Madam's Coffee House (formerly Singidunum)
Working hours: 10am-10pm
Address: 12 Banat Sreet, Lozenets
087/ 722 64 78 - Tatiana.

It is an extraordinary place, in an extraordinary setting. At first one would say that its better location is, let's say, in the old town of Sozopol or Nessebar. For this special place carries the atmosphere of another century…of old Belgrade (for Singidunum is the old name of Belgrade). But suddenly you discover it among the ultra-modern apartment flats and penthouses and lavish concrete and metal offices in upper Lozenets, and it seems as a sparkling jewel from an unexpected fairytale.

With opening the door (crossing the border of this world and the other world) - you certainly feel like Alice in Wonderland (and the hole and the mirror). No sign yet at the door to mention - well, maybe yet a confirmation of the ambiguous and unusual world you enter.

The fairytale, fantasy elements slowly start emerging in your sight: old sewing machine tables, instead of typical tables, without the machines themselves, with glass covers filled up with wondrous objects such as banknotes from India, Indonesia, Switzerland, Macedonia, Scotland, etc., business cards, shells, parts of sewing kits.

The small divans with lots and lots of coloured cushions complement the sewing machines and the old style "granny" chairs. The walls are covered in oily green decorative wall-designs in stripes with flowery friezes. On the walls hang numerous charming and curious objects such as an old suitcase, a violin, old photos from Tsaribrod, old radios, photo albums.

Around the place ancient chests contain jars and jars and jams with fantastic concoctions of teas, nuts and herbs.

The music is light house or ambient, perfect for the setting.

Just at once one can spot the freezer with homemade cakes of Madam - for which the place is actually famous (from before, when it was on Rakovski Street).

Now coming to the selection of foods and drinks - the menu itself is in a photo album. The selection is not extensive, but it is quite sufficient and matches the place. It has all kinds of coffees, espresso, black, white, decaf, with flavour with liquor, cappuccino, Nescafe, etc., maybe the keystone here is the Singidunum Cafe: Turkish coffee served with Turkish delight.

But the unique thing on the menu are the teas: they are made from aromatic herbs grown in China, India and Japan - each one having inequitable scent and taste and an exotic name such as Tea From The Desert, Tea Eight Treasures, Tea For Lovers, Tea Ali Baba.

They are served in large transparent glass mugs of two parts for the herbs and the water to blend. Actually, there is a whole ritual of serving and drinking the tea. The aroma is really distinctive.

They do complement very well Madam's cakes - homemade without margarine or butter, different and unique everyday as per Madam's fantasy: with nuts, with Bavarian cream, with homemade jam from homegrown organic fruit.

You also have the usual selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

There is one novelty, though (ambiguous to say if it spoils or adds to the atmosphere). But what to say - perhaps it is a way to adapt to the modern world: there is a lunch menu consisting of the usual stuff: shkembe chorba (tripe soup), kyufteta (fresh sausages), sarmi (stuffed cabbage). In general there are soups, cooked dishes, toaster sandwitches, salads, Italian pasta, steaks and chicken specialties.

And as Madam herself says - they offer catering services as well now. Yes, and all in all, the owners Tatiana and her husband from Tsaribrod and Belgrade, respectively, are very friendly and nice. As the entire venue is. It is worth it to visit.