Hotel & Restaurant Sofia

We went as a group of seven and had a fantastic meal of traditional Romanian food. We tried Ciorba de burtă (tripe soup), Ciorba de fasole (bean soup), and Ciorba de perişoare (meatball soup), then shared Polenta Bulz with cheese, Sarmale in a clay pot, Buttered Påstråv, chicken with cabbage salad, and pork ribs with country-style potatoes. It was a genuine taste of Romanian cooking, and everything was fantastic. The Sofia Restaurant is part of a luxury complex with a hotel and conference center, so it seems suited to big events like company conferences, team-building retreats, or weddings. Inside, there are three levels with plenty of seats. It was fairly quiet when we visited, probably because it was midweek and raining, though I can imagine it gets lively in peak season. Outside, there's a large terrace with a grill and rotisserie for cooking lots of food. It connects to the hotel and conference center by a covered bridge with extra seating. The hotel also has a sizable pool and a playground.

The desserts were even better than the delicious food. The menu was surprisingly big, with some unusual-sounding options, like salmon with two sauces. We only came for dinner, and it took the waiters about 15 minutes to take our order, then a while to bring the food.

It's a quiet, pleasant, comfortable place, and the staff are really kind and welcoming. The soups and borshes are very good. The rest of the food is a bit of a gamble, you might like it or you might not, so that's why I'm giving it four stars.

The food was the one good part, if you like traditional dishes. Otherwise, the room was cold, fairly dirty, and wasn't cleaned every day. We even found a mouse in it. Black-colored water came up when flushing the toilet, and the bathroom smelled so bad that we had to keep its door shut during the day. The waiters were slow, so meals took a lot of patience. Some of the room's electrical sockets didn't work either. Be careful on the staircase up to the room, it can be slippery.