With a conflicting and enticing melange of Byzantine churches, neo-classicist Stalinist and downright flashy landmarks, Sofia, Bulgaria, dating back to Thracian times, is now coming of age.
Since Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, signs of increased affluence in Sofia are evident. Infrastructure improvements, such as ongoing extensions to the metro, are increasing the quality of life for everyone, while top earners splash out at Italian designer stores where the cost of a handbag exceeds the local average monthly salary. Late-night café bars like Buddha Bar, around Ulitsa Saborna and Lege by Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan, are more akin to cocktail bars in fashionable pockets of New York and London.
The watering holes listed below are not a list of chi chi cocktail bars (well, only one), but places to drink which encompass Sofia's ambiance, character and history. Sofia is a compact city center, so you can experience many of these over a weekend.
A glass of bubbly mid-way through the opera: The graceful colonnaded National Opera House has been a popular culture hot-spot in Sofia for years, where Bulgaria's best divas strut their stuff. Tickets are pretty affordable for the masses -- just don't be alarmed when cell phones ring mid-performance. When most of the audience disappear outside for an interval cigarette, slip over to the bar for a glass of bubbly. It might not be champagne -- can you really tell the difference? -- but its decent sparkling wine is a delightful pick-me-up, and amazingly cheap. Be warned: operas here are sung in their original language with Bulgarian surtitles, so it helps if you know the plot in advance.
Warm mineral water from the springs: As you stroll from the mineral baths (still under reconstruction), you'll see locals queuing to fill their bottles from the taps gushing with warm mineral water. Some even bring a stash of empty beer bottles to refill. If it wasn't for these therapeutic waters, the Romans would never have come here, so its springs are a pretty significant landmark. It was for that reason that on my last visit, on a steaming hot June afternoon, it seemed appropriate to take a glug of the waters -- surprisingly refreshing.
Espresso in plaza Bulgaria: The main reason I drink espresso in Bulgaria rather than an Americano with a little hot milk, is that it's easier to say and also read from the menu, as the Cyrillic script take some mastering. "Edno espresso, molya" generally gets me a strong coffee half-filling a plastic cup, the receptacle of choice in most street cafés. After Sofia shakes off the chilly winter, tables and chairs appear on terraces and walkways by late spring and parks fill with makeshift café-bars. My favourite is at the northern end of plaza Bulgaria, looking south to the National Palace of Culture (NDK), a concrete monolith and multi-purpose arts venue. Pulling up a seat at the wooden tables, alongside locals nursing their morning beer, the swathe of grass and concrete paths fill with skateboarders and rollerbladers, and an unmistakable spirit of joi de vivre.
Draft beer at Halbite: Bulgarians love their wines and vodkas, but often a draft beer is the only thing to hit the spot. Halbite (Ulitsa Neofit Rilski 72), one of my favourite Sofia bars, sits on a central but quiet street and welcomes visitors with a leafy garden patio and an earthy cosy interior for cold nights. The drinks list is long but it's hard to beat a half-litre of Zagorka beer, especially accompanied with Bulgarian dishes like warming grills, refreshing salads (in Bulgaria, even real men eat salad), and even a generous choice of vegetarian food. Once it's too cold to drink alfresco, head inside for sturdy wooden tables and nooks, with decent rock emerging from the jukebox.
Boza at Zhenski Pazar: Imagine beige-coloured beer with a creamy consistency, and take away the alcohol. Boza doesn't appear or taste particularly appetising at first (it's taking me a while to see its qualities) but it's a popular drink in the Balkans, Turkey, and Eastern Europe, and should be tried at least once. Cool and refreshing in summer, yet hearty and warming in winter, the supermarket version contains assorted additives, but your best bet is the drinks stalls in Zhenski Pazar. Between stalls piled high with local honey, seasonal fruits and gardening equipment, peer down the alleys for a simple sign, maybe with a few outside rickety chairs and tables. It makes a very Sofian breakfast, especially when accompanied with fresh banitsa savoury pastries, filled with spinach or cheese.
Cocktails at Yalta: There's no better sign of Sofia's new moneyed class than at upmarket clubs and cocktail bars. Showing off affluence and achingly stylish party-goers, new bars are springing up throughout the city but it's down to an old favourite, Yalta (Tsar Osvoboditel 20), to set the scene. Going strong since 1989 with an über-cool makeover in 2005, its electronica sounds and guest DJs have made it what many believe central to the Sofia clubbing scene. If you need to escape the funkily lit and packed dancefloor, head outside to the huge white designer chairs on the terrace. A long cool cocktail is the drink of choice, so on warm nights order a mojito and join the beautiful people.
Emma Levine is the author and photographer of Frommer's Istanbul Day By Day (2009), and Dublin Day By Day (2008).
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