Veselo Selo is a traditional Bulgarian restaurant situated in Borisova Gradina park, right behind Vasil Levski Stadium. If you have read our reviews you probably know that there are lots and lots of traditional restaurants in Sofia. Veselo Selo is probably one of the most tourist – oriented restaurants in Sofia.
First of all – the place is huge! It’s one big room filled with tables and a space in the middle, where they perform different kinds of traditional dances and even sometimes cut the hog roast in front of everybody! That is just great if you want to spend an evening introducing someone to Bulgarian culture and cuisine, or learn something about it yourself, but if you are hoping to spend a relaxing evening – this will not be it! The entire restaurant makes me think about a giant “fun factory” – the waiters running around with trays of food, very loud music and at some point even girls performing some sort of belly dancing on the chairs next to your table, and musicians following them around. Don’t get me wrong – this kind of dinner can be fun, but you probably wouldn’t want to repeat it very often.
What we love about it:
- The festive atmosphere – you definitely won’t get bored in Veselo Selo
- Nice food and a big selection of home made breads (they bake them in the restaurant) and you can see which bread you want before ordering it
- English speaking staff
What they can improve:
- It is not a “thing to improve”, but rather some advice – if you want to have a quiet and relaxing evening – Veselo Selo is not the best place to go to.
- I don’t mind the dancing part of the show, but I wouldn’t mind if they asked before climbing on people’s chairs and dancing on them. The loud drum music, the dancing and the fact that you feel that you just have to leave them a tip because they are working hard to entertain you… Plus, while they are dancing you can’t either talk to your friends (because you can’t hear them and they can’t hear you) or eat (because who eats when there are people performing on a chair next to yours)… But then again, I’ve seen people being really excited and happy when the dancers got to their tables – so I’m not at all implying that it’s a bad thing, I’m just saying that it’s not for everyone.
Have you been to Veselo Selo? What do you think?
Our rating:
Reviewed by:
Maria