The Bulgarian national salad: tomato, cucumber, raw or roasted pepper and onion, all crowned with a snowfall of grated sirene cheese. Eaten with rakia and bread.
Codified by the Bulgarian state tourism agency Balkanturist in 1955 as the national salad to promote to foreign visitors, with the colours (red, white, green) matching the Bulgarian flag. Shopska is named for the Shopi people of western Bulgaria; today it is the canonical Bulgarian opening course, eaten with rakia and bread before every shared meal in Plovdiv and across the country.
4 editor picks for Shopska salad in Plovdiv, ranked by editorial score. All Plovdiv signature dishes · Shopska salad 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.