BESO Restaurant — Restaurant in Spring Valley

Can't remember what I had been searching for originally, but this place which seemed to pop up out of nowhere on the map yet apparently has been open since 2022 (per the helpfully labeled coasters at the bar) caught my eye. Google Translate tells me "beso" means kiss in Bulgarian just as it does in Spanish. Never had Bulgarian food before! Spacious, almost cavernous inside. Decor was like opposite personalities at war - tony garden foyer, large ornate mirrors on the wall, small chandelier over a window-side table what I guess was the prime dining spot - alongside a bar which seemed more sport than country villa, a random wee disco ball, and a harsh black beamed industrial ceiling. Opted to sit at the bar. Supplied bread was very good. Ordered the Tarator to start; quite pleasant and refreshing, loved the cucumber bites, decent portion in the bowl. For the main chose the Uviatch - pork, bacon, mushrooms, cheese, and pickles. I like all of those things so was interested in how they tasted together. Fries were included; the server asked if I would like feta on top. More cheese? Yes please! When the plate arrived I knew I would not be able to polish it off, could easily have served two. This would be an excellent winter meal. So, sliced the roll in half to release the gooey innards. Lots of cheese, not as much mushroom or pickle. A pity, as those bites which did have pickle pieces were outstanding, a great sour/sweet combo to cut the rich fat content. Fries were good and were generously topped with shredded feta, which made this side a fork rather than finger food. Selected from the presented tray the biscuit cake for dessert. Nicely sized and a fairly light finish compared to the entree of the meal. Service - Professionally uneven e.g. waited a while to be acknowledged at the unmanned entrance, dirty plates weren't removed when pushed aside. But the personalities were very friendly. Value - good, especially as I basically got two meals out of the uviatch and cake. I had suspected that the feta on the fries would be an upcharge and indeed it was ($1); would have been better if that extra charge had been mentioned either on the menu with the entree or by the server. For a different kind of meal and food not typically encountered in the area, BESO was a...

Reluctantly and yet Excitedly, I share GOLD with all of you-- not because I enjoy giving my secrets away, but simply because I want to support the small businesses that truly floor me.

And Beso... is everything!

A delightful atmosphere- wide open space, comfy booths, roomy tables, and a nice-sized outdoor patio, great music (think: the Euro lounge version of Rick Astley... say wha?!?), sometimes even live music.

Great location, ample parking!

A menu that is DIVINE and priced RIGHT- The octopus and grilled veggie dish for around $22 grabbed me from the online menu, and once we arrived, portions and taste did not disappoint!

I SOO appreciate the complimentary bread and goat milk butter (it's the small stuff that has become huge, since so many restaurants in other cities that we've lived forego these niceties anymore!)-- foodie hint... mix in some red vinegar, olive oil, and s+p for a little tang with your creamy butter!

We started with the bacon-wrapped feta and strawberry jam appetizer, which was a perfect combo of flavors.

The octopus and grilled veggie dish was as delicious as I thought it would be, and we also ordered the lamb and potatoes with mushroom gravy. The lamb was PERFECTLY cooked at our "medium" request-- and seriously, NO gravy was needed (but the gravy in and of itself is rich and delicious too!) and the potatoes were crispy, buttery, dill-actible (see what I did there?!)!

I always test out the roasted eggplant salad-- I prefer it mayonnaise-y... and ohhhhh my, this was it!

Our waitress was from Bulgaria, our waiter was from Moldova... there's a distinctive European flair to everything, JUST as I like it.

Lastly, my husband's latte was "the real thing" (his words), and we devoured our Nutella-Marscapone cake and the berrylicious creamy French Layer cake and somehow rolled ourselves out of the restaurant-- without breaking the bank.

This is our new favorite folks, so... please pile on in and enjoy yourselves, but save a table for...

This place is great :) Dined here for valentine's day '23 at 7pm (obviously going to be busy, as are most nice restaurants). Servers are as attentive as the can be considering how busy it is and the number of servers they have. Our server was covering SEVERAL tables across the entire restaurant all at the same time and was still really apologetic with the wait times (which were not even that long) and missing an item. The food was incredible (we got the assorted dips platter, butter and bread with the Bulgarian salt to start, Macedonian moussaka special and mixed grill). The assorted dips are almost identical if not identical aside from smaller portion sizes to BG's and are all delicious spread on bread. The bread is different and softer at Beso but it's a different type of bread. The moussaka was a special for the night. Also super delicious and came with some sort of sour cream type of yummy thick sauce. It was well cooked but the flavor profile was lacking compared to other moussaka had other places. Lighter than expected. The mixed grill came with the most tender center cut pork chop I've ever had, 2 different types of sausages (both delicious and well seasoned), and a meatball. All meats were well seasoned and cooked perfectly. The textures for both types of sausage and the meatball were all spot on. Thick, no excessive fillers, and overall great. The food was comparable to but not exactly the same as the main restaurant they are an extension of (BG Bistro). The atmosphere is different than BG (more of a lounge type of ambience, full bar connected as opposed to the restaurant one side, clubby bar on the other side that BG has going on) and there was good jazzy live cover music throughout our dining time (I'm not sure how often they have...