ADASHITE
/Адашите/
3 Zdravchenika Str, Berkovitsa
Telephone: 0953/ 888 99
Open: 10.00 to midnight

The restaurant/tavern Adashite is a relatively new fixture in Berkovitsa. Perhaps seeking to get in ahead of the much hoped-for real estate and tourist boom that many are attempting to engineer for the region, the restaurant has set up shop in a large, newly-painted building that looks like it might once have been a house. On either side, wooden gates lead to a garden area with seating in back on a roofed, flagstoned courtyard area or balcony, which I only discovered on my third visit, but which makes for quite a pleasant atmosphere. Inside, the upstairs is definitely the place to be, as the downstairs is far more cramped and not nearly so richly decorated. However, currently the upstairs seems to be occupied almost every night with graduation parties or weddings. The restaurant is the local go-to spot for parties, and though I expect this to calm down considerably once summer gets underway, in the meantime reservations are recommended for the evenings.

The menu is not as extensive as some places that I’ve eaten in: a page of salads and a few soups, another of appetisers and a la minutes, a page of grilled offerings and main dishes, a final page of desserts and such-like. In fairness, they are pretty tall pages, but as far as variety goes it’s a bit underwhelming. These reservations aside, the dishes that I’ve eaten here have all been good, but there are only so many to choose from, something which might detract from repeat visits. We shall see.

I have to mention their hot peppers. Now, I’m a self-confessed wuss when it comes to spicy food. But, I do try my best to branch out, and ordering marinated hot peppers is one of my favourite things to do whenever we’re taking groups around. They’re good for the immune system during long weeks with no sleep and high stress while being exposed to hundreds of darling children with sinus infections, and I’ve grown to really like the taste over the year or so that I’ve been in the habit. So, the first time that I was at the restaurant, I followed my personal tradition and ordered the marinated hot peppers.

The pepper was hot. I don’t mean, “tingles a little”, and I don’t mean, “makes you tear up”. I mean, “put it in your mouth and immediately start guzzling every beverage on the table and then grab the salad oil and start chugging because it really is that hot”. It’s the sort of pepper that’s on your mind for the next couple of days because you know exactly where it is in your digestive system all that time. Also: beer does not help.

They make a good ovcharska (shepherd’s) salad (3.80 leva), and are willing to make it without mushrooms when asked, which I appreciate. Other salads are the traditional selection: shopska (2.30 leva), snezhanka (drained yoghurt with cucumbers, sometimes walnuts, and dill which can actually help quite a bit with the peppers) (2.50 leva), green salad (3.50 leva), etc. I do have a bit of a bone to pick with the “olives and onions” dish (1.80 leva) – the olives simply weren’t up to snuff. They were small, too salty, and it was devilishly hard to chew what little substance there was off the pit. Since I’m an inveterate olive-lover and the combination is a long-time favourite of mine, it was more than a little disappointing.

The main courses are better; on my most recent visit, I had a teleshko shpikovano (8.50 leva), a beef dish in a thick gravy with a side of rice, slaw, and fries. More expensive than most of the other entrees, but it does come with side dish included in the price, and is quite good. I believe it to be a local dish, as I’ve seen it in many restaurants in the region but never elsewhere. When I placed my order, however, the waitress initially had doubts about whether it was available, which left me a bit taken aback, but they did have it, so mileage may vary. On previous visits, I’ve had a pork shish kabob (shashlik) (5.50 leva) that was quite well-cooked and seasoned, very tender and tasty, although I warn you that the peppers between some of the meat chunks are of the aforementioned thermonuclear variety. I’ve also had a “pork with peppers and onions” (five leva), a penciled-in addition to the menu involving bite-sized pieces of pork thoroughly marinated in a thick sauce with onions and (normal) peppers that I quite enjoyed. Overall, I’d say that I’m quite satisfied with the quality of the main courses.

The staff are not particular engaging. On my last visit, I had a devil of a time getting the waitress’s attention when I wanted my bill. Not flat-out rude, but not terribly interested in small parties. We have gone to the restaurant with a larger group and received better service; on the other hand, on each of my three visits I’ve had a different waiter, so I’m not sure whether to ascribe the difference to preferential treatment towards larger groups or individual work ethic. I also have to point out that I’ve never seen toilet paper in the men’s room, which is a bit of an annoyance, to put it mildly.

As a final verdict, the restaurant is a mixed bag: good atmosphere and location, mediocre service, hearty food that’s quite good on the whole. The price here is the best part – expect to spend about 10-15 leva per person, though if sufficiently determined one could go above or below that figure.