Whilst travelling in Bulgaria, we’d given up slavishly following guide book recommended restaurants, and instead chose places that suited our pocket, location and appetite, and hopefully all three. It was therefore somewhat ironic that having arrived in Veliko Tarnovo, the first place we chose for drinks was the terrace at Stratilat, which Bradt recommended for its fine views and sweets. Although delicious looking light lunches and cakes were being served, we stuck to a homemade lemon and mint lemonade and a large beer.
The Green Restaurant was the nearest restaurant to our hotel, and we checked it out with drinks during the day. The few pavement tables were either full or in the sun, and so we sat inside what was an atmospheric restaurant, albeit at a wobbly table. However, we were not impressed with either the grumpy guy who served us, or menu, which meant venturing further afield.
On driving through the city on arrival, we’d spotted an attractive looking restaurant, called Shtastlivetsa, with a pavement terrace adorned with plants. It was the next nearest place, but a 15- minute walk, and again, discovered it was Bradt listed. They described it as ‘undoubtedly the best restaurant in the city’ and suggested arriving early to get a table on the terrace overlooking the city. Unfortunately, at 7pm the only tables available were on a terrace overlooking the main road, and despite the shield of plants, it was a little noisy. However, we were offered a choice of tables, which included one for four which we accepted. Within half an hour, it was full and when anyone left, their table was quickly refilled. The menu featured lots of pasta and pizza and also dubious dishes like ‘lamb head in garlic butter and yoghurt mousse’, ‘beef tongue in butter and garlic’ and ‘crispy pork ears with fresh herb yoghurt cream’. We played it safe with Bulgaria’s most popular salad, a Shopska salad named after the shopi, a group of people that inhabited the Shopluk region close to Sofia. Normally consisting of tomato, cucumber, peppers, onion and grated cheese, this one came with the addition of little fiery chillies which took us by surprise. Our shared main of Bulgarian meatballs were actually two delicious burger style patties served with halved new potatoes, a yoghurt mousse and what appeared to be mashed aubergines. With a litre of rosé and a bottle of water, served with a small ice bucket, our bill came to 75.60 Lev (£32.98) which was a little more expensive, but if you’re in the city’s best restaurant, it’s understandable.
The helpful girl at tourist information had circled several recommended restaurants including Ego Pizza and Grill, which coincidentally was next door to Shtastlivetsa. Having endured the traffic noise the previous night, we opted to sit inside and were shown through the main restaurant to a small dining room where, as we were the first customers, we were offered a choice of table, and we chose one providing views through the panoramic window. The menu in English also had pictures, and we chose a half litre of white wine and a bottle of mineral water. To eat, we ordered a Caeser salad with calamari, which made a pleasant change to the ubiquitous Shopska, and from the grill section of the menu, pork steak and home cooked potatoes. Both were delicious, and we decided to finish on a second half litre of wine and a slice of blueberry cheesecake. The bill came to 65.60 or £28.56. During our meal, the room filled up, but everyone was chatting normally which created a pleasant buzz: we’d been irritated both by lots of loud people in previous places, and of course there was definitely no smoking, another irritation. On leaving, it was much noisier in the main restaurant and we were not sure why we were given such a good table.