Kavarma is the Bulgarian clay-pot stew: pork or chicken slow-cooked with onions, peppers, tomato and paprika until the meat falls from the bone.
The dish takes its name from the Turkish kavurma (roasted meat), reflecting Ottoman influence on Bulgarian kitchens. Bulgarian villages each have a personal recipe; the clay pot (gyuvech) holds the heat and concentrates the sauce into a thick, paprika-stained gravy. In Plovdiv tavernas the pot arrives bubbling at the table with bread for mopping and a glass of mavrud red wine.
4 editor picks for Kavarma in Plovdiv, ranked by editorial score. All Plovdiv signature dishes · Kavarma across every city.
Restaurant Alafrangite ★ 4.3
old-town · ul. Kiril Nektariev 13, 4000 Plovdiv
Restaurant Alafrangite occupies an 18th-century Revival house with a courtyard garden in Old Plovdiv. Traditional Bulgarian salads and meat dishes anchor.
Stariyat Plovdiv ★ 4.3
kapana · ul. Frederic Joliot-Curie 6A, 4000 Plovdiv
Tucked on a Kapana side street with a shaded rooftop, Stariyat Plovdiv runs a stone pizza oven and charcoal grill alongside traditional Bulgarian classics.
Boris Palace ★ 4.3
old-town · ul. Saborna 49, 4000 Plovdiv
Boris Palace, a Saborna Street Revival mansion turned boutique hotel, serves Bulgarian and European cooking with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.
Odeon Restaurant ★ 4.1
old-town · ul. Otets Paisiy 40, 4000 Plovdiv
Odeon Hotel-Restaurant on Otets Paisiy serves classic Bulgarian cooking with a covered courtyard, a few minutes' walk from the Old Town's southern gate.