Shtastlivetsa restaurant rating by the 5D Sensograph of placescases.com: 4.9 out of 5.

September  2020

 

Seen           

Felt               

Heard           

Smelled       

Tasted                

Reading time: 5 min

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“Shtastlivetsa” is a chain of very popular restaurants in Veliko Tarnovo. To the great joy of Sofia residents and guests, a few years ago the owners decided to open a restaurant there as well. The place is named after the famous Bulgarian writer, Aleko Konstantinov. His elias was Shtastlivetsa, meaning The Lucky Man. We can see his statue at the beginning of the pedestrian zone on Vitosha Street, where the restaurant is located. Moreover, the street is named after the mountain at the foot of which Sofia is located, and Aleko Konstantinov was one of its biggest admirers and avid hikers. So, as you can guess, the restaurant’s spot was not chosen at random.

See ….….

…. The style in the interior of Shtastlivetsa restaurant, shabby chic, is pleasing to the eye and creates a cheerful mood – like in an old town house with linen tablecloths, decorations with buttons and lace, upholstered with plush chairs – very neat;
…. The distances between the tables have been increased according to the requirements for measures against Covid-19;
…. The staff wears masks;
…. In the new autumn menu 2020 there are many interesting proposals, which of course are based on the traditional Bulgarian cuisine;
…. Large section with vegetarian and vegan offerings;
…. Appetizers are also offered here, i.e. charcuterie, own production, which is also available in Constantinoff. Both restaurants are owned by the same owners. I recommend them, they are very nice. Delivery can also be ordered from their website.

Feel ….

…. The girl who served us was very kind and helpful- she explained in detail everything we asked and helped us to navigate through the menu and choose our meal;

We, customers, rely that when a waiter recommends us some dish, she really knows what she offers and puts a personal attitude on us. This is exactly what our waitress did with great ease, professionalism and pleasure.

Of course, this personal attitude must have some limits. Literally a few days ago, I was at the twin restaurant, Constantinoff, and our waiter wholeheartedly told me that the Shakshuka I was asking about was “the most disgusting thing on the menu.” At first I thought it was a ridiculous joke, but it turned out that he really thought so. I could not believe that he was talking in this way about the product, for which his colleagues in the kitchen make a huge effort to be at the high level, established by Chef Sidonia Radeva.

Hear ….

…. The noise from Vitosha street– we were sitting at the tables outside, people were strolling around, talking, laughing.

…. At one point, a quarrel broke out behind me between one of the waiters and his colleague. The reason was that he did not want to serve her table. I was uncomfortable. The restaurants are struggling to survive after the Covid-19 lockdown and it is expected that the staff should be happy to have a job, but apparently the tension from the closure this year has had an unpleasant effect and has strained these people. For this reason, half a heart was lost, because I was definitely uncomfortable witnessing such unprofessional behavior.

Movie watching time: 0:39 min.

Smell ….

…. Great aroma of vegan meatballs made of beetroot and lentils, with almond vegan mayonnaise sauce on top. Exceptional! I’m grateful to the waitress for recommending them to us, she was 100% right they were worth to be ordered even by a carnivore.

…. The typical tart flavour of lamb in a very interesting dish: lamb head boiled with salt. The lamb was super tender, served in paper. It contains cheeks, brain, tongue,  drizzled with garlic oil and garnished with baked potatoes. The dish was very tasty. I  would recommend adding a slice of bread to smear on the tender brain.

Taste ….

…. Salad Rich Kyopoolu– it is a local pickled dip made of roasted peppers, onion and tomatoes, boiled with salt. It was very pleasant, perfect in the autumn menu;

…. Pizzas have always been delicious here – my co-diners praised Margherita and Vegetarian pizzas a lot;

….. Very tasty homemade lemonade – fresh and fragrant;

…. Raki – peppers stuffed with beans and ground beef. Tomato sauce and cheese are added. It’s nice, but it’s nothing special.

It has always been a pleasure to eat at Shtastlivetsa, because of their experiments with traditional Bulgarian recipes and skillful work with spices. It was high time I dedicated a post to them for their tireless diligence and persistence.

How to get to Shtastlivetsa restaurant?

Don’t worry about getting to Shastlivetsa restaurant in Sofia. Just use the Google map here by clicking on the red pin of its location and then select directions:

bul. "Vitosha" 27, 1000 Sofia Center, Sofia, Bulgaria

A: 27 Vitosha blvd., Sofia

T: +359 2 4411 155

E: office@shtastliveca.com

Open hours: Mon-Sun 11:30-24:00

If you need to rent a car for your trip, you can book it here in the box of the largest booking platform.

Where to stay if you are not from the city?

If you are not from Sofia and you are already planning a visit to the city,  I recommend that you book your stay right here. For your convenience, I have added a booking.com box, which refers directly to their site. I guarantee you’re going to use all your genius discounts and privileges they would offer to you. Just enter the dates of your trip, then hit the Search button and voila. In addition, booking.com are doing their best to make sure that your expectations as a customer are fulfilled. I’ve described an example about the latter in  my story about our stay in Shangri-La hotel in Singapore .

Booking.com

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Do you ever wonder how some places differ so much from others in service, environment, as an overall experience? This means you are also interested like me in the topic of The Experience Economy by Pine and Gilmore. I constantly add to my collection reviews about those of them, which practice its principles, regardless of intentionally or accidentally. If you are curious to understand which are they, explore category The Experience Economy.