I was really looking forward to visiting the town of Balchik, which is located about 40 kilometers from Varna. Its history dates back to the Thracian period, making it one of the oldest Bulgarian towns. It is surrounded by terraces that gradually descend to the Black Sea. It has a population of just over 11,000. You can easily get to Balchik from Varna by direct bus connection, the journey takes about an hour and costs 3.20 EUR.
In Balchik, I had pre-selected two restaurants serving typical rural Bulgarian cuisine, but… The first restaurant was reserved for a private party, and the second one was not open even an hour after the opening time (it should be noted that it was a Saturday already out of the main season). So, I chose the Rhomphaia restaurant located right on the coast.
With a beautiful view directly of the sea, I couldn’t start with anything other than fish soup. They brought me a separate bowl with spicy sauce and lemon. The portion was huge, like with Romanian soups, it could be 300 – 400 ml.
I was pleasantly surprised by the large amount of fish meat in the soup. The fish meat was tender, completely boneless, and with the addition of spicy sauce, the soup was slightly spicy and very tasty. The fish soup cost just under 3.20 EUR.
For the next course and more of a taste, I ordered fried sea fish goby, which are most commonly found in the Black Sea. The fish meat was again beautifully tender, but unlike the gudgeon, it was necessary to remove the bones, which are too large to be eaten. The fried goby fish cost about 6.40 EUR.
Then I just had a glass of Bulgarian brandy Pliska and continued along the Black Sea coast.
More information can be obtained by clicking on the map link:
