I Sensi Alta Gastronomia
Address: 12 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd
Tel: 980 85 04
Open: every day 9am to 9pm, with possible shorter hours on Sundays

So what if the only time I’ve been to Italy was on a day trip from Les Houches, France, and was more of an excuse to travel the tunnel de Mont Blanc (after the fire). Quality food is quality food anywhere, and Sofia (Bulgaria, for that matter) finally has its gourmet Italian alternative in a shop right across from the Italian embassy.

I Sensi Alta Gastronomia opened on November 5, it being anticipated impatiently following notice of the upcoming delights posted on the vitrine.

Entering the store for the first time, it was impossible not to grin – yes, heaven came down and landed on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard. Unobtrusive yet bright lighting sparkled on the polished black floors and white deli cases, with the left wall of the shop orderly lined with vintages typically unseen in these lands, and the right wall hosting temptations from aceto balsamico to jars of marinated vegetables and sauces to biscuits, with the back of the market enfolding the deli case, all crowned by three legs of prosciutto and a gleaming Berkel meat slicer.

Owned by the same family that created the Italian restaurants La Capannina, I Sensi features an impressive selection of Italian delicatessen goods, dry goods, wines and sweets.

Angel Baldjiiski, manager of the operation, explained a little of its philosophy to me one afternoon during its first week of existence. “There was no sort of store in Bulgaria like this at the moment, with a selection of classic, speciality Italian goods. It’s something new on (the Bulgarian) market,” he said. “There are Italian products in stores here, but not of this quality. Ours are artisanal.”

That’s one of the first things remarked when entering – these items for sale at I Sensi represent some of the top names and regions in food and beverage: Illy, Nonino, Antonio Mattei, Deseo Prato, Perugina. Not to mention the cheeses (robiola di capra incavolata, a robiola wrapped in Savoy cabbage leaves, selling for 40 leva for a wheel of about eight cm; brescianella alla grappa, 9.50 leva for 100g; Gorgonzola picante (seven leva/100g) and dolce (four leva/100g); Piacentinu di Enna for 10 leva/100g; goat cheeses; a few organic Bulgarian cheeses – Bio Krave Sirene and Bio Ovche Sirene; more...) and deli meats including prosciutto, mortadella, bresaola; nibbly things like peperone ciliegia piccante con acciuga (cherry peppers stuffed with anchovy paste, 12 leva/100g); carciofi alla romana (Romana-style marinated artichokes from Lazio, seven leva/100g), marinated seafood; and fresh-prepared ready-to-eat options like lasagne, various types of foccacia, homemade tomato sauce... and fresh pasta waiting to be taken home. These latter items were being swept up by happy customers the afternoons that I have visited. (As a side note, La Capannina’s pasta is the best I’ve ever had.)

And then there are the dolci – tortes, cakes, petit fours, all made in the kitchen of La Capannina.

Though an Italian market, there are a few French products of note: bulk butter Baratte d’Isigny (3.70 leva/100g), fois gras and some pates.

There is more than this, of course, but these are the highlights. And for all the selection, there’s no sense of overcrowding.

Baldjiiski, who lived in Como for four years, said that wine tastings will be starting soon, by the end of November. If you fancy yourself a wine-lover, or want to fancy someone who is, I Sensi will make you happy. Its wall dedicated to wine and spirits includes the likes of Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella 2003, Traversa Barbaresco Sori Ciabot 1998, crus from Villa Antinori, and many more; and a selection of vintages from the better Bulgarian cellars, including Katarzyna, Santa Sarah and Terra Tangra. Also calling out are the pretty labels of Cynar (made from 13 herbs and plants, including artichokes, hence the name), various grappa and Amaro Montenegro – “the liqueur of the virtues”. Behind glass are stored brands of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, more costly alcohols and some French Champagne.

What impressed me, apart from the selection and the desire to shop only here, was the courtesy that the staff – two on the floor, and two or three behind the deli counter – and Baldjiiski showed to customers. There was no sense of elite snobbery here, only a common love for taste and quality.