Rules for an Enjoyable Dining Experiences in Bulgaria

There is no such thing as bad food in Bulgaria. There is many a food dish  served cold after sitting for 30 minutes at the waiter station and other silly things.   To enjoy your dining experience you should consider the different culture  in Bulgarian Restaurant service versus your own country and what your expectations are.  I write as an American Expat in Bulgaria since 2013.  I truly enjoy the 3-4 hour dinners with friends and guests, however the service will drive anyone from America nuts if you don't command the dinner. To enjoy your dinner please be the Commander in Chief and advise your guests of the following: 

To turn your dining experience into a wonderful evening is entirely in your own hands and command.  If you do not understand how food is served you will have your entree first, your desert second, your side dishes 30 minutes later cold and your salad will be forgotten.   While you muddle through this the one who ordered the fish will be served one hour later after everyone else has finished or is still waiting. It becomes a very awkward dinner and no one in any Bulgarian restaurant will change their culture unless you control it. 

First are the drink orders.

Generally the waiter  will ask one woman first and go get her drink, then the second woman and go get her drink, etc.  Finally they will get to the men and it is the same process.   So Please manage the dinner and order all drinks at once.  Otherwise it will take 30 minutes for a table of four to first get their wine choice and then their water choice.   Really the first person will be finished with her drink before the last person getting their first drink.  Ice is not served with anything unless requested.  If you ask for ice you will get one small cube.  If you want your water or cola  with ice and  if you have American tastes you will want a full glass of ice and the bottle to be set beside the glass filled with ice.  "Monogo Let" means "Fill it up with ICE"  It is the same for the dinner order.  The waiter will take one order, leave the table, bring the food and take the second order.   Yes,  True!  Not uncommon for the first person to be served and finished with dinner prior to the fourth person giving their order.  Crazy for me to understand but that is how it is unless you control the process. 

Your wine will be brought prior to your water and the cork will immediately be thrown in the trash.  Thus if you might not drink a full bottle you must claim the cork immediately and put it in your pocket.   Otherwise the waiter will take it from the table even if you have claimed it  and left it on the table the waiter will take it and throw it in the trash.   If you ask for a "Toppa"  they will roll up a napkin and stuff it in the bottle. 

As police can stop anyone for any reason at any time of day or night if the bottle is not sealed you will have problems.  Instead of finishing the bottle at home you will be at the police station for many hours.

Rule # 1  TiP Tip Tip.   10 lev is $6.   Tip the Maitre D.  TiP the server 10%   Nobody tips in Bulgaria and it they do it is 1 lev-65 cents.   Become known as a big tipper.   It will get you a table the minute you walk in.   Tonight there were about 40 people in line at Djanny--the premier restaurant in Sunny Beach.  I walked through everyone and was immediately shown a table---almost like in the "Godfather."  all for $6 instead of waiting for one hour for a table in the back. The average pay is 10 lev a day--$6 per day. 

Rule # 2  Pay your meal by your credit card and your Tip in local cash.  Do not use Euro Net ATM's
After conversion they charge a 13% commission.  As most cards are limited to 400 lev per transaction that means you will pay almost $50 if you use Euronet.  I use a Card company that does not charge a commission and only $3 for a foreign transaction,  thus today I got 400 lev for a total fo $225 and if I went to Euronet it would have been close to $275 with the fee, the conversion and the commission.  Read everything on the ATM as it comes up as the commissions must be disclosed prior to your acceptance. 

RULE # 3.   Control the Waiter by ordering one item at a time for all four.  Do not let the waiter leave the minute you order Salad for first person.   This is hard to control so you must tell the waiter that you will order first course for all four prior to them leaving, etc.  When the waiter bolts after they have the first order immediately tell them to stop.  Don't be afraid to do this.  This is how the waiters are trained. 

Rule # 4  ASK, ASK, ASK,  How is the food prepared, what is included etc?  Almost every item is al a cart. If you ask for a Caprese Salad and you do not like mushy tomatoes that have been peeled and basted as Russians like you will be disappointed.  If you like firm fresh tomatoes that have not been peeled you must ask the question about every item on the menu.   Ask first!  Every time, every item!

Bulgaria has been dominated by Russian tastes which are very different  from westerners.  If you like Mussels, ask if they are served in a hot pot or an open dish.   In a pot they will be warm for an hour, in a dish they will be cool in ten minutes.  Cold mussels may be the ideal taste for some but if you are expecting hot mussels you will be disappointed.  Spaghetti Carbonara may be fine thin spaghetti and the Spaghetti Bolognese may be Linguine described on the same menu.    You have to ask and even see the actual item if you prefer a difference.   At many restaurants one night it may be spaghetti and one night it may be linguini---there is no discernment between noodle products.   All are served Al Dente--meaning crunchy.  So if your want your Risotto, noodles, or any wheat or flour produce served fully cooked you must state "No Al Dente"  Very hot and very cooked.  Please ask to see the noodle first.  When I mean crunchy it is like corn flakes with no milk.   


Rule # 5.    Only order appetizers  or each succession for the entire table first.  Nothing else.  Do not give your waiter the entire order of Salad, appetisers, entree and desert.  Otherwise if one orders , Salad, Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables, and Creme Brulee, you might see the desert first the vegetables second, then the salad and maybe the desert while everyone around will have items served in various combinations.  If you order Steak with mashed potatoes and salad, the potatoes might come first, the salad second and the steak may come one hour later after the person who ordered fish, The one who orders Fish will be served one hour after everyone has the table cleared.  As for fish, I do not eat it as it is never deboned.  The few times I ate fish I almost choked to death from splintered bones.  Bulger's seem to not mind crunching down on bones and uncooked wheat products. 

Rule  # 6  Entree,  Specify the delivery for each person.  Meaning, "Serve no one first or last, serve everyone at the same time  for each course and be sure that any "ala carte" items are served at the same time as the entree.  This means if you don't do this your order of Steak with French Fries and Vegetables, the Fries may be served with your wine, the steak one hour later and the Vegetables that you thought were to be served in one plate  were served after everyone had desert.    So say " I only want salads first,  Come back when we have finished our salads."  I will put the following into this rule rather than Rule # 7.  The waiters will rudely wisk plates out from under you or your friends.   When this happens say "Stop"  Do not remove any plate till the Nosh, Valitsa (knife and fork) are turned upside down on every plate.  The waiters will scoop your plates out from underneath you while you have not laid your valitsa down.  In America, we know that no waiter will clear a plate till all have finished the same course then all plates will be remove at the same time.   Not so in Bulgaria.

Rule # 7 Nothing can be returned!   If your order it you must pay for it.  There is no such thing as returning a burned steak, so specify carefully what you want.   Do not say "Medium Rare".  All meat in Bulgaria is served burnt to a crisp and tougher than shoe leather.  That is what Medium Rare is considered.   Specify "I want my steak pink in the middle and no char on the outside and if you bring me something different I will not pay for it."  Ask for agreement.   Be Certain to specify that you will not pay for a steak that is overcooked  and get agreement as a card laid is a card played. 

Rue # 8  Don't order Steak.  It will disappoint you greatly.  It is very expensive and very tough.  No one who had a Kansas City Steak would feed local meat to their dog.  The local fad is "Josper Grill" which is a good grill but you might as well order Hyena  or Giraffe for  a steak in Bulgaria.   There is no Beef  in Bulgaria worth a nickel nevertheless the average of $150 that they charge.  The taste for steak in Bulgaria must be Neanderthalian and not fit for human consumption. Be Certain to specify that you will not pay for a steak that is overcooked  and get agreement as a card laid is a card played.  As for us, we will never order beef in Bulgaria as said shoe leather is better and softer.  Don't be fooled by the "Josper Grill."

9.  Be Humble and Courageous by being quiet and soft spoken.  Be sure you have a language translator on your phone.  Tip, Tip, Tip  10 Lev is $6.  I am convinced that  when Bulgarians are speaking words of love to each other it sounds like the Battle of the Big Horn and Custer's last stand.    The language is Cylicic, loud, guttural, harsh.  It is what it is.  If you do not understand;  there is someone who will speak English so better to be firm and not a patsy.   Do not be afraid to get up and leave a restaurant. 

10.  Avoid the following as much as possible unless you are a smoker.  It seems that Europeans and Bulgarians are very into smoking.  Choose a restaurant with outdoor seating.  Even then you can be surrounded by tables where everyone smokes constantly-while they are eating, while they are talking.  The best place is in the open air and preferable with shade over you and a wind against you. 

I hope this does not sound disapproving of Bulgaria.  It is a Rose Bush with thorns.  The thorns will only irritate you and not kill you.   I love being here, however for an enjoyable dinner you must be n control .  Dinner in bulgaria is like having a 4 month old Standard Poodle.  Be firm, think ahead as they have a mind of their own and it is inbred in to psyche.