Bulgaria - Eastern Europe - page 78

marinated in wine and spices, and roasted over coals. Located in an old house on a
quiet semiresidential street, every room is decorated with traditional Bulgarian rugs
and fabrics, and the atmosphere is wonderfully laid-back—service can be slow, but if
Dinev is your waiter it will at least be good. Almost empty at lunch, the Cookhouse
is better visited at nights.
67 Hans Asparuh St. & 02/980 3883. 8lev-12lev ($5-$16/£1.75-£4.15). MC, V. Daily 11am-2am.
Motto CAFE Motto attracts a really cool crowd, and that includes the staff. If
you're not yet in the mood for eating, this is just the place to lounge around with a
cocktail or a glass of wine (some of Bulgaria's famous reds are available here by the
glass) and the papers (all hanging at the entrance hall, including the Sofia Echo ). In
inclement weather you'll have to sprawl in the stylish dining hall, but if it's balmy head
on through to the green garden, furnished with modern timber couches and tables
and chairs. Those in search of a romantic tryst be warned: It's laid-back at lunch but
can get very crowded at nights, when the DJs can crank it up. Light meals include a
tasty avocado and veal salad; chili con carne with tortilla chips, burritos; and spinach
rolls with stewed tomatoes and crispy celery. If you really want to fill up, there's a heav-
ier selection (duck breast roasted in red wine and served with forest mushroom jam;
chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto, cheese, spinach, and cream). Whether light
cafe-style burger, or slightly more challenging main, the kitchen delivers—maybe not
immediately when it's at full buzz, but who cares when you're entranced by the crowd,
and wondering where all the beautiful people go when the sun comes up.
18 Aksakov St. & 02/987 27 23. www.motto-bg.com. Main courses 8lev-25lev ($5-$32/£1.75-£8.65). AE, MC, V.
Daily 10am-1am.

Pod Lipite BULGARIAN This is possibly the best Bulgarian-themed restau-
rant in the city—certainly so if you judge a traditionally styled restaurant, geared pre-
dominantly to foreigners, by the number of locals who support it. Step inside and
you've left the city for a classic timber-beamed rural mehana; four rooms decorated
with traditional weavings, musical instruments, and farm implements. Outside in the
lovely courtyard (replete with fountain) are more rustic timber tables, each with the
traditional ceramic spice dish containing pepper, salt, and other traditional spice mix-
tures (used regularly in Bulgaria like salt and pepper) such as chubritsa, lyut, and
sharena sol, so you can spice up to taste, and a candle lantern to add atmosphere. Then
there's the food. If you haven't yet tried Bulgarian cuisine, this is the place to do so.
There's a great selection of salads, delicious breads (try the louchnik—a wedge of
bread filled with lightly seasoned caramelized onions), followed by a selection of deli-
cately spiced charcoal-grilled meats (or one of the zucchini, eggplant, and or pepper-
and-cheese dishes, or “leaf ” rolls, if you're no carnivore). The food is excellent, the live
music in the evenings is good, and the waiters know what they're talking about. No
wonder its been going strong since 1926.
1 Elin Pelin St. & 02/866 5053. Reservations essential. 8lev-20lev ($5-$13/£1.75-£4.50). No credit cards. Daily
noon-1am.

INEXPENSIVE
Divaka BULGARIAN Open 24/7, Divaka (meaning “Savage”) serves up
amazingly large and delicious portions to young Sofians in search of the best bargain
this side of the Balkans. The decor is no-nonsense—rough tables and benches in three
small rooms with timber archways, as well as a tiny outside area round the back—and
service is at best described as indifferent, but the food really is good. The Divaka sarmi

Value