Tavern Izbata - Authentic Bulgarian Restaurant near Alexander Nevsky

🏺 The Atmosphere 

Step inside and the low wooden ceiling, folk textiles, and clay pottery do most of the talking. Izbata has been feeding Sofia for years without changing much — the interior feels lived-in, the staff know the regulars, and the kitchen doesn't cut corners on traditional recipes. It's the kind of place where the food arrives generously portioned and still steaming, where the rakia is poured properly, and where the bill at the end surprises you in a good way.

🥗 Vegetarian Options

The menu is meat-heavy overall — as any proper Bulgarian tavern should be — but a vegetarian eats well here without difficulty. Shopska salad, tarator (cold yoghurt and cucumber soup), beans in earthenware, stuffed eggplant, several cheese appetizers, and banitsa all hold their own. Worth mentioning when you book so we can request the right table setup.

📖 New to Bulgarian Food?

Bulgarian cuisine has its own character: slow-cooked stews, fresh white sirene cheese, grilled meats, cold yoghurt soups. There's some overlap with Greek and Turkish cuisine in the ingredients, but dishes like kavarma, banitsa, and bob chorba taste distinctly Bulgarian. The full menu is available in English and the staff are experienced with first-time visitors — just ask what they'd recommend on the night.

📍 How to find us

18 Slavyanska Street, Sofia · 5 minutes from Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Done with dinner?

SoFun organises everything else too.

Need help planning your stay in Sofia?

One WhatsApp message — we handle the rest.

5% Off
Every Visit

The SoFun Card gives you 5% off the entire bill at Tavern Izbata — food and drinks, every visit, for everyone at the table. Buy it once for €5 and use it across dozens of experiences in Sofia. Most guests cover the cost on their first dinner.