Quality dining in Sofia doesn’t come often. And doing a walk in on a random weekday of April didn’t seem like the best idea. In contrast though to every predisposition, Bistrello tops the charts on all aspects.
The ambience is casual, though eclectically decorated, and the crowd you’ll find is probably more like business casual than your average Joe from the neighbourhood.
The place opened in 2017 in a small street away from busy Vitosha street. The team is headed by chef Vladimir Todorov who cooks delicious food with a great attention to detail, also being a graduate of the HRC- Culinary Academy based in Sofia. Todorov comes with great experience in the US, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway, and considered not he best chefs in Bulgaria.
The menu is just about the right size with many options to choose from vegetables, meat and fish – all, presented in a modern European twist. For starters we ordered a thinly-sliced beef carpaccio marinated in miso and coriander with yuzu-truffle vinegrette and parmesan shavings – delicate in its texture with notes of both sweet and sour from the miso and the yuzu sauce. The Sofia-style pan con tomate -toasted brioche, ham, tomato salsa with spices and hazelnuts- was exquisite!
Pan con tomate, Sofia-style
We also tried the lightly fried cauliflower with truffle, which was delicious emanating that umami feeling. For mains, we had a chicken ballotine served with mushroom polenta, spinach and mushroom jus with foie gras – very tender and juicy, as well as a tri-tip steak with `potato puree that was rather bland.
In the end, we cleansed our palette with some sorbet ice cream served in three mini cones in a bowl – what a delight!
