The traditional for the Bulgarian cuisine meatballs and kebabs are an indisputable favorite of many connoisseurs of meat. They’re mostly eaten as a main dish with green salad, lyutenitsa, French fries, torshi (pickled vegetables) or another side dish, and can be also served cooked with sauce or as a stew or fricassee.
Тhe team of the only digital guide under the hills went on a "delicious" walk through the restaurants in Plovdiv and the surrounding area and selected several places where these meat specialties definitely impressed us.
We don’t aim to surprise you with the first place because Porky's BBQ has already proven to be the place for grill and BBQ in the city under the hills. The menu of Porky's BBQ is rich and full of varied suggestions, of course, with an emphasis on barbeque and local dishes. To please each customer, only fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and fish arrive on the spot, and the mince is made in the kitchen itself. To prepare the cult of the place meatballs in whimsical shapes, fresh meat is ordered and minced in Porky's BBQ. You can choose from pork or horse meatballs.
Actually, it turns out that horse meatballs have their fans in Salt and pepper. Although a little drier, quality horse meat is considerably softer than beef and, with the right treatment, becomes a delicacy. It is preferred by people engaged in sports, and the country where the most horse meat is consumed in Italy. We recommend that you try them in the version offered by ChefBorukov and you may have just found a new favorite on the menu.
We continue with one more place where you may not have expected them to offer meatballs and kebabs, but we guarantee that you will not regret it if you order them. In Hemingway, kebabs are made from beef from selected breeds and served with Thracian appetizer, white beans, and potatoes. If the atmosphere was not so exquisite, we would surely lick our fingers. And the meatballs... they are made of lamb and garnished with spicy Kaba Gaida cheese, bean mousse and homemade appetizer with honey, walnuts, and cinnamon. True Bulgarian specialties in gourmet version.
After the well-known names, it’s time for some snug places, some of which you may not know...
Menu Restaurant in Kuchuk Paris is outside the city center but this is no reason to overlook the delicious grill that is prepared on the spot. Inspired by the Serbian cuisine, you can eat appetizing Uštipci, Pljeskavica, and we were recently quite pleasantly surprised that even there you can find meatballs with horse meat.
One of the places you will certainly not find on Trip Advisor is on the courts of the race track at the Rowing Channel. There, in the little café, often called Pri Eli, because of its charming owner, you will find some of the most delicious authentic meatballs and kebabs under the hills. It's no accident that in the afternoons over the weekend you can meet a large part of the Plovdiv bohemia and former and current athletes who eat deliciously from their portion.
We go outside the city for a moment to take a short stroll to the village of Brestnik, where Positano 20 is probably one of the most visited places. There is no fan of the local cuisine in Plovdiv who hasn’t heard of or tried the famous MPs meatballs. Often during the weekends, it is difficult to find places and it is necessary to book in advance for lunchtime. Unpretentious but very tasty!
We advise all fans of winter sports and weekend tourism the next time they visit the small Koprivkite ski slope to stop and eat a meatball or a kebab in the Teahouse. It is at the foot of the track, and a satiating lunch will seem even more tempting after a long walk or downhill skiing.
Don’t you think that we‘ve forgotten the Mimi Ivanova meatballs in Pavaj. They are probably already world-famous, so if you haven‘t tried them, fix this mistake right away.
The comment section is the place where you can share your favorite places for grill and meat specialties. Is there any of them that we have missed visiting?
