7 Best Restaurants in Bulgaria

Stone walls and floor, beamed ceiling, and roaring fireplace combine to create a charming medieval-style tavern. Red embroidered tablecloths and pillar candles resting in a candelabra bring further warmth to the 50-seat space, whose walls are dotted with antlers. The outdoor tables sit on a covered patio and the restaurant's idyllic garden has rustic wooden tables shaded by trees and a little playground. The menu is well-rounded enough to please everyone; there's trout for pescetarians and a hearty chicken stew for carnivores. For vegetarians, some light salads, including the shepherd's salad, a Turkish dish of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and parsley. The shopska salad is similar to the shepherd's but with peppers and sirene, a white brine cheese that akin to feta. For kids, a juvenile dream come true: French fries with cheese.

Christine and Michael Cooper moved from England to Bulgaria in 2008 and in 2013 opened this lovely social enterprise café. The goal of Phoenix is to educate disadvantaged youth, giving them a chance to aquire skills and do meaningful work. Trainees work at Phoenix for two years, and Michael's hope is that they'll be able to use the skills and knowledge they've gained to find a job. Michael's training as a chef and baker has paid off; he and his staff produce wonderful food–soup, salad, sandwiches, quiche, and delicious desserts best enjoyed with Phoenix's proper coffee and tea.

The café is part of the Coopers' NGO Phoenix Inspire, which works to support the struggling local community and has grown from a place to eat into a small social center, where people can read and exchange English-language books.

A 17th-century residence turned tavern, Izvora has a verdant, spacious garden with swimming pool and play equipment. Service is slow, but there's free Wi-Fi and kids can entertain themselves outdoors. Expect standard Bulgarian pub fare such as meat stews served with housemade bread and Turkish-influenced salads of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, parsley, peppers, and sirene (a white brine cheese similar to feta). Yogurt with honey and nuts is a sweet, refreshing end to the meal. Wash it all down with Boliarka beer, brewed in Veliko Tarnovo.

The coffee here is subpar; avoid it.

A family owned inn and tavern, Madona has a lengthy menu that offers plenty for vegetarians. The tavern, done up with wooden tables covered in traditional embroidered tablecloths, decorated in hunting trophies, and warmed by the working fireplace seats 30 across four rooms, with another 20 seats in the sweet little garden. On the menu are a range of local cheeses, including the butcher's cheese (white cheese mashed with red chili pepper, oil, and onion), omeletes, several types of salads, and plenty of meat dishes, including sausages, steak, and chicken. For dessert, breaded apples with honey is a nice local end to the meal.

The hotel and tavern have free Wi-Fi.

Located in the ultra-stylish mOdus Hotel, this elegant bistro has a swish modern-styled dining area, as well as an outdoor glass-roofed garden terrace. Both make this a great place for a romantic and for an exceptionally tasty meal. The menu covers international classics such as porcini risotto, rabbit in Provencal sauce, and pepper steak, and its signature choices are regularly changing. Hotel guests are offered a 10% discount on the already reasonable bill.

One of several Nessebar restaurants that offers the winning combination of good, locally caught fish and unmissable sea views—especially at sunset—this place's biggest selling point is its large outdoor terrace, shaded by a long wooden pergola. Because of the massive portion sizes, the excellent salads are often a good option unless you are ravenous. Several meaty Bulgarian classics are offered, and the grilled prawns are particularly good. The prices are very reasonable to boot. During the peak summer months there is live music some nights.

At one end of shopping street Samovodska Charshia is this multi-level café inside a lovingly-restored old house. The tables on the large covered terrace look out over Samovodska Charshiya's narrow streets and the Yantra River while interior seats face the atrium. On the menu is simple fare done well—pizza, toasted sandwiches, and soup. Desserts are where Stratilat really shines, with thick slices of cake like banana, walnut, and the eponymous Stratilat, a tower of chocolate on chocolate.