Constantinoff RestoBar — Restaurant in Sofia City

Food: the expensive prices are not worth it. The quality of our meals was quite lacking. The duck magret was both small, overcooked and the skin had no texture (where did they learn how to cook magret?). I ordered the veal cheeks with grilled vegetables as i can't eat the purée. The meat part was good, if not slightly overly done, but the vegetables were completely undercooked, carrot was basically raw, uneven pieces, just a sham. the zucchini were bitter cause they forgot to either peel them or marinate them a bit. And the worst were the pepper: hard skin, not grilled enough, and when i pay around 40 lev for my plate I expect the skin of the peppers either grilled enough or taken (especially true when thick). The duck confit was good but clearly store bought and way to expensive for the work done. I'm not even gonna talk about the canneloni. Just bad. My friend couldn't even finish them.

The food would have gotten one star if not for the cocktails, which were quite decent and not overpriced. They do have pretty good mocktails (I took one that was slightly on the sugary side, but still quite enjoyable)

The service was pretty meh. we had to wait more than 20 mins to get our waiter to take our orders. and when one of their glass randomly broke, spilled everything and slightly drenched us. Nobody came to give us napkins nor replacement drink. We had to order a new one after 10-15 mins. They served us the food randomly and not all plates together. I got my plate 5-10 min before all the others, and it had time to be cold by the time they recieved theirs and we could begin eating. Let me clarify that I am not blaming the individual waiters (which were pretty nice) but the whole organisation. the management feels lacking for such prices and such a beautiful place cause the place looks amazing, the decor is very nice. the music is a bit too loud for my taste but that is the case everywhere in Bulgaria so i am not complaining on that point. As a whole, disappointing experience for how nice of a...

Beautiful restaurant, indoor sitting on two levels, outdoor sitting as well. Nicely decorated, artfully lit. Food presentation is top notch. Service is a little slow but this is Bulgaria so it's expected.

Extensive menu, allergens are marked but make sure you ask for the allergen legend, it's separate from the menu. I'm pretty sure it's EU standard though so 1 is wheat, 7 is dairy etc. Server made a note to the kitchen that I need gluten-free and dairy-free and was very nice about it. They made modifications for my salad and some of the other dishes. Very meat and fish heavy, lots of dairy in the form of cheese or yogurt, but for vegans they have sides that are big portions and can constitute a dinner. I had baked potatoes side, grilled veggies side and charred corn side and they were all great and bigger than expected. The two big deliciously seasoned baked potatoes alone were enough to keep me fed.

They have a very neat trick how they serve tiramisu in a mocca pot pouring the coffee in and steam comes up and it's a whole thing, and my companions said it was tasty. I had a raspberry sorbet that was a little too sweet for my taste but pleasant. Their coffee is good.

Large drink menu. My companions had gin cocktails they liked and i had an alcohol free gin cocktail that was not my thing but i appreciated the effort.

Now. The prices are not for the faint of heart. I know it's Sofia and i know it's Vitoshka, but what they're charging is objectively unrealistic for what they're serving. The place was full though, so i guess supply and demand.. So maybe go for a special occasion and plan to pay more than you...

Creating a good restaurant is a difficult job and requires a couple of things - not only a good chef to create a menu and maintain high standards, but competent service and great atmosphere. Constantinoff are doing extremely well in all of those departments, and after a bit of a rough start they have perfected their menu to be exactly what's needed.

The place is pleasant, not super fancy, but not too ordinary and pub-like either.

➡️ Food is tasty, elegantly served and the quantity is enough (used to be less). There's a selection of wines and other types of alcohol like rum are well-presented, something very rare for Sofia.

➡️ Staff is doing their job well

➡️ Interior design is extremely well done. It was done by professionals, obviously, and the project was made with an extreme care to detail, and then executed to the point. The style suits me a lot, but even if it didn't, I still appreciate the huge amount of care that was poured into that place to make it look the way it looks. I also want to own a couple of chairs now.

Now for a few critiques

⚠️ Loud music at the lower floor. The place gets very crowded at evenings, which makes the floor filled with people. That's normal, what's not normal is forcing all those people to scream at each other, because the music is so loud. The attempt to make it a fancy evening club type of place is not working at all, last night we barely heard each other and it was unpleasant.

⚠️ Rum should be served in pretty glasses, which are apparently used for whiskey only. I forget to ask for that every time, and I shouldn't...