Pavaj ★ 4.7
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.
Signature: Farm vegetable plate, Slow-cooked pork shoulder
The restaurants worth the trip in Plovdiv. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
Our picks in Plovdiv
Aylyakria ★ 4.6
Modern Bulgarian gastro-bar in a 100-year-old Kapana house. Banitsa, shopska and grilled meats with vegetarian and gluten-free options on offer.
Signature: Banitsa with sirene, Shopska salad
Hemingway ★ 4.5
Refined Hemingway sits in a 1930s modernist building on Gurko Street. Seasonal Bulgarian and European cooking, deep Bulgarian and international wine list.
Signature: Duck breast with cherry sauce, Seafood risotto
Nobel by Chef Shishkov ★ 4.6
Chef Tanyo Shishkov's Plovdiv flagship in the Residence City Garden Hotel near Tsar Simeon Garden. Bulgaria's celebrity chef cooking refined fine dining.
Signature: Tasting menu, Lamb shoulder
Salt and Pepper ★ 4.7
Chef Nikolay Boroukov's modern Mediterranean room is one of the few Plovdiv tables that does fine dining seriously, with original menus beyond classics.
Signature: Duck confit, Seasonal vegetarian plate
Tams House ★ 4.6
Tams House, opened 2018 in the heart of Kapana, runs an author menu of modern Bulgarian cooking from small regional farms with seasonal Plovdiv produce.
Signature: Slow-cooked beef cheek, Seasonal vegetable course
Restaurant Philippopolis ★ 4.4
Gallery-restaurant on Saborna Street in Old Plovdiv with a garden perched on a Roman wall above Kapana. National and European tastes in a Revival house.
Signature: Garden Bulgarian mezze, Grilled meats
Memory Wine and Dine ★ 4.4
Memory sits on Saedinenie Square across from the Thursday market: 130 seats inside, 80 in a summer garden, Bulgarian wines and piano jazz on weekends.
Signature: Mavrud-braised beef, Cheese flight with Bulgarian wines
Stariyat Plovdiv ★ 4.3
Tucked on a Kapana side street with a shaded rooftop, Stariyat Plovdiv runs a stone pizza oven and charcoal grill alongside traditional Bulgarian classics.
Signature: Wood-oven shopska plate, Charcoal-grilled kebapche
Smokini ★ 4.5
Smokini sits a block from Kapana on Otets Paisiy. Mediterranean cooking interleaved with modern Bulgarian, homemade bread, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Signature: Daily weekly menu, Homemade gourmet bread
Maramao ★ 4.6
Chef Freddy's Maramao runs a tiny courtyard kitchen on the edge of Kapana. House-made bread, pasta, cakes and Italian classics with authentic products.
Signature: House-made pasta, Tiramisu
Restaurant Alafrangite ★ 4.3
Restaurant Alafrangite occupies an 18th-century Revival house with a courtyard garden in Old Plovdiv. Traditional Bulgarian salads and meat dishes anchor.
Signature: Sarmi, Grilled lamb
Boris Palace ★ 4.3
Boris Palace, a Saborna Street Revival mansion turned boutique hotel, serves Bulgarian and European cooking with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.
Signature: Garden Bulgarian mezze, Slow-roasted lamb
Marmalad ★ 4.0
Marmalad runs all day at the edge of Kapana on Bratya Pulievi: salads, sandwiches, pasta, jazz and chillout music, with a nightclub of the same name below.
Signature: Daily main, Pasta
Brick House Kapana ★ 4.2
Brick House sits a few doors from Cat and Mouse on Hristo Dyukmedzhiev. Stylish but cosy Kapana bar-diner serving burgers and a Bulgarian craft beer list.
Signature: Brick House burger, Local craft beer flight
Odeon Restaurant ★ 4.1
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.
Signature: Kavarma, Kebapche
Puldin Restaurant ★ 4.0
Puldin sits in a 19th-century Revival merchant's house high in Old Plovdiv. The terrace looks across the city; the kitchen runs classic Bulgarian banqueting.
Signature: Sarmi, Grilled trout