Birariya Skakaouets
/Бирария Скакауец/

Address: 39 Bratya Buxton Blvd., Buxton borough
Tel: 089/ 741 65 38
        088/ 33725 00
Open: every day, 11am to midnight

We’re guessing that Birariya Skakaouets (Бирария Скакауец) takes its name from the song by the Bulgarian band called Hipodil, popular in 2003. (The word skakaouets itself is thought to be a corruption of the Egyptian word scarabaeus.)

Whatever the case, it is, as far as we have been able to find, the closest restaurant to the National Museum of History, that one located far down the road in Boyana. Or, at least, the only one that is open.

It’s about a 10-minutes’ walk up Boulevard Buxton to this little cabin-like place (I was going to say “shanty”, but that sounds a bit too crude) on the roadside, where you will probably be the only non-local.

But that’s ok, because the service is kind and the food is good. Over the past year that we’ve been going to the birreria, I’ve not been disappointed with the place. Granted, it’s only been for lunch, but it does not seem like the type of eatery that would, at night, have a totally different atmosphere.

People come for beers at all times of the day – on draught is available Ariana, and I think Zagorka; bottled brews include those two, plus Kamenitza, Staropramen and Tuborg – and to meet friends, for food, to get out of the house, for the morning espresso.

Seating takes kind of a horseshoe formation around the paralleling bar, with some tables road-side, some along the back wall, and some with a view of the back yarded area, where a strip of patio houses three tables for use in pleasant weather, complete with beer-brand umbrellas. We love corporate financing.

Inside the well-windowed place, it is homey, warm and welcoming, or, at least, not off-putting or exclusive. An electric guitar decorates one of the wood-panelled walls. The music is not rock-and-roll, however, or if it is, it is quiet enough not to induce you to shout to the person sitting across the picnic-style table from you. While I suppose that you could have a drink at the bar proper, it seems to be more so a house for menus and serving trays.

At the back of the building is the WC, redone in the past year.

A daily lunch menu is written on a slip of paper placed on each table in a plastic advert holder. Limited, and Bulgarian-traditional, but seasonal, so at least you know that what you are getting is fresh. There are full menus available (Bulgarian only), but everything in them being procurable is not guaranteed. And anyways, it’s not like you’d come to this pub-restaurant for a gourmet dining experience.

I’ve always been satisfied with the shkembe chorba (tripe soup in a milk broth, about 1.30 leva), with its tender cubes of tripe and silky broth, and the optional grated garlic in vinegar is delightfully potent (though I most recently had to request that it and the accompanying red pepper flakes be brought to the table). The salata zele i morkovi (cabbage and carrot salad, one lev) is refreshing, and usually available though not always listed on the lunch menu. It comes undressed, which makes me happy and saves confusion.

The chicken soup also wins props for its light broth and flavourful chicken, and the French-fried potatoes arrive hot and crisp.

Happily, the waiter-man is willing to play with orders, meaning that if you don’t like a garnish or something, it can be changed (if you speak Bulgarian). For example, my friend ordered the byala riba pane (breaded white fish, 3.40 leva), which, to our pleasant surprise, came with side orders. These would have been cucumbers and tomatoes, and cubed boiled potatoes, but her order for only cucumbers was fulfilled with no grumbling.

The fish was authentic fish, too, a plate full of tenderly flaking filets just breaded and fried, not some questionable processed food product. Watch out for pin bones. The fish came accompanied by the requested cucumbers, a slice of lemon and a spoonful of freshly grated garlic.

The waiter-man smiles kindly. He also readily provided glasses of tap water, and you don’t have to wait ages for your food to come. It almost seems like you’re at a friend’s house for lunch, except that at the end, you have to pay and someone else does the dishes.