After visiting Djannam Sky Club, it was time for another similar venue in Sofia – C’est La Vie. As I explained in the post about Djannam, I compare all similar establishments offering dinner with a program to my benchmark for such a place, namely Lafayette in Belgrade. You can get an idea of it in several posts on the blog’s Instagram profile. Lafayette was the reason I started visiting one by one its siblings in Sofia.

C’est La Vie was one of the first establishments of this type in Bulgaria, and at the moment, I dare say that the quality of the program is quite high. It is quite close to that of Lafayette, I even suspect that some ideas have been borrowed from there.

March 2024

Rating for C’est La Vie by the 5D Sensograph: 4,4 out of 5.

(click on the 5 sense icons to fast jump to the details about the experiences associated with each)

        

       

       

        

       

 

Experience accents as per the 5D Sensograph:

See the biggest advantage- the diverse stage show with interesting scenography and choreography.

Feel excellent service with good knowledge of food and drinks.

Hear various genres in the show, but from a certain point onwards, around midnight, it becomes monotonous – Greek and Bulgarian pop-folk, which drives away some of the customers who would like more variety after the 12th hour.

Smell he wonderful aroma of brioche in Piper Heidsieck champagne, wonderful aromas in the food.

Taste exquisite Mediterranean and Balkan cuisine, very well-selected and diverse wine list – there were serious efforts invested in both directions. To find out more details about C’est La Vie, keep reading the post.

To learn more details about C’est La Vie, continue reading the post.

Reading time: 5 min

You don’t have 5 min to read? Then try the fast mode, go only through bold and colored text: 3 мин.

You don’t feel like reading? See the short movie further below: 1:01 min.

See in C’est La Vie …

 … A large space with many tables and booths, high ceilings: interesting murals on the walls as well.

… The menu offers diverse and intriguing options: the food sounds interesting, and it strikes me that some dishes offered at Djannam are also available here, I’m not sure which took ideas from which.

… Class in the tableware: unlike Djannam, they’ve made an effort here to provide quite good wine glasses, which is entirely to the customers’ pleasure.

 

Feel  in C’est La Vie …

… Smoking is allowed openly: just like at Djannam, but again, due to the high ceilings and good ventilation, there’s no sense of chocking from smoke, as most people smoke hookahs and electronic cigarettes.

… The service is good: the staff works efficiently, adequate information is provided to the customers, and the waiter’s knowledge of drinks and food was very high.

… There is a cloakroom, but the restroom is awful: unlike Djannam, there is a cloakroom here, although they haven’t started charging for it yet, as they do at Lafayette, but the restroom was a complete disaster – very dirty, we even gave up visiting it.

… My other major complaint is the sale of balloons. We all have an idea of what they contain. However, we didn’t see any effect on the company next to us, who ordered them – they still sat there looking grim and bored. Perhaps the balloons contained just sea breeze, who knows.

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Hear in C’est La Vie …

… Interesting and diverse program: unlike Djannam, where the stage is very small and the program only included ballet and saxophonist, here it’s a full show of different talents – dances, songs, costumes, media, genres ranging from rock to Bulgarian pop-folk.

Unfortunately, from midnight onwards, it gets stuck only on Greek and pop-folk.

It would also have been nice if they had announced the names of the performers somewhere.

Well, there was also lip-sync, but it was more like part of the ballet show.

It was quite strange because at midnight we celebrated the national holiday on March 3^rd, the liberation from Turkish yoke, with a Bulgarian song, and immediately after that, the Greek music started again. I have nothing more to comment on, here, I expected better taste. And I add, it wasn’t a Greek night show. I would recommend to add more Bulgarian pop not only for national holidays but in general.

… Quality of sound system, but here, as in Djannam, they should be more careful with the highest decibels, as they distort the sound.

Movie-watching time: 1:01 min.

Smell in C’est La Vie …

… Every dish was smelled super appetizing. The wine that accompanied it was of superb quality.

… Only for a while did it get quite smoky, because of the holiday pyro-fountains that were distributed to the audience, but the smoke quickly dissipated.

 

Taste  in C’est La Vie …

… The food is very delicious, the recipes are creative but acceptable for most of the people: with a Mediterranean and Balkan influence, well-combined ingredients, even techniques, I have no complaints whatsoever, I would even return especially for the food and drinks. By the way, they also offer a lunch menu.

I highly recommended, but don’t limit yourself only to these recommendations because everything is very delicious:

… Avocado and shrimp appetizer

… Shrimp in Parmesan sauce

… Beef tongue

… All salads

… Beef cheeks

… Adana kebab and many more.

… Wonderful wine list and alcohol list in general at good prices: they impressed me much more than Djannam.

 

As I already mentioned, I would return for the food and drinks at C’est La Vie with great pleasure. As for the program, I would consider staying only until midnight if the tendency towards Balkan music is permanent.

If you were to ask me which of the two establishments I would recommend more, Djannam or C’est La Vie, my preferences lean towards the latter – because of the food, drinks, and more interesting program. With the caveat not to visit the restroom and try to ignore the balloons.

 

How to get to C’est La Vie?

Just use the Google map here by clicking on the red pin of its location and then select directions:

 

A: Dragalevtsi, bul. “Cherni vrah” 226, 1415 Sofia

T: +359 889 099 990

Open hours: 10:00-02:00

How to book your stay?

I recommend that you check the packages that the hotel offers on their website because they are very affordable. But for your convenience, I have also put a box on booking.com. Compare the prices and choose an option.

Booking.com

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

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