Anyone who has visited Plovdiv at least once will be able to show you around and show you the popular cafes and restaurants along Main Street and in the Kapana district. Among them there are many that have been tested in time and are usually the first choice for all arrivals. Surely you have read and heard about them already, and some - we ourselves adore and recommend.
Today, however, our text is dedicated to a few hidden restaurants that you can’t spot just from a walk. Most of the time, someone has to show them to you, and we'll even tell you and recommend what to try. We haven’t ranked them in any particular order, but recommend them as real favorites of everyone from the editorial staff of the only digital guide under the hills.
The first three are literally a few steps away from the city center, but at the same time they are real hidden gems. Their courtyards are small, but so intimate and cozy that we are happy to escape there from the crowds.
d'Asti Osteria Italiana is our little escape to Italy, and the highlight of the menu are authentic recipes, mostly from the central and southern parts of the country. Everything is perfectly selected and sorted so that customers can be sure that they will receive the highest quality products and taste. The service and attention to every customer here is at a very high level, and the flavors are incredible. For connoisseurs, we recommend the pork cheeks and veal tails, which are prepared for 40 hours using sous-vide technology, and for pizza lovers, you must try the Pistachio e Burrata with aromatic pistachio pesto.
Golden Garden - defining their cuisine in one word is not easy at all, as the recipes are the most diverse and creative. In most cases, they are based on a certain product, which the chef Zhivko has selected himself and mixes the additives around it, most skillfully balancing the taste and creating that feeling of complete enjoyment of the food. In the menu, you will find the perfect combination of typical Bulgarian flavors, prepared in an innovative way - both in the Grandma's Board specialty, and real masterchef performances from the molecular cuisine, which will stun you with smoke and magic. At the end of last year, they opened a second location in Kyuchuk Paris - Golden Garden 2, where the concept is even more developed and allows them to combine the offering of quality and excellently prepared food with the creation of memories from the visit itself.
The Yerevan Armenian restaurant is located at the foot of Sahat Tepe next to Grozdov Pazar Square, as it’s known among Plovdiv residents, but its real name is September 22. This is the place for traditional Armenian specialties that will make you lick your fingers. It has been a local favorite for years and their menu will not disappoint. They also offer a lunch menu, and from the permanent menu we recommend Manta and their meat-free sarmi.
It isn’t typical to come to Plovdiv and come across excellent Japanese cuisine, but the next place will really make you dizzy with oriental recipes and aromas. At Japonica, some of the products are stocked directly from the Land of the Rising Sun, and some from special exchanges abroad. In the menu you will find a variety of authentic Japanese dishes, most of which are chef Lozev's original recipes. You must try the ramen, and as for their sushi options - we can only say that they are really worth it!
Musoni and Chef Burdarov are the other culinary destination we will take you to today. With it, we dive directly into the depths of the maritime culinary treasury and discover some real pearls on the menu. We highly recommend the seafood pasta with octopus and the meal for two with as many as three types of fish.
Osteria Rosmarino will make you feel like you are in Italy. The family restaurant enchants with wonderfully prepared Italian cuisine, delicious pizzas and desserts. The bread is baked on site. The pasta is fresh and classic. The tagliatelle with veal ragout are distinctive. We recommend always going with the fresh pasta - it's a bit more expensive, but the difference is worth every penny. The steaks here are close to perfection. The same goes for the antipasti. Do not miss the seafood - you will feel the taste of the Mediterranean.
Restaurant Fotoclub is located in Old Plovdiv, but again it is a little off the typical tourist routes. It is characterized by the variety of delicious Bulgarian food and the extremely friendly staff. There's quite a selection of offal offerings here, such as roast ears and slanina, but even if you don't find something that's quite to your taste, they're sure to have a dish to keep you coming back.
All listed establishments are our personal preferences and impressions. Some are more popular, others not so much, but they are certainly not the typical tourist spots where the locals don't go.
