Some places, over time, become regular stopovers, whether it is for their location, the atmosphere, the friendly service or quality of the food. Very few such places continue to be regular stopovers after a change of ownership.

One exception is Bijou. Once known as the Athletic Fitness restaurant, the name switch and the sign posted at the street seem to be all that has changed.

Enter the restaurant via a small garden behind one of the houses along Oborishte Street, across from Doctors’ Garden, right behind the National Library.
During the summer, the garden is used as a terrace, with cosy seating under the shade of trees in the yard, next to a tiny pond.

Indoors, the restaurant has two sections. One part is set in the back of the garden, partially hidden behind the house, and consists of a small cabin-like construction. This cabin, with its red brick walls and wooden ceiling, has only a few tables and a large fireplace. Great for cold winter days!

Inside the house itself, up a small flight of stairs, the restaurant sprawls on several floors, with seating for different sized groups.

The house-interior is more contemporary than the rustic cabin-like feel of the other section of the restaurant. Red cloths and bamboo mats on the tables provide an atmosphere that just fleetingly recalls tradition. Music fills the brief pauses in conversations, just enough for it to be comfortable, never too loud to be a hindrance.

A friendly waitress is quick to bring us the menu (both English and Bulgarian versions are available), which provides a wide selection of what can best be described as Bulgarian home-cooking.

We decide to order tomatoes with basil and cheese (4.50 leva), corn with dill (three leva), wine kebab (5.50 leva), deep-fried tomatoes in batter, flavoured with cheese and choubritsa (5.50 leva), chicken breaded in walnuts (seven leva) and wine on draught (1.80 leva a glass).
The first to arrive are the tomatoes with basil and cheese. The tomatoes are surprisingly fresh for this time of year and the sirene cheese is soft and creamy.
In the second salad, the dill brings a lovely touch to the boiled corn.

The chicken in walnut pané turns out to be a schnitzel-like slice of chicken fillet, rolled in a breadcrumb mix with chunks of walnut. Though the meat itself is slightly dry, a tiny amount of creamy sauce with which the dish is served makes up for that. The combination with the walnut adds a special flavour to make the dish stand out.

The deep-fried tomatoes in batter come lavishly sprinkled with soft, fresh sirene cheese and a slight sprinkling of choubritsa (summer savory) to balance the softness of the cheese and the tomatoes.

All dishes are served in very traditional brown decorated earthenware plates, with lettuce and tomatoes, adding to the feel of home cooking.
The last several times we were at Bijou was for lunch. Most tables were occupied, but it never was overly crowded. The place tends to be busier in the evenings, when it might be necessary to make reservations, especially for larger groups.

Overall, Bijou is refreshingly unpretentious, with more than great home cooking.

Info
Address:
9a Oborishte Str, Sofia

Tel: 02/ 943 37 68

Open: Mon to Sat, noon to 11pm

Credit cards: no