Lyutenitsa is the Bulgarian roasted pepper, tomato and aubergine spread. Sweet, smoky, slightly spicy, eaten on bread with sirene or alongside grills.
Lyutenitsa is the late-September Bulgarian preserve. Families roast bell peppers and aubergines over wood fires, peel them by hand, then cook the flesh with tomato into a thick spread put up in jars for winter. The Plovdiv plain is one of Bulgaria's largest pepper-growing regions, and the autumn roasting fills the city's neighbourhoods with sweet smoke.
4 editor picks for Lyutenitsa in Plovdiv, ranked by editorial score. All Plovdiv signature dishes · Lyutenitsa 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.
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.
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.