Vegan EuroTrip – Where to eat in Skopje and Sofia

Well that time has come. This post is about the final two stops on our Vegan Eurotrip in the beautiful countries of Macedonia, and Bulgaria as I reached 100 countries (and beyond) by my 30th birthday. These last cities had plenty to eat but we were sadly in and out so quick that we didn’t get to explore ALL the options. That is also why they get to share a post. Without further ado I present to you Skopje and Sofia!

SKOPJE

Macedonia’s capital city was a huge surprise. And I mean huge in the literal sense…every thing was so BIG. The fountains, the buildings, the bridges – I had never seen anything like it before. Aaaand there was a pirate ship in the river. See for yourself:

Strays are all over the place but for the most part we found them really friendly and well taken care of. This is super important to us both as massive animal lovers. We even had a friend follow us around for a couple hours. We named him Tag. He abandoned us for a couple with a burger (not of the veggie persuasion) deep in the middle of our “how-will-we-get-a-Macedonian-stray-dog-over-the-English-border-to-live-with-us-forever” conversation. There were even talks of renting a car to make it more comfortable on the cutie…TRAITOR.

But enough with that furry little hoodlum, and on to the FOOD. We only really had a day to explore since we arrived super late the first day and spent part of the second day exploring Pristina, Kosovo (couldn’t help ourselves from getting to another country for a bit). That didn’t stop us from finding two amazing veggie establishments though.

Restaurant Harmony

Kaj Grcki konzulat, Skopje 1000

I can’t even tell you what we ordered because the menu seems to change but we had a little bit of everything and I can say that the quality was delightful and consistent! Blissfully indulgent and oh so delicious! I do think they had one option that wasn’t vegan so be vigilant of what you order. She was very helpful when deciding.

BistRaw Zdravo Zivo

Ulica Njudelhiska 6, Skopje 1000

We were really grateful to find this place and that they let us dine there even though they were undergoing renovations. Owned by a friendly couple well known in the raw food community, their cafe is super cute and offered us a fun experience in the fresh new world of raw food.

We ordered: (sorry for the crappy photo quality – the mood lighting was dim!)

• Raw veggie burger
• Raw tacos
• Raw cheesecake with raspberry sauce
• Raw chocolate cake

SOFIA

This Bulgarian city turned out to be much cooler than I expected. It’s a shame we only had one night and were so pooped from being on the road for so long – we would have loved to explore for a few more days here!

Loving Hut

Rakovski 113 street 1000 Sofia city

What a great find! I know these exist all over the world and for the most part are different so I didn’t have my hopes up when I found out one was in town (I don’t love the menu at our Seattle location), but holy smokes. The sandwich I ordered I actually got two days in a row – it was that mouth-watering and satisfying. I ate them so fast that I don’t think I even snapped a photo…but there are some on their website (Vegan mozzarella sandwich). It honestly doesn’t even look like an appealing sandwich but the bread and sauce where just so darn tasty! And to top it off the staff here were so friendly! One of them even helped us get a cab so we didn’t miss our flight. She also clued us into the fact that we had know idea what time it was. Unbeknownst we had changed time zones on our visit and were literally experiencing everything at a different time than everyone else for an entire day. Yikes. Amateur hour.

Soul Kitchen

ul. “Kokiche” 13, 1164 g.k. Lozenets, Sofia, Bulgaria

The food and ambiance at Soul Kitchen literally made me giddy. I was beside myself with joy throughout each and every bite as I willingly plunged myself into one of the least regrettable food comas I’ve ever experienced. They sat us in the cute fenced backyard that houses giant trees strung with fairly lights. Totally romantic and totally recommended. Not only did Soul Kitchen serve amazing food, but they also provided a memorable experience.

We ordered:

• “CHEESE THE QUEEN” CULTURED TREE NUT GRILLED CHEESE – Grilled “Cheese the Queen” cultured tree nut cheese Classic, served with roasted pears, homemade quince jam
• SPINACHI PANCAKE – Gluten-free pancake of rice flour, soy milk, spinach, mushrooms, artichokes, marinated dried tomatoes, plant-based cheese, olive oil, garlic
• AVOCADO DIP – Avocado, cashew, garlic, parsley, lemon, raw crackers

And with that, I bring my Vegan Eurotrip series to a close. It’s been a pleasure recounting, sharing, and of course eating in the name of vegan travel as I reached 100 countries by my 30th birthday! I hope you have enjoyed and that you tune into future posts. Cheers and thanks for reading!