Cover Image: Shrimp and Vegetables Noodles, gourmet food delivery from restaurant Bistrello, Sofia

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After posting a fairly comprehensive list of good restaurants that deliver food to an address, in a previous article Gourmet @home- Part 1, food deliveries in Bulgaria, I decided it was worth testing out how the delivery system works in Sofia and sharing my impressions. At first, I started to drive the standard blogging mode, with a 5D Sensograph rating and 5 hearts evaluation, corresponding to the 5 human senses, but then I decided that all these establishments deserve the maximum of 5 hearts because of their courage to face the challenge of depriving themselves of their customers, but to find a way to stay close to them and indulge them with delicious food.

So, @home articles are a rating-free zone, which aims to promote and assist all restaurant entrepreneurs who cannot practice their business as usual and  maybe face difficulty maintaining it.

In this review, Gourmet @home, food deliveries – Part 3, the stars who received maximum hearts are l’Instant and Bistrello.

LInstant @home delivery

The first max 5 hearts by the 5D Sensograph of placescases.com are awarded to the food delivery of LInstant Catering. They were one of the first places to announce home delivery.

See ….

…. Very well packed food, minimalist but beautiful looking with bright colors.

 Hear ….

…. I spoke on the phone to a lady who had a French accent and a slight difficulty with the Bulgarian one, but she was very kind and helpful. The courier was also polite.

Feel ….

…. Delivery directly by the restaurant, no food delivery platforms;

…. The food is well packed, not in plastic, but in cardboard boxes, very well labeled, with dates and any other important details;

…. You can be paid with a card at a portable POS terminal;

…. Everything was cold, like being taken out of the fridge, but it’s not a big drama, because it’s still recommendable to warm it up to over 70 degrees for disinfection;

…. A very pleasant surprise – a gift of fresh micro salads – a supplement for entrees and salads;

…. Abundance of garnish. However, the protein part was very delicious and I wished there was more.

L’Instant Catering

Smell ….

…. The beef was nice and aromatic, I assume marinated beforehand;

…. The gift of fresh salads also gave a very fresh smell to the dishes.

Taste ….

…. Fish Cream Soup – unlike any other fish soup I’ve eaten and very enjoyable;

…. Sea bass fish – delicious, even the two fillets turned out not enough for my daughter.

…. The chocolate mousse – one of a kind, the L’Instant Delis dessert – well, not so much, but nice.

Overall, it was delicious, fully tailored to the need to be delivered in a box and reach the customer in good shape. Thank you L’Instant, for your gourmet food deliveries to my home!

To order delivery from LInstant see the menu here.

Bistrello @home food delivery

The next max 5 hearts by the 5D Sensograph of placescases.com are awarded to the food deliveries of  restaurant Bistrello. Chef Vladimir Todorov’s team had done an excellent job with a menu which took us to the Middle and Far East!

See ….

…. Very appetizing looking food with many bright colors in it.

Hear ….

…. Kind service on the phone.

Feel ….

…. Delivery is performed by the restaurant. Everything is properly packed in plastic boxes with a cardboard lid. It came warm, just hot, so I didn’t have to heat up to 70 degrees for disinfection. I just warmed them a little more for safety.

We received a wonderful wine from Bratanov Symbiosa 2015, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon because we ordered over 65 BGN. The delivery tax is 6.5 BGN.

Bistrello deliveries

Smell ….

…. The meal smelled of ginger, coriander, garlic, lemongrass, curry, onion – enchanting mix!

…. The Tom Khas Thai soup, smelled of coriander and lime,  it was spicy, just like I love it, and I’m sure if any corona virus tried to reach my throat, that soup erased any nasty tentacle of it.

Taste ….

…. Each product was sufficient and well balanced with the others;

…. Exceptional rice and noodles – sweet and sour, aromatic. The kids just constantly ask me to order again.

…. The adana kebab in their style- I had never tasted it, prepared in such peculiar manner, it was something like a bacon roll filled with mince;

…. Tripe – unlike all other recipes based mainly on garlic and oil, here this meal wins a prize for unexpected gastronomic pleasure – it was surprising and delicious. Big slices of tripe, in the company of mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, I think, also bacon, in a coconut milk sauce that had both spiciness and sharpness, and delicate texture, and freshness because of the lemongrass. So many contrasting but cleverly complementary features!

…. The shrimps with garlic, parsley and olive oil were laid on toasted white bread and looked very tempting;

…. We also got a traditional Pastry which is made of dough and cheese usually, but this one had also spring onion inside and was very tasty.

A very well-configured delivery menu, which demonstrates the mastery of Chef Vladi Todorov’s team, and at the same time arriving in a good shape to the customer. Everything was delicious!

Thank you, Bistrello, for your delicious gourmet food deliveries to my home!!

You can order Bistrello menu here.

You may also try ordering from L’Instant and Bistrello. Take a nice break and Indulge yourself with delicious food prepared by someone else, who will be delighted take care of you.

Let us support our favorite places in these difficult times by simply continuing to enjoy their products so that they will be able to maintain their business going and meet us as usual when all this situation ends.

Unfortunately, I cannot write about my impressions from restaurants outside Sofia, but I believe that the places listed at Gourmet @home- Part 1, food deliveries in Bulgaria are doing great job, because I personally tested them on the spot and they did not come across this blog just by accident, rather were specially selected for it.

Follow placescases.com  here or on its social networks pages in Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter to see the articles from the new @home rubric, where I will tell you about my experiences with the delivery of other restaurants that keep servicing their customers, although forced to close doors to them during the Covid 19 pandemic.