Vegetarian and Vegan in Nesebar: Better Than You Have Been Told

Vegetarian and Vegan in Nesebar

Bulgarian food has a reputation as meat-heavy, and a Black Sea resort adds fish to that. Both are true and both undersell the situation badly, because the traditional kitchen here is full of dishes that happen to contain no meat at all — not as a concession, but because that is how they have always been made.

The trick is knowing what to ask for.

The dishes that are already vegetarian

Shopska salad is the national plate: tomato, cucumber, pepper, onion and grated white brine cheese. Order it without the cheese and it is vegan, and nobody will find the request strange.

Lyutenitsa — a thick relish of roasted pepper and tomato — is spread on bread everywhere and is usually vegan as it comes.

Kyopoolu is the smoky aubergine and pepper version. Ask whether there is yoghurt in it; recipes vary.

Tarator, the cold cucumber, yoghurt, garlic, dill and walnut soup, is a vegetarian summer staple and genuinely the best thing to eat at two in the afternoon in August. Dairy, so not vegan.

Gyuvetche is a clay pot of vegetables baked with cheese and often an egg. Ask for it without and it becomes a vegetable stew.

Beans. Bulgarian bean soup and baked beans dishes are peasant food, cheap and usually meatless — but confirm, because a spoon of something pork-based sometimes goes in.

Grilled vegetables and mushrooms are on almost every menu, and Bulgarian grills are good at them.

Banitsa with cheese for vegetarians; the pumpkin and the spinach versions exist too, though the pastry is often made with butter.

The word to learn

Постно — postno — is the single most useful word in this article.

It means "fasting food", and it comes from the Orthodox calendar, during which believers eat no meat, dairy or eggs. That makes it very close to vegan, and unlike a foreign dietary term it is understood by every cook in the country.

Ask имате ли нещо постно? — "do you have anything postno?" — and you will get a sensible answer rather than a puzzled one. During the actual fasting periods before Easter and Christmas, many restaurants run a whole postno section.

The caveat: postno permits fish in some traditions and on some days. If you are vegan, ask about fish specifically.

Where to eat around Nesebar

Old Town restaurants are tourist-facing and will have salads, grilled vegetables and usually a pasta or a risotto. They are also the most expensive option on the coast.

The mainland town is where people actually live, and the small places there cook the everyday food this article is about, at ordinary prices.

Sunny Beach has the widest range of international food, which cuts both ways: more explicit vegan options, less of anything local.

Bakeries are the underrated answer for breakfast and lunch — see below.

Markets. Bulgarian tomatoes and peppers in season are excellent and cheap, and if you have an apartment kitchen, a market trip and a knife beat most restaurant meals here.

Being clear about it

Vegetarianism is understood but not universal, so be specific rather than general. "No meat" occasionally does not exclude chicken stock, fish, or a strip of bacon regarded as seasoning rather than meat.

Useful phrases: без месо (without meat), без риба (without fish), без сирене (without cheese), без яйца (without eggs), постно (fasting food, roughly vegan).

Say them plainly and early. Bulgarian kitchens are accommodating; they simply need to know before the pan is hot.

Vegan specifics

Dairy is deeply embedded — yoghurt and white brine cheese are in a great deal — so vegan requires more care than vegetarian. Plant milks are available in supermarkets and in the better cafes but should not be assumed in a small village place.

Постно remains the shortcut. So does a kitchen: this coast is full of rented apartments, and the produce is the best part of the food here.

The short version

Learn the word постно. Order shopska without the cheese, eat lyutenitsa and tarator and grilled vegetables, and go to the mainland town rather than the peninsula for everyday cooking. The Bulgarian kitchen is far more accommodating than its reputation — it just does not label itself the way you might expect.