Sometimes there is nothing better than having someone else cook for us, especially when the result is aromatic, homemade and prepared with care.
Here are our three favorite places in Plovdiv, where takeout is not just a “quick fix”, but a real pleasure.
Lauta Grill
A few steps from Lauta Park, you can smell the aroma of something that all gourmets adore – fresh meat, heat and home-made taste. This is Lauta Grill – a place where food is prepared in front of the customer, without secrets and without compromising on quality.
The restaurant has two locations – in the Trakia district, just 50 meters from the park that gave its name to the brand, and on Kuklensko Shose. The first has been operating for five years, and the second for two. Both locations rely on an open kitchen, their own products and home-made recipes for dishes that we all love and have eaten since childhood.
The offerings include both grilled meat and cooked items that you can eat in the restaurant or take home. Everything is prepared on site, using only fresh meat. The minced meat for the recipes is prepared and ground here, and everything needed is cut at the site.
Food Shop
It all started more than 20 years ago with a small shop by the road between the village of Kalekovets and the Stryama industrial zone. That’s where the idea for the Food Shop was born – a place where you can get hot, homemade food, even when you’re on the go.
Today, the brand has five locations – in Kalekovets, Graf Ignatievo, two sites on Brezovsko Shosse and one on Nikola Vaptsarov Blvd., and very soon the largest Food Shop to date will open.
The menu remains true to Bulgarian tradition – salads, soups, cooked dishes and the legendary “retro” meatballs and kebabs. Some of the establishments also have small dining rooms, but most customers choose the food in a box – convenient, tasty and affordable.
Mangiare
On 4 Yanko Sakazov Street, next to the Art High School, a cute and cozy place has been located for the second year – Mangiare. At first, its owners started with a burger caravan on the beach during the summer season, but when they returned to the city, they decided to focus on hot and cooked food.
The menu is diverse, but with an emphasis on Bulgarian cuisine. Moussaka and chicken with rice are favorites and are prepared every day, but along with them, customers love the lasagna and tiramisu.
The atmosphere is in Italian style, and the name of the establishment is a light play on the Italian verb “to eat” (mangiare) and the sonorous Bulgarian word “mandzha”.
There is indoor and outdoor seating, but you can always take your food home or order delivery.
If you love home cooking but don’t have time to cook, these three places will remind you why simple, well-prepared meals are always delicious and nutritious.
