The Fox & Hound
34 Angel Kunchev Str
Open: 11.00 to 23.30
Tel: 02/ 980 74 27

In recent years, Sofia has seen a growing number of English-style pubs and restaurants, catering to expats looking for a taste of home and natives looking for the taste of someplace else. Among them, and a new addition at least for me, is The Fox & Hound on Angel Kunchev.

From the outside, the restaurant is rather unassuming, and not nearly as visible as one would think granted its central location. I stumbled across it quite by chance while on Angel Kunchev Street on another errand, and was surprised to find an English pub just off Patriarch Evtimii that I never knew existed. On the bottom floor of one of the old apartment buildings in the centre, the outside is painted in dark green and red, while signs announce The Fox & Hound in gold letters. It’s rare that I see a new restaurant and absolutely have to try it out, but I confess a weak spot for anything English in that regard. I would attribute it to my Englishness, except that I’m Polish! Call it nostalgia, then, but I had to see what it was all about.

Upon entering, one’s first impression is usually that the oddly-angled mirror on the partition wall facing you is actually a hole cut in the wall for serving purposes. The second impression is of a cosy place whose owners have gone to some trouble to create a pleasant “English-y” atmosphere. The walls and shelves are lined with various ambient bric-a-brac: old-time whiskey and ale advertisements, model ships, fake antique books, whiskey bottle cases, two stuffed rabbits dressed up for Saint Patrick’s Day, a TV showing Eurosport, and, inexplicably, a small plastic jack-o-lantern. Wood and quieter colours predominate, which, combined with the small rooms and relatively small number of tables, creates an intimate atmosphere. The lack of tables means that reservations are definitely recommended for those coming in the evening – at least later in the evening. On my second visit, I came without reservations, and was only seated after promising that all I wanted was a quick bite to eat before leaving at 6.30pm to run to the opera. I also note, with no small degree of approval, that the non-smoking section was actually a separate room from which tobacco smells from the smoking section could not be detected, a pleasant change from the Bulgarian norm of a perfunctory nod in the general direction of the law in the form of a “non-smoking” sign slapped on one or two of the tables in a single room. There is also a bar, small like the rest of the restaurant, but well-stocked with a wide variety of drinks, especially Scotch and Irish whisk(e)y.

The food itself is actually of varied style. In addition to typical English foods such as shepherd’s pie (10.90 leva) and fish and chips (7.90 leva), they also serve many universal dishes such as chicken Roquefort (8.50 leva), and the more expensive pepper steak (22.90 leva). They also offer Guinness beer on tap, though at seven leva for 500 ml, it can be as much as some of the entrees. Still, it’s nice for a change. On my first visit, I was essentially indulging my nostalgia, and ordered a shepherd’s pie – ground beef and various vegetables in a bowl underneath a “crust” of mashed potatoes – which, though not quite the way I remember it, was good. Not fancy, perhaps, but wholesome and homey, which is, of course, the idea. A word of caution is that the dish can sometimes take a little longer to prepare, but worth the wait for those who have missed the taste. My friend ordered a quatro formaggio au gratin potatoes (4.90 leva) from the appetiser menu, and though it was tasty, there was the minor complaint that some of the potatoes at the bottom were slightly undercooked.

On my second visit, I was pressed for time and not particularly hungry, but needing to eat something in a hurry before a multi-hour ballet, so I settled on the Italian stuffed tomato (5.50 leva) – a tomato stuffed with chicken, raisins, and walnuts, with cheese and grilled squash on the side. It was highly unusual, to say the least, but quite tasty. It would work better as a shared appetiser than a meal in itself, though, if one wanted a large meal. The restaurant also offers several sandwiches and English breakfast items – “BBQ bacon, the way they like it in England!” (5.50 leva), a club sandwich (7.90 leva), and a smoke salmon sandwich (6.90 leva), which I was sorely tempted by before settling on my tomato.

The service is quite friendly, if not exactly attentive. This is to say that the staff is very helpful and cheerful, just not around very much. This may have been a peculiarity of the more isolated non-smoking section, but still. On my second visit I think that staff suspected me of being a reviewer. There just isn’t a good way to surreptitiously photograph a restaurant while eating, although the attitude of staff was not noticeably different to my first visit.

On the whole, I was quite pleased with my experience. The food is filling and pleasant, and the atmosphere is quite nice. The staff are friendly if somewhat absent, and the prices are reasonable. If determined, one could arrive hungry and leave full for 10 to 12 leva per person, though many of the entrees and certainly the imported beers/whiskeys are far more expensive than this. Perhaps not as typically English as some of the other pubs that have sprung up around Sofia, but nonetheless a good place to go.