Tarator is the Bulgarian cold yoghurt soup with cucumber, walnut, dill, garlic and a splash of sunflower oil. The summer staple from June through September.
Tarator's roots are Persian via Ottoman Turkey, where the dish was originally a yoghurt sauce. Bulgaria's contribution was thinning it into a soup and folding in cucumber and walnut. Today it is one of the most recognisable Bulgarian dishes, served chilled to start summer meals from June through September across Plovdiv's tavernas and family tables.
4 editor picks for Tarator in Plovdiv, ranked by editorial score. All Plovdiv signature dishes · Tarator 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.
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.
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.