Hadjidraganov's Cellars — Restaurant in Sofia City

So this is obviously very popular among tourists as I was turned away the first night I tried to get a seating. They were not very friendly but maybe it's just their brusk manner. Anyways I was able to book the place for lunch the next day and once again the person checking the reservation was not friendly either. As for the interior it's much smaller than expected and the seats are small. The decoration definitely tried very hard to give a folkish vibe and maybe that's why it's super popular among tourists. As for food I tried the homemade banitsa, the lamb soup and the deboned lamb head. The banitsa is not bad as it's not as oily or sweet that I thought, which is great. The lamb soup is alright but nothing special for me to say it's delicious. They put a lot of green onions in the soup which didn't bother me but the taste is both bland and salty at the same time. I pondered hard between the veal and the roasted lamb but at the end decided to try deboned lamb head as it's something new and I was told it's delicious. It's not. It's so so at best. There are eyes (I think the hard eye balls themselves were removed so you get the cartilage around the eyeballs) and brain (harder than I expected). I don't think it tastes good and I'm not stranger to eyes or brains but this dish just isn't flavorful. I'll put more spices myself and the meat from cheek is overcooked. Overall I don't know what the fuss is for this restaurant. Also the prices are definitely higher than typical. I don't really recommend this place. I'm debating whether to give this a 2 stars as the service especially at the entrance gives me a bitter taste but decided to just rate it...

1000% tourist trap! And shamelessly so! It is full with patrons because of sponsored advertisements in the tourist websites. Atmosphere: Disney Land style over exaggerated parody of traditional decor. Management and service: brisk, overworked, understaffed and impersonal. In total contrast to the traditional Bulgarian hospitality you encounter in the local joints where the hosts would go out of their way to make their guests welcome. Also they indirectly kick you out hours before the advertised closing time. Another words, this establishment is operated as a money making machine providing minimal effort. Entertainment: the so called musicians are outside contractors shamelessly harassing the guests and demanding, I repeat, not expecting but demanding huge tips way above the customary accepted in Bulgaria. If they don’t receive what they think they can squeeze out of you, they throw an embarrassing fits in front of everyone. Food: I am absolutely flabbergasted! Food was totally inedible. The meats tasted microwave defrosted, cooked way an advance, reheated, smelly and WAY over salted. INEDIBLE! We left everything! Total disappointment. Judge for yourself but my suggestion is to stay away and find a local low key joint where the clientele...

Nice place. Food tasted excellent, it’s not gourmet or fancy. Waiter was pleasant and patient. Fast service. Decor is cute and warm. Menu is extensive. May be a bit touristy but there were many locals here, all range of people here like dates, business lunch, tourists. It seems to be authentic enough, possibly meant to evoke memories of more country style places where city folk grew up (or their parents were from)? If you know USA’s “Cracker Barrel” chain kind if like that but much more authentic and classy here. The long board of grilled beef, which in reality looked different from and was much better than the menu photo, was fantastic and filling and had nice skillet fried potatoes and big simple salad, if you order that you don’t need to order a salad. Grilled lamb chops also good, the lamb taste was subtle (great!). The rice that came with it was great, nice seasoning. The homemade wine is very sweet, almost like syrup, as was the cherry liqueur, we don’t like sweet drinks but somehow we liked both! Draft beer was Czech and good. Baklava was really nice, sweet as expected but very good. Good location and one block from the pedestrian mall. We’re happy...