Izbata Tavern — Restaurant in Sofia City

We ate for lunch here and felt very uncomfortable. The food was good but we did not even finish because we wanted to leave. The local is very central and the atmosphere is traditional but the service was rather unfriendly. Not all of them of course. I ordered a typical bulgarian drink and there was something in there that i did not know why it was there and if it was normal so i asked the young waitress she was nice about that and took it with her to the kitchen. When the older ( i guess the head waitress) found out about it she was kind of rudely asking " what is the theater about" even thoughthe younger waitres told her that i eas not complaining. I ordered water instead but it never came so never mind. The chef was also nice to explain what was that in my drink but the older waitress was constanly shouting at the other waitresses or was talking about the clients, I was bulgarian and could understand her unfortunately so i would recommend to not talk about the clients except they cannot hear you. We did not finish our food because we felt uncomfortable but maybe they just had a bad day and are a kind staff. As a bulgarian, I wont come...

I enjoy a good Shopska Salad. I have yet to be disappointed by one. And that's how the meal started. The weakest Shopska I've had in Bulgaria. The vegetarian dolmas were quite good, though, so it wasn't a total loss of an appetizer round. And the baked eggplant was tasty, but tasted like the ingredients could have come out of a series of cans. Then the mains came. My chicken satch, monk's style was good. Really good even. And then I realized something as I kept eating... The dish was leaving a nasty aftertaste in my mouth. I had (and still have) no idea why, but it was still there now fifteen minutes later. Take that as you will. My fiancée had the chicken chop, which is a chicken breast. Simple enough. But this came out so tough that even I - lumberjack that I consider myself to be - could neither chew nor digest it. After some argument, they eventually removed it from the bill, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't be warned about it. Beyond that, the place itself, decor-wise, was really cute. It's not terrible food, but go in knowing what to expect... average...

Having read some of the other reviews, I can't understand how this restaurant has been criticised as being expensive or the staff as being rude. This was far from our experience.

We had two friendly servers, one of whom is the smiley Kris. We ordered a number of drinks, traditional Bulgarian mains, and desserts, and Kris was happy to explain each dish (and offer recommendations) throughout our meal.

The food was hearty, delicious and generously portioned. I cannot speak more highly of the veal with forest mushrooms and rice, which went down easily in even the 32 degree heat. The homemade cherry brandy was also delicious (tip: mix it with some sprite to make a tasty concoction).

The crowning glory was the delicious milk cream and orange topping, which was a pannacotta with orange gel base. It had the perfect wobble and consistency, and I would happily devour many more of them.

Although it isn't the cheapest food that can be had in Sofia, we all thought that it was well worth the wonderful meal and experience. We would certainly recommend this...