Food & drink Travel - The best places in VELIKO TARNOVO, Bulgaria a photo story by @shemZee

Dear friends,
Last week my dear wife, my son and I went on a trip to Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. Among all other goals we had set we wanted to try the best food and drinks the city could offer us.
Veliko Tarnovo is a lovely town in my native Bulgaria. It used to be the medieval capital of my native country between 1185 and 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces. A place full of historiy and historical sites where life is colourfull and calm.

Id like to show you the best food & drink places in Veliko Tarnovo /bars & restaurants/ the ones I recommend after my visit a week ago. Lets start with the morning coffee.
This place is called Samurai Specialty Coffeeshop. The coffee here is strong, tasty, the best I`ve tried in my life.

https://www.facebook.com/samurai.specialty/

The atmosphere is friendly and calm.

The clients can read books or play a game of chess, no one is pushing them. The staff are really friendly and smiling and nice.

The taste of the coffee they make there is very good.

The tables and chairs are little, the whole place is not very large, but it is cozy and calm. And the coffee is like no other.

Of course there are many places that offer coffee , but either the coffee is below the Samurai Specialty Coffeeshop standard or they don`t work so early in the morning. So this is the place I recommend.

For dinner one can choose between a variety of restaurants. I chose two of them.
If you like history, if you want to taste unique dishes from the Bulgarian and Turkish cuisine Han Hadji Nikoli is your place.

Built in 1858 by the famous achitect Kolio Ficheto and renovated in 2010 by American entrepreneur Edmund Beck the Han Hadji Nikoli is the only surviving inn in town.
more about how E. Beck renovated the place here
https://bnr.bg/en/post/101156436/texas-millionaire-donates-money-for-restoration-of-emblematic-buildings-in-veliko-tarnovo

The garden of the Inn

The inside of the inn

You can`t find hamburgers here only traditional dishes like this Gyuveche / a traditional Bulgarian meal whose name is derived from the ceramic pot in which it is baked and served /

A little video fron the inside of the inn

The coffee they serve there is great /Julius Meinl an Austrian brand from 1862/ too

After you finish your meals you get a free glass of Cabbage juice which is great for weight loss, improved gut health, decreased inflammation, balanced hormones, and body detoxification.

Another option for lunch is SHTASTLIVETSA

It`s a more contemporary place where we had pizza and salads.

This is one of the most popular places in town, the atmosphere is friendly but not as relaxed as in Hadji Nikoli

Another iconic place is Tequila BAR Funky Monkey - a cocktail bar where they play 70s FUNK

https://www.facebook.com/TequilaBarFunkyMonkey

Refreshing cocktails, friendly young staff and cool atmosphere, funky music.

We had dinner at BIANCO probably ther most popular restaurant in Veliko Tarnovo.
https://restorant-bianco.com/page/home

We tried some of the special dishes they offer there

magret duck salad

sushi

tagliatelle carbonara

Foie gras/ made of the liver of a goose/ with sweet breath and candied figs.

and my son`s favourite calamari with sauce

We finished the evening with a few cocktails and the famous light show

The show is an emblematic attraction for the city -it features music, multicolor lights, lasers and bells all synchronized in an unique way to depict the most important moments of the history of Bulgaria.

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!