There is time for everything and possibilities abound. This is the implicit promise of breakfast the way I like it – slow, delicious and satisfying, in a pleasant environment and with good company.

Unfortunately, this type of breakfast is an endangered species. It seems that most working people nowadays eat breakfast as an afterthought, munching something on the go or in front of the office computer. In Bulgaria, many trade breakfast for coffee and a cigarette. Others skip it altogether. That’s why I decided to look for places in Sofia where one can eat breakfast properly – seated at a table, enjoying nutritious and delicious food.

There are few such places in Sofia. (Now is the time for a disclaimer: there will always be place for banitsa with boza (a fillo-dough pastry and a thick fermented malt drink with a very low alcohol content, a staple combo in the world of Bulgarian breakfast) in my heart, but in this morning gourmet adventure – there isn’t. The few five-star hotels that serve breakfast to outside guests for 40 to 50 leva a person are also not featured).

I also found out that it’s hard to order breakfast before 10 to 10.30am, which is when I begin thinking about lunch. You must ask for bread; do not assume you will be served some with your eggs. Omelettes and scrambled eggs are cooked hard, so if you prefer eggs softer, go for the poached or fried. Do not take the word "bio" at face value, it may mean anything from low-calorie to energy-saving. Most places have an English-language menu and staff can manage taking an order in English. Be prepared to be a lone customer and expect to pay about 10 to 13 leva for breakfast with juice and coffee.

None of the places I visited won me over unequivocally. Where you go would depend on what you are in the mood for. Here is a guide.

For good coffee and everything ham
In Cafe-gallery Praga we felt instant comfort. The staff was casual but courteous, the tables spaced apart, the walls awaiting the new exhibition, the noise from Rakovska Str barely audible.

On the breakfast menu they have french toast with sugar, jam, honey, chocolate or cheese, English breakfast (in a Czech interpretation, without a mushroom or tomato but with a pickle), omelettes and scrambled eggs with ham, cheese or both.

The ham in Praga is really delicious and there was plenty of it in the scrambled eggs. The cheese was just enough to add a nice salty touch, without becoming a dominant taste. The eggs were scrambled the way I like them – lightly and in big chunks, though I thought they could be fluffier.

The french toast paled next to the scrambled eggs and my friend and I ate only two of the three slices. The secret of good french toast is in good dry bread. Most likely that’s why the original French recipe calls the meal Pain Perdut, or lost bread. Dry bread can soak up the batter without becoming soggy. Unfortunately, the french toast in Praga was made with fresh, low-quality thinly sliced bread. It is also a good idea to thin the eggs with milk, cream, water, orange juice or liquor. Otherwise, the mix is so thick that it coats the bread without soaking through, as was the case in Praga.

But the true, and unexpected, delight was the coffee. They had organic coffee from Guatemala and Ethiopia. The Guatemalan variety comes from Finca Entre Rios, a small farm of 18 ha in the centre of the Sierra de Las Minas Reserve, northeast of Guatemala City. The annual production is just 300 bags. The coffee is light-bodied, with medium acidity, delicate and full-flavoured.

We ordered the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, possibly the best variety from the birthplace of coffee. It arrived on a pewter tray with two porcelain cups, a coffee press and an hourglass designed specifically to time the infusion. The coffee was full-bodied with flowery aromas with a hint of jasmine. Tea lovers can enjoy the teas Harney & Sons, one of only four companies in the world who still pack tea in silk bags. In 2007, Buckingham Palace picked Harney & Sons as The Queen’s tea.

For a fresh and early start
The staff at FIXMIX go to work earlier than I do, which is very convenient – and rare – when it comes to breakfast in Sofia. On weekdays they open at 8am, and at 10am on a Saturday it proved to be the only option for a fine snack, after a long walk along the still-sleepy streets of Sofia. It was the perfect day and hour to enjoy one of the two outdoor tables – the shade was thick and traffic light on Vassil Levski Blvd. That said, FIXMIX is definitely a place for take-out food and drinks – the fresh-squeezed juices are served in paper cups with plastic lids, the sandwiches are wrapped in paper and the desserts arrive in plastic containers.

There are more than forty "cocktails" on the juice menu, and if you fail to find something to your taste, you can order something custom-made. All this bounty of options makes choosing a very difficult and time-consuming task for me. When I lack patience or imagination, I default to the Essential Mix of green apple and parsley. Other creative combinations include Apple Zing with carrots, apples, cucumbers and ginger and something I refuse to taste, no matter how healthy – Beetles form beats, apples and celery.

On that Saturday morning I went for the super-sweet First Date of pineapple, melon, pears and bananas. My friend picked FIXMIX of strawberries, bananas, yoghurt and walnuts. In other words, there is something natural, fresh and healthy for every taste. Juices cost from 3.90 to 4.90 leva for the smallest cup size of 300ml. You can also order 400ml or one litre.

The sandwiches are prepared daily from fresh German rolls with 15 per cent rye. They won me over with the brilliant idea to dig out the soft heart of the roll and place the other products in that pocket. This way one need not have Mick Jagger’s remarkable mouth in order to take a bite from the rich sandwich without stray vegetable slices landing in one’s lap. My favourite sandwich is Di Parma with prosciutto di Parma, parmigiano, rucola and olive oil. But in this case, I tried the Italiano with parmigiano, rucola, olives, oregano and pine nuts. The staff warned me that the sandwich was made yesterday, which is why it was marked down from 3.90 to 2.90 leva. Offering day-old sandwiches and pastry is a common and unwelcome practice in Sofia, but at least at FIXMIX they were honest about it. The sandwich was still delicious, light and well-balanced.

We also tasted one of the three desserts made at Cru – Carotene + from boiled carrots, raisins and coconut. The woman who suggested it said she only ate that one because the other two – Cru Chocolate with dark chocolate, tofu and banana and Dry Slim with prunes, dried apricots, dates, raisins, honey, wheat and walnuts – were too sweet for her taste.

One last thing: FIXMIX deliver within 30 minutes in the city centre, from 9am to 5pm during weekdays.