Address: 16, Saint Nedelya Square
Phone: 987 34 76
Cuisine: Mexican
Price category: Low

Positioned next to the Sheraton Hotel and opposite Saint Nedelya Church, Fiesta restaurant is predictably busy. If you're planning a lunchtime or evening visit, it's well worth booking ahead. Most of the tables are outside and are pleasantly shaded by large umbrellas and the foliage of the horse chestnut trees growing alongside the large green, concrete cacti which serve as a reminder that diners are in a Mexican restaurant.

Whether intentional or not, the management have also created a Mexican 'manana' style service by understaffing the restaurant - our waiter was not slow, but hardly had time for us when he eventually arrived to take orders, as he appeared to be covering almost all the outdoor tables, and we were left waiting far too long for our drinks to arrive - an unforgivable delay considering the current sweltering temperatures.

Though advertised as a pizza restaurant, Fiesta is obviously more attractive for the reasonable range of Mexican dishes it offers. Beef Tacos served with yellow cheese and chilli sauce for 3.95 leva were sampled by one companion, who enjoyed them but complained that they weren't as spicy as he'd expected. The same was found of the Paella Verde, which seemed closer to risotto than paella with its mixture of rice, peas, corn, and peppers - it was tasty and very filling, but lacked the hot spice that one associates with Mexican food. It appears that, as in some other restaurants with foreign cuisine, the dishes have been watered down to suit Bulgarian tastes. One Bulgarian companion agreed, saying that she didn't like spicy food and was relieved to find that Fiesta's dishes were not overwhelmingly spicy, but the many of the foreign diners that frequent the restaurant may well disagree.

One of our group tried Paella Mare and was satisfied by its blend of rice with seafood mixed with a tasty sauce; another tried Chicken Fiesta for 3.98 leva and, though she enjoyed it, found it had more salt than spice. Battered chicken pieces went down well, and tortilla with melted butter and yellow cheese was very popular.

Other Mexican dishes include Sache - large ceramic plates of grilled vegetables, or vegetables with meat costing between five and seven leva. Another appetising option was Chorizo con Frihol, beans with spicy sausage, bacon and cheese, and pork ribs with baked potato are on offer for 6.30 leva. Nachos are available as a side dish, but one diner was disappointed to find that burritos were not on the menu. There are also spaghetti possibilities and a predictable range of around 18 pizzas.

The salad selection covers two colourful pages of the menu, which usefully displays pictures of each dish that are surprisingly close to the appearance of the actual dishes. One particularly good salad consists of halved tomatoes covered with grated white cheese and black pepper for 1.86 leva, another is Marinela Salad - a large bowl of egg, carrot, sweetcorn and beans served with a thick sauce.

A limited range of desserts are available - the usual pancake, ice cream and yoghurt options. Two companions ordered yo-ghurt with blackberries and were somewhat annoyed when the waiter brought them yoghurt with chocolate - explaining that there were no blackberries and he assumed they wouldn't mind chocolate instead. The desserts appeared sometime before the main courses - another black mark for the service.

As for drinks, the wine list covers a brief range of Bulgarian wines priced at up to 10 leva, cocktails are available, and a selection of foreign and Bulgarian beers.

Prices overall are very reasonable considering the central location of the restaurant - our bill for six came to just less than 50 leva.