Local Food

Food and Drink in Bulgaria

Bulgarian food is diverse with a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits and Turkish and Greek influences. Bulgarian cuisine is also noted for the diversity and quality of dairy products, rich salads, hot and cold soups and a variety of wines and alcoholic drinks. Many meals include meat, potatoes, beans and white cheese. Restaurants serving international cuisine are widely available offering many options such as French, Chinese, Italian and international contemporary. Menus are generally written in Bulgarian, English and German in the main resorts and cities and are usually good value.

National specialities include: tarator (cold soup made from cucumber, walnuts and yogurt), shopska salata (large salad starter), kavarma (casserole of pork or veal, onions and mushrooms), surmi (stuffed vine or cabbage leaves with meat), lebapche (small, spiced meat rolls) and banitsa (pastry stuffed with white cheese.

You must taste and drink one of the six hundred mineral water springs around the country. Two traditional beverages in Bulgaria are ayrian (yogurt, water and salt) and boza (millet ale). Coffee served espresso style is particularly popular and drinks made from infusions of mountain herbs and dried leaves are common. The most popular alcoholic beverages in the country are wine, beer and grape rakia. Some of the well known local wine varieties are pamid, mavrud, gamza, dimyat, keratsud and kadarka. Excellent local varieties of beer are kamenitza, ariana, pirinsko and shumensko. The Bulgarian national alcoholic drink is rakia and is served neat at the beginning of a meal with salads. It is a very powerful, clear brandy that is made from grape, plum or apricot. Mastika (similar to Greek Ouzo) and menta (peppermint liqueur) are also popular drinks in Bulgaria. The legal age for drinking is 18.