish: Nostalgia | Smell

Sorbet with Bulgarian smoked goat cheese, truffle-flavoured crumbs, apple gel, raspberry vinaigrette

Young Chef Simeon Nikolov with his mentor Chef Henri Donneaux, Head Chef Instructor at HRC Culinary Academy

Served with Beluga Apple Dream, prepared by Dimitar Dimitrov, Bar Manager, bar By The Way
A digestive created with a Beluga Noble vodka base, sweetened with an Italian sweet white vermouth and citrus and vanilla liquor, balanced with French brandy from apples and bitter walnuts. Cooked Sous Vide at low temperature with Granny Smith apples for additional freshness and decorated with smoked dried apples.

Dessert: Textures - Chocolate and Pear | Emotion

Crispy hazelnut base | Caramel and pears | Vanilla and tonka crémeux | Milk chocolate chantilly | Pear sorbet

Pâtissier Irina Kupenska, Hotel Guarda Golf, Crans-Montana, Switzerland

Served with Hennessy Fine de Cognac