Food specialties to try out in Bulgaria

There are so many food specialties to try out in Bulgaria, so I’ve made you a list of the most famous and tasty ones ! 

If you are coming to Sofia, you cannot miss the food culture there. 

Whether it is Shopska salad, Banitza or Mekitza, I’ll list here what specialties you can find and where to try them.

The savoury food you’ll find on every menu in Bulgaria is the shopska salad. It is quite similar to the greek salad, there’s tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and sirene cheese. It’s really fresh and tasty (first photo below).

In Bulgaria, you will also find very often different kinds of dips to eat with bread. First, the famous hummus (made with chickpeas), but also Katak and Lyutenitsa.  Lyutenitsa is made with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, aubergines and garlic, while Katak is made with roasted red peppers, sirene cheese, yogurt and garlic (on the first photo below).

You can also try the Chushki Burek : it is roasted red peppers stuffed with sirene cheese, coated with breadcrumbs and then deep-fried. It comes with a yogurt sauce (on the third picture).

We also had Kyufte, which are meat patty made with minced pork or beef and spices (first pic below)

The last dish we tried and absolutely loved was the kawarma (pork, sausages, smoked pork brisket, onion, peppers, mushroom, sour cream and wine sauce) with homemade garlic flatbread (second pic).

On the third photo below is an appetizer called gyubek (it’s a type of fresh cow cheese, grilled and seasoned with thyme and black truffle).

Similar to Mediterranean countries, you’ll find a lot of baklava (layered phyllo pastry with walnuts and honey).

A bit similar is the kunefe dolma, made with kadaif, cheese and pistachio, often served with a pistachio ice cream (first and third pic below).

We tried as well a dessert called milk banitsa with vanilla sauce. This bulgarian sweet is an egg custard type of dish. You can also find it as a salty breakfast item (rolled-baked pastry with either cheese of spinach).

For breakfast or brunch, you can try mekitsi (or mekitza), which is fried yogurt dough served with jam and feta cheese (second pic).

I suggest eating local food, as it is not only better, cheaper, it is also a huge part of the bulgarian culture.

Here are some of the place I recommend going for breakfast, lunch and dinner :

• Rainbow café : it’s a cute breakfast place where we tried the mekitsi. The dough was fluffy and light and paired really well with the jam and feta cheese. They also serve Banitsa (with feta cheese) and cream custard banitsa as well.
• Furna : a bulgarian bakery where you can try spinach or cheese banitsa among other pastries.
• Manastirska Magernitsa Restaurant : this was the ABSOLUTE BEST restaurant we tried in all of Bulgaria. We got the traditional set menu for two people and everything was so tasty and perfectly made. The restaurant setting and decoration is also very nice.
• Shastlivetsa : this restaurant has different location, we went to the one in Veliko Tarnovo Old town. The view was fantastic, and the waiters were so nice and helpful. This is where we tried the grilled truffle cheese, the kawarma on garlic flatbread and the kunefe. 100% recommend this restaurant if you come to Veliko Tarnovo.
• Billa : This is a supermarket chain in bulgaria but they make fresh pastries and it is a cheap alternative for a picnic or road trip lunch. Their banitsa are quite good.

We had a wonderful time trying all the best food specialties in Bulgaria and I’m sure you will too ! 

If you plan on visiting Sofia any time soon, check out my 3 three days itinerary in Bulgaria, or this article if you are looking for some tips before you visit Bulgaria.