Bulgaria
Our Guide To Bulgaria’s Best Pubs and Bars
Nightlife emerging from a deep-freeze, pub culture is almost non-existent out in the provinces, the nearest thing being the Meyhane, traditional folk restaurants, occasionally serving a social scene similar to Croatia's caffe bars without the bland uniformity.
In Sofia however, a young population and Western influences are forcing movements onto the scene. There are last-gen brewpubs, new wave craft bars, and a few alternative venues in and around the city. For a city of its size it is still perhaps understocked in comparison to the West, but a traveller will have no trouble finding a venue.
You'll find yourself doing a hop-skip-and-jump between venues and styles to keep a crawl going.
The same applies for Plovdiv where a thriving arts scene has endowed the city with an array of live music and performance venues worth visiting, and a craft beer scene that stands out too.
Value varies significantly, from city centre Sofia's near Western prices for good product to backstreet Samokov where a bottle of local bad lager can be obtained for well under a Euro. Aside of beer drinking, Rakia remains a big part of local culture, with wine in the South East having a distinctive regional influence.
Ratings Key:
A: Choice and/or quality of drinks
B: Style and décor
C: Atmosphere and feel
D: Amenities, Events & Community
E: Value for money
F: The Pub Going Factor
| Name | Location | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Papa Beer | Burgas | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7.5 |
| Nylon | Plovdiv | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8.1 |
| Kontrabas | Plovdiv | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 7.8 |
| Jazz Insights | Plovdiv | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7.7 |
| Klub Maria Louisa | Plovdiv | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7.7 |
| Baba Yaga | Plovdiv | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7.7 |
| Cat and Mouse | Plovdiv | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7.6 |
| Three Plus Three | Samokov | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 7.5 |
| The Hat's Club | Sofia | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 9.1 |
| K.E.B.A | Sofia | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7.9 |
| Halbite | Sofia | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7.7 |
| High Five | Sofia | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7.5 |
| Eddie Sicoy | Sofia | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7.5 |
| Beer Kolobars | Stara Zagora | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8.6 |
Borovets
Nightlife Rating: ❤️
Pop. ???
A ski resort which gives access to the Rila national park. The town, if you can call it that is nearly entirely geared for tourism, so it is dead out of season. Say hi to the dozens of semi-feral dogs who will follow you around for food.
Burgas
Nightlife Rating: ❤️❤️
pop. 178,235
For a sizeable city on the Black Sea coast you'd expect a broader selection of venues to choose from in all honesty. Unfortunately the smattering of offerings amounts to a craft beer bar, reasonable sports bar and some Meyhane, traditional taverns that are casual pub restaurants. It feels strange to say but it's true.
Kostenets
Nightlife Rating: Zero
Pop. 11,656
Without exception the worst town for nightlife with a 10K+ population we have ever been to. There is nothing.
Plovdiv
Nightlife Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
pop. 343, 424
One of the few cities in Bulgaria that is thriving, Plovdiv is young, fun, diverse, both broad and deep in terms of its attractions. A preserved roman theatre and ampitheatre, mosques, an Ottoman era old town and series of hilltop monuments provides a fascinating landscape to explore, while downtown buzzes in the evening glow. Nightlife is pretty varied with some good jazz bars, cocktail venues, craft beer destinations, arty bohemian bars and rock clubs which genuinely competes with the capital city Sofia overall. A recent European Capital of Culture, it is not difficult to see why. The best thing is it is not even remotely over-touristic. We think you'll love it.
Samokov
Nightlife Rating: ❤️
pop. 35,871
Samokov is typical of the Bulgarian provincial towns. Very light on nightlife and an absence of anything resembling true pubs. You'll find some tacky bars and you'll find some beautiful eateries, but there is virtually nothing in between. At least the town doesn't go to sleep, but it can hardly be said to be buzzing with activity at night either. The most interesting find, a back street DIY operation was located entirely by accident as we sought shelter from the thunder and spotted the ubiqutious Kamenitza hoarding outside.
Sofia
Nightlife Rating: ❤️❤️❤️
pop. 1,236,000
A large city with a manageable and easy-to-navigate and walkable centre, activity is found among a series of boulevards rather than central squares. You may be surprised to find the prices are nearer to Western levels in many of the venues - this is certainly not Albania/North Macedonia on that front. Sofia provides a clear variety to choose from with most genres of drinking hole covered competently, even if there is a nagging feeling it lacks one killer venue. The layout of the city also feels like a missed opportunity for a ruin bar/apartment bar scene like Hungary and Romania. Don't miss the famous venue Hambara with its candlelit atmosphere or The Hat's Club, a little backstreet cigar club where you can easily hit up conversations with locals.
Stara Zagora
Nightlife Rating: ❤️❤️
pop. 158,563
A central city that has seen a severe population decline, but if you catch the centre on the right night, you could still be convinced there's plenty of life and youth left. Hardly a picturesque city, during the day you'll be viewing lines of tower blocks - even the archeological ruins are a sad neglected set of stumps. The city does however offer possibly the best beer bar in the country, Beer Kolobars, whose range and neighbourly atmosphere is a clear winner. As for alternatives, they are thin on the ground but enough to scratch together a night out with.