Tasty World



Address: 9B, Oborishte St.

Telephone: 088 820 8060

Price category: High



A newcomer among Sofia's different restaurants, Tasty World offers international cuisine as well as Bulgarian dishes. Located on Oborishte street, facing the Doctors' Garden, it is not hard to find and quite unique in style once through the plain entrance.

Most of the tables are outside in the garden, on separate isolated islands surrounded by flourishing plants that are apparently well taken care of. Some of these are shaded by a white canvas canopy where pots of purplish flowers hang and onto which grapevines have started to grow.

All the tables are made of dark lacquered wood and had separate narrow tablecloths of a dark beige material, which you share with the person sitting opposite. On the courtyard walls, wooden shelves and cupboards made of the same dark colour hold wine bottles and wine glasses. More were stacked in wooden wheels and wine barrels located in the corner of the garden opposite an elegant bar serving all kinds of drinks.

Over all, the restaurant had the feel of a sophisticated wine bar in a charming outdoor setting. You did, however, have to ignore the odd pharmacy located at the back with the conspicuous white on blue 'Apteka' sign.

The menu, written in English and Bulgarian, offered a very wide range of all kinds of food, with selected dishes recommended by the chef. However, belying its design, Tasty World failed to offer a wide selection of good wines when compared to the usual standards in Sofia.

The Bulgarian dishes on offer included the customary salads, a few of which were livened up with such illusive ingredients as slippery jacks and fairy rings. Serbian, vegetarian and seafood were also available, as well as different pastas and starters which all sounded delicious. A selection of French dishes, however, seemed oddly to consist of fondues.

One of our party ordered the conventional Shopska salad with a rakia, which was amazingly poured from a bottled still encased in an immense block of ice. Less impressive were the tuna salads we ordered, which came with a moderate portion of corn and tuna nestled amongst some lettuce. A Topenitza salad seemed to closely resemble a Sheperd's salad but was, apparently, different as it came with a few slices of bread. These were meant to perform the peculiar task of being dipped into the (dry) salad. A Sea World salad included some very artificial crab.

In contrast, the main courses were each intensely satisfying. The salmon, served with the usual cream sauce, was described as simply divine. We also ordered many fried and grilled fish dishes that perfectly suited a summer afternoon. The pork cutlets also looked good, although the shashlik I ordered was strangely cold.

I would recommend leaving room for dessert, since the choice at the back of the menu is quite mouth watering. The fig cream surprised your taste buds, disguising molten chocolate beneath a layer of fig yoghurt that was simply sublime. A banana flambe, recommended by the chef, did come draped in homemade caramel and some nuts, but was oddly lacking in any flames.

The melba, however, was as disappointing as the service. The main courses did not all come at once after the preceding salads and one salad failed to arrive until the main course was served. There were also extremely long intervals between individual salads and main courses and the desserts also took an inexplicably long time to arrive.

Over all, the waiters were young but failed to make much effort to bring necessary dishes at the right time and seemed to lack enthusiasm. This was, perhaps, due to their intimidation when faced with a large group of people roaring with laughter.

In conclusion, the restaurant had a beautifully charming setting with the correct music and good food fit for all moods. However, the service could be improved in order to meet the high quality of the food and the charming atmosphere.