Post 51. Sofia, Bulgaria. Part 3.

Day 3

We started our last day with a trip to the Mall of Sofia, a brand new shopping mall, just a six minute walk from the apartment.  We wanted to pick up a few things from the supermarket and just have a look around. While there, we wandered past a range food outlets on the top floor and the range of smells was mouthwatering.

There was a huge branch of the Bulgarian family restaurant Happy there, that was  practically full. We decided that if this many Bulgarians were eating there then the food must be good. Apparently the chain won Best Bulgarian Restaurant this year. They have opened branches in London and in Spain. 

The food was mostly Bulgarian, but with a Greek Summer menu and a huge Sushi menu also available. Helpfully, everything was translated into English and there were also big glossy images of each dish. Normally I avoid such places like the plague when on holiday, but the fact that the customers were all mostly Bulgarian families eating Bulgarian food meant that this place was different somewhat.

We shared a Bulgarian salad and smashed roast potatoes done in a Bulgarian style to start and for main courses we had fried chicken with a local mushroom sauce and a meatloaf with mashed potatoes. We both felt this was the best meal we had in Sofia, and could easily see how it won best restaurant in Sofia in 2025. 

A walk was called for after that and I had to take a photo of Saint Sofia, overlooking Serdika. 

The meeting point for the Balkan Bites Food Tour was in Crystal Park, underneath the huge modern monument to Stefan Sambolov, a former Bulgarian Prime Minster who was assassinated in 1895. 

 

Balkan Bites set up the first ever free daily food tour in Europe. The idea was to take a tour of some of the more interesting and trendy family owned restaurants that Sofia has to offer and enjoy some traditional Bulgarian cuisine, while hearing about some of the history and customs that helped make them become staple foods in Bulgaria.

Our guide was Dany and she was upbeat and positive for the whole 2.5 hours tour.  

We were presented with an array of Bulgarian food and drink. Yoghurt and garlic are two of the biggest flavours. 

We walked through parts of the city that we had not seen, and there were so many small food businesses, that it must have been hard to decide who to include and who to leave out. 

Below is some healthy banana bread made with no flour and no sugar. 

Various Bulgarian traditional restaurants showcased some of their specialities. 

Dany also brought us to a specialist Bulgarian wine shop and we tasted wine from her home village. 

As we passed by, Dany pointed out the Church of the Seven Saints.

It was made famous in recent years as the BBC made a documentary called 'The Secret Angel", about a man who begged outside this church for years and eventually gave a huge donation to this church's  renovation budget. 

We also saw the Elephant Bookshop, Sofia’s biggest English language bookshop. I  made a note of the address, intending to go back later but never made it. 

Finally, late in the evening we returned to the Mall of Sofia for some last-minute shopping.  We couldn't resist returning to Happy for a quick dinner before heading back to the apartment to pack for the return journey. 

Overall Inpression

In three words, we loved Sofia! 

We loved how easy, cheap and clean the Metro was. We loved strolling round the very walkable city centre. We loved the food and the wine, and we loved the quirky HomeExchange apartment. 

So, bye for now Bulgaria, we will be back!