Cheap luxury - top floor restaurant with panoramic views in the five-star Arena di Serdica hotel, worth going to if you fancy a bit of luxury for once and still don't want to break the bank. Superb service and food as you would expect from such a hotel and still comes out cheap. Unbelievably attentive and polite staff, most expensive main course was 25lv (£10).

Arena di Serdica Hotel, 2-4 Budapeshta Str. Sofia. (down steps from Moskovska Street)
www.arenadiserdica.com/en/restaurant-bar/

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A group of friends and I decided this June to take a trip to Sofia, probably one of the best decisions of the year.

Pri Yafata is a traditional Bulgarian restaurant, complete with live music, decoration and a vast menu. The food is also very reasonably priced.

This place is also the top recommendation by Lonely Planet and quite rightly so! If you're in Sofia, it's certainly worth a visit.

East to find, just off of the Blvd Vitosha and a short walk east of Makedonia Square. The Lonely Planet guide book gives the best directions as do most hostels and hotels who will no doubt have heard of it!

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An Armenian restaurant. The name means "Come, Come". There are two such, and we ate in the ul Dobrudzha branch. Small rooms in what feels like a private house, so a delightfully intimate experience.

The food was delicious, although the service somewhat erratic. Excellent wines - we had the Tcherga white and red, both superb. No holds barred, our bill was about 60 Leva each, but one need not be so extravagant. A very good evening out, if you don't mind it being leisurely.

Booking a must - on a midweek night we couldn't get a table at the other branch, and ours was full.

ul Dobroudzha 10
02 989 33 83
also
ul Sheinovo 18
02 946 17 35

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Where to start? This is a little, six-table, tucked-away Italian restaurant run by patron/chef Emil, a Bulgarian who spent 17 years in Italy.

The night four of us went it was empty (Sofia natives disappear in August). No menu, we willingly went along with whatever Emil proposed. After bruschetta, wonderful antipasti, then a ravioli (home made, of course) of spinach and ricotta with a gentle creamed tomato sauce with shrimps and courgettes. Each flavour given its proper due.

Then two of us shared a salt-baked fish, two shared a fillet steak with fresh peppercorns. Although we had no room for more, Emil suggested we share a tiramisu and a torta ricotta. How can I ever eat another tiramisu, now that I know how it can be? Both desserts made for the Gods. Limoncello on the house.

Only Italian wines here, so perhaps wine is a little more expensive than elsewhere. Each dish simple, each element a perfection of taste and texture, cooked with passion. What more could one want? This was a meal I will never forget. For such a memory, we spent 60 Leva each, about €30. Booking is essential. (I know, it was empty the night we went, but that was chance!)

ulitsa Lavele 11 - entrance in ul Lom
02 986 08 54
(between bul Todor Aleksandrov and bul. Aleksanser Stambolski)
open 11.30 - midnight
Closed Sundays

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Tempted by a guide saying this was "the best pasta in Sofia" we went to this Italian restaurant in a smart residential suburb.

In terms of decor and general ambience this is a stylish and elegant (two words not usually associated with Sofia) restaurant that would not look out of place in Beverly Hills or Belgravia.

Sadly, the food was less imaginative and not up to the cooking standards of the amazing cheap'n'cheerful Double Espresso in Balham. Spaghetti alio olio, my test for an Italian kitchen, had no evidence of garlic. Penne Arrabiata bland. At the upper end of prices by local standards. Sorry. Go for a stylish meeting or a drink - forget the food.

ul Atanas Dalchev 6 Sofia 1113
tel: 02 970 01 28

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A genuine French restaurant, French chef/owner and Bulgarian wife make it welcoming and familial.

The food is superb from the relatively small seasonal menu. Warm fig salad, duck with honey and balsamic vinegar, and desserts to die for, all make this a-little-above-average-priced restaurant worth every Lev.

Closed Sundays and in August (well, it is French!)
Open 12 - 10pm weekdays, 6pm-10pm Saturdays.

ul Tsar Simeon 78
(about four blocks north of pl Nezavismost)
tel 02 983 14 17 or 0887 523 376

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Opened in 1926, timber beamed and clad, a large restaurant with many covers, but with several spaces inside and out, so that everywhere seems reasonably intimate. Tree shaded courtyards.

Traditional Bulgarian food of the highest quality - and huge portions! Plenty for vegetarians, and a meat-eaters heaven. My mixed grill was one of the best I have ever eaten. The large menu and extensive wine list are very reasonable. On a Monday evening, the restaurant was completely full, which would indicate essential booking. Highly recommended. Folk music on weekend evenings, which I haven't experienced.

ul Elin Pelin 1
tel: 02 866 50 53
open 12 noon - 1am

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Apparently there are 161 monasteries in Bulgaria, and this wonderful restaurant has 161 dishes on the menu taken from them, made an even more lengthy read with its anecdotes, proverbs and cooking tips.

The traditional food is superb, with many dishes not usually found even in other "traditional" menus. An extensive wine list, a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere make this an ideal place to go for a leisurely meal. Like most restaurants in Sofia, it is open all day, in this case from 11am-2am.

In the heat, the courtyard is a delight, with trees and a water mist system that keeps it wonderfully cool. Be warned that in this and most restaurants in Bulgaria, the portions are more than generous - sharing is fun! Booking absolutely essential.

ul. Han Asparouh 67
tel 02 980 38 83
www.magernitsa.com
Off 6 Septemvri Str, one block from Patriarh Evtimrii Bld.

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