Bulgarian yoghurt is the original Lactobacillus bulgaricus culture: thick, tangy, eaten as breakfast, dressing for tarator, condiment for sarmi and base for ayran.
Stamen Grigorov isolated Lactobacillus bulgaricus in 1905 at a Geneva laboratory, and the bacterium gives Bulgarian yoghurt its characteristic tang and texture. Bulgaria built a yoghurt export industry on the discovery; the country's centenarians were once attributed to daily yoghurt consumption, and the live-culture pots remain a fixture on every Plovdiv breakfast table.
4 editor picks for Bulgarian yoghurt in Plovdiv, ranked by editorial score. All Plovdiv signature dishes · Bulgarian yoghurt across every city.
Pavaj ★ 4.7
kapana · ul. Zlatarska 7, 4000 Plovdiv
Raycho Markov sources from his father's farm 20 km outside Plovdiv; the short Pavaj menu rotates with the seasons in this Kapana neighborhood flagship.
Aylyakria ★ 4.6
kapana · ul. Kozhuharska 3, 4000 Plovdiv
Modern Bulgarian gastro-bar in a 100-year-old Kapana house. Banitsa, shopska and grilled meats with vegetarian and gluten-free options on offer.
Hali Banitsa Counter ★ 4.6
centre · ul. Evlogi Georgiev 1, beside Hali market, 4000 Plovdiv
The unnamed banitsa counter beside Hali market on Evlogi Georgiev has worked the same corner for roughly fifty years; the marmalade banitsa is its anchor.
Hemingway ★ 4.5
centre · ul. Gen. Gurko 10, 4000 Plovdiv
Refined Hemingway sits in a 1930s modernist building on Gurko Street. Seasonal Bulgarian and European cooking, deep Bulgarian and international wine list.