Address: 18a Gladstone Str (entrance off of Parchevich Street), Sofia
Tel: 089/ 564 84 77
Open: every day, 8.00 to 22.00

Overall:  3/6
Service:  3/6
Atmosphere: 4/6
Food: 3/6
Price:  $$

Bread in Bulgaria is usually one of those things that might accompany a restaurant meal, but never really deserves much attention, save negative. At Sluntse Luna, which opened in late spring 2008, bread is one of the reasons for its being. Sold in whole loaves at a sort of in-shop bakery counter, its delicious wholemeal breads are also available – by the slice – to accompany a meal at the restaurant.

The restaurant itself is small, cheery and vegetarian, but vegetarian in the healthy-eating, homefood sense, not in the die-hard vegan that shuns even honey. The walls in the main dining/bakery counter area are painted deep coral or yellow, with two large bench-type tables and a three-seat bar; a secluded white nook with one table in the back is more elegant, but still cosy. Three street-side tables seat two patrons each in front of the restaurant’s highlighter-green facade. Inside, from two extremely cool speakers, chill, jazz, ethnic or light house music plays at a low, conversation-allowing volume, for which we are thankful.

As to the menu, it has no more than 15 items total, not counting the handwritten daily menu affixed with a paper clip. The three salads include a green salad and tabbouleh, for prices between 5.30 and 5.80 leva, though on one occasion I requested to be created – and kindly received – a salad made of a combination of all the fresh vegetables, including various sprouts!, that Sluntse Luna (meaning “sun moon”) had in its kitchen at the moment.

The soups are tarator or a soup of the day for two leva. When, one day, I ordered the gazpacho, it had been freshly prepared, blended to near smooth, with parsley and a few cubes of red onion on top, a perfect dish to highlight the vibrancy of quality vegetables.

From the standard menu I have also had Thai-style tofu (6.60 leva), a saute of carrots, bean sprouts, a variety of other diced vegetables and cubes of Sluntse Luna’s homemade tofu with somewhat Asian-style seasoning. It is a happy thing that, along with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the table, there is also a cruet of soy sauce. Though I must say that olive oil and balsamic vinegar do not go well with all types of food. The veggie.ger (six leva and highly recommended) recalls falafel, but here the three patties are made of grains of buckwheat, instead of garbanzo beans, mixed with minced parsley, onions, walnuts and spices. This is accompanied by a cucumber and tomato salad, and a dab of a sort of mayonnaise-yoghurt sauce.

The wholemeal spaghetti with a mild bleu cheese and broccoli sauce is a hit with my friends, and it is true that the pasta is perfectly cooked al dente, but I prefer foods to be a bit more spiced.

On the daily menu, there is always a gyuvech or vegetable yachniya (both are types of stews, or dishes cooked in a pot on the stove top) for three leva. Once when we were there for lunch, we ordered the Mediterranean moussaka (6.50 leva), the cheesy sauce and aubergine cooked together to toasty perfection.

About the daily menu – it is most often eaten up by the time dinner arrives.

The most expensive item available is the baked Camembert in an almond crust, served with blueberry jam at nine leva. And for those a bit more traditional, there is potatoes sauteed with dill (3.30 leva), or pizza, albeit on wholemeal crust – which sounds delicious.

The portions, though, for their price, seem small. I am no large eater, but for six leva, a salad of plain vegetables had better be big enough to fill me up. Not here.

Luckily, the bread is good, probably the best that I've had in Bulgaria, particularly the ciabatta with olives or with sun-dried tomatoes (one lev for 100g), and wholegrain seed bread. Sluntse Luna also sells its organic wholemeal, rye and white flours by the kilo.

Beverages include a variety of teas, a good selection of quality German lagers and one Indian beer, and quality Bulgarian wines.

My only real complaint is that the service can be very... absent. The place is small enough that you would think with three servers working, you could easily flag someone down. Not quite. It is – save one girl who always seems morose – very friendly and responsive, just a bit missing when more beer is wanted, or when the soy sauce bottle is empty.

Yet overall, Sluntse Luna is a keeper.