Gastronom score by the 5D Sensograph of placescases.com: 4.3 out of 5.

September 2019

Seen           

Felt               

Heard               

Smelled         

Tasted              

Reading time: 3  min

Fast mode reading time (bold and coloured text): 1.5 min

The sub title of Gastronom is the Eatery house, which can be either an inn, brasserie or a restaurant. In some other times in Bulgaria, gastronom was a shop where we bought food and drinks. The explanation on their website is that they offer home products. However, I would say that they are most distinguished by their interesting rakia list.

The menu starts with an explanation in English about rakia, the local Bulgarian brandy, followed by a rather long list of the most diverse rakia types. I was not so much impressed by the quince,  pear or the Muscat ones, although I am sure there were fine, but rather the fig rakia and the grape with 27 herbs grabbed my attention. I tried them both. See below how the 5D Sensograph rated for them.

See ….

…. Very nice garden, with well-made advertising murals of Stolichno beer, a shade of vine leaves and lanterns, which, however, were not with candles, but light bulbs. Inside paintings, fireplace, wood, stone- very nice style, creating home coziness of a town house;

…. I would put stress on the fact  that the toilet had a disinfectant for the potty and it was clean and well looking;

I always pay special attention to the toilets of the establishments I visit. It shows the true attitude and care for the client. If these details well tackled, the owners do their job well.

Feel ….

…. Not particularly committed to the client, but adequate service. I have no remarks, except that maybe they should give a little more explanations about the food- selection, quality,  products origin, details about home-made concept of the place, that is, to stress on their advantages.

Hear ….

…. Mix of pop pieces, among which world pop hits in heavy metal arrangement- they were good, except I don’t see the connection to the gastronomic and the home-made “tune” of the restaurant.

Movie watching time: 1:07 min.

Smell ….

…. Mild Asian notes in the leafy salad with sweet-sour dressing and tempura squid- I liked it;

…. Unfortunately my expectations for the aroma of the two types of rakia that I tried, fig and grape with herbs were not justified. I drank rakia with herbs  in Old Times 2 hotel in Belintash, Rhodope, which is now Rhodope Legends. It really smelled of herbs and it was very interesting. The fig rakia smelled more like a grape. Such disappointment I felt when I tried rakia from dates.

Taste ….

…. We tried the chopped beef meatballs, garnished with fried potatoes, squid tempura with sauce of mayonnaise and pickles, and fillet of trout with vegetables. The potatoes were not as home-made and not very tasty, meatballs were slightly unimpressive, the trout had  a crispy crust, but the vegetables to it were nicer;

…. I liked the most the crispy fried squid and the biscuit cake.

I don’t get very well the overall concept of Gastronom. The emphasis on home products is something that already every second restaurant claims. Hemingway in Plovdivare  also focused on the quality and origin of the products but are much more convincing.

In my opinion, with this nice rakia list, Gastronoma  would do much better with a selected meal offer, matched with the different types of rakia, especially with its aromas, keeping the emphasis on the home-made quality.

Adding some sausages, salted lard and other products that were available years ago in Bulgarian gastronomy shops, often combined exactly with rakia in the Bulgarian daily life, could be quite interesting. Homemade Altai (a popular soda drink from socialist times in Bulgaria) and lemonade can be supplemented. A more sophisticated gastronomic version of sausages and salami from the past times would also be of good value. Once I made for a  mountain picknick sandwiches with popular pork can food from past times, in which I added truffle paste and nutmeg. Wow, my friends liked very much that gourmet version of this once upon a time food! So, homemade meal with traditional products, but unconventional performance, served as finger food or appetizer for the rakia would distinguish the restaurant sharply from all the other in the city, and not only in Plovdiv, but also in the country maybe. The closest to this concept I found only in Rakia Raketa in Sofia, but there the quality of the food was not very high. Except for the appetizers to the Rakia Workshops, organized by the restaurant. Unfortunately, they are not included in the restaurant’s list.

I would revisit Gastronom, but without a preliminary plan, just if I were in the area. I would always give preference to my favorite places for dining in Plovdiv, namely Tams House and Pavaj.

Where to stay and what to do in Plovdiv?

If you need tips where to stay in Plovdiv, The advantages of staying in a guest house in Plovdiv, European Capital of Culture for 2019

What else can you do in Plovdiv? Well, look at the Internet for cultural events. This year Plovdiv is the European capital of Culture. Something interesting happens all the time, even unplanned. Sitting in Kapana district, sipping a cocktail when all of a sudden a Spanish group of musicians and singers parades around singing loud beautiful Spanish songs.

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I recommend very much to attend a performance at the Ancient Theatre. It’s worth it. This is the closest place as sensation to the Arena di Verona. This time we watched Rock the Opera performed by mix of Bulgarian and international singers and the Plovdiv Symphonic Orchestra. Great performance! Poor organization, unfortunately.

But let’s go back to the nice and well-organized cultural events.

We have joined an educational tour from the program “Open Art Files: Notes and Footnotes”, organized by the Open Arts Foundation. Our guide Ina Valentinova, a young author, showed us interesting places “below the line”, that is, the underground spaces for art in Plovdiv. She introduced us to other young and very talented authors, and we were terribly grateful for this different, super cool experience. Read more about this event in my review What notes did we take during the educational tour in Plovdiv “Open Art Files: Notes and Footnotes”?

How to book your stay in Plovdiv?

If you are planning to spend a weekend in Plovdiv and the surrounding area I recommend that you book your stay in it right here .For your convenience, I 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

How to get to Gastronom?

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

А: 15 Otec Paisij str, 4000 Plovdiv

T: + 359 88 375 2233

Open hours: 10:30- 23:30

Although I recommend to explore Plovdiv by foot, since the old town, Kapana and the central street are pedestrian only, If you need a rent-a-car, you can book it here in the box of the largest booking platform.

Where to follow the review and rating blog placescases.com?

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Are you looking for info on good restaurants, hotels and any nice places around the world and in our country? Then dig into the categories of placescases.com to find something just for you.

Do you ever wonder how some places are so very different from others in service, environment, as a general experience? This means you are also interested like me in the topic of The Experience Economy by Pine and Gilmore. I’ve tried to recognize those places which apply it in practice its principles, whether deliberately or accidentally, and I think it is worth to consider them. Right click on category The Experience Economy.