While finding a restaurant with a peaceful garden is not the most challenging aspect of choosing a restaurant, matching high-quality cuisine to the garden experience can be a bit more complex. Nino fulfils both categories. Opened in early spring 2008 in what had been the restaurant The 1930s (30-те години), Nino is the child of aural media entrepreneur Kamen Spasov, who is also the owner of a nightclub. So when Nino appeared, and with a menu that offered a selection ranging from the traditional Bulgarian scrambled eggs with tomatoes, to wild boar chops with bean ragout (and all this "with compliments" – would someone please explain what that means?), it was hard not to be skeptical.

It turned out that expectations were happily incorrect, and despite the chic interior (by local design bureau Vibehouse), pretentiousness is lacking. Class, however, is ever-present. A hardwood floor adds warmth to the simply dressed tables, pale walls and clean wooden furnishings; knick-knacks are kept to a minimum and the whole creates an atmosphere of intimacy, despite the restaurant’s seating capacity of more than 150, including the garden. The benefits of an historic house.

Head chef Stanislav Kotev knows his stuff, and knows what cooking techniques will best highlight a given product’s good side. Accordingly, the menu is updated often. The spring menu, in place since early May, is more concise than the precedent: some items have been dropped, others have been rotated for seasonal reasons (for example, tarator has joined the likes of a slightly piquant tomato soup and a lentil soup with crispy bacon chips), and, something completely new for Nino, there is a section offering four "diet" items (like grilled turkey with a potato-pea purée, or risotto with salmon) that respect one’s health, while not resorting to undressed salad and water. Such consideration could only be expected from a former Sheraton staffer.

And such consideration carries over to the waitstaff, as well. Treated with full courtesy and attention whether a single person at dinner, or a larger party with questions about certain items, the personnel knows the answer, responds accordingly and does so all without making the diner feel awkward or stupid. Additionally, although one might fear that by sitting in the separate non-smoking salon, or down in the garden, one would be forgotten, a waiter comes to eye how his guests are faring every five minutes or so.

The food lives up to this standard. Everything is made fresh to order, so some items may take a bit more time: it is worth it, and it is possible to get in and out in one hour for lunch. (Note: There is no daily lunch menu.) There are a variety of salads, hot appetisers (including escargot!), pastas and risotto, some grill items, and meats like pepper steak or duck with onion confit (17 leva).

Favourites so far have been the calamari sautéed in white wine, served with a green salad dressed with quartered cherry tomatoes (tender rings of calamari served with crisp lettuce and those little tomatoes, sweet with a slight bite, just like they should be); the soup tom kha gai (4.50 leva) and the vegetable mix salad (six leva; grated raw beets, carrots, cabbage, dill, parsley, dressed with olive oil and vinegar, served in a mound encircled by peeled tomato quarters). The Thai-style soup had been described as spicy, and consisting of coconut milk and chicken. Unctuous without being heavy, thanks to the coconut milk, the soup was fragrant, the kind that makes you just want to inhale its steam, and included sliced green peppers and sliced onion, but it could not be considered spicy. All a matter of taste, perhaps.

While not on the menu itself, something that has won me over is the olive tapenade, which comes alongside circles of fresh-herb butter and a basket of bread to each table. This bread service, along with poured water, is standard, and incurs no charge, at Nino.

The wine list is massive, with all major wine-producing regions represented, and, of course, a good selection of Bulgarian wines; there is a rather large mark-up, unfortunately. There is also a wine cellar area that holds 25 people, if such is your fancy.

The only negative I have encountered on repeated visits is the music – for such a classy venue, the music tends to be too loud, and the genre (dance, chill-out with ethnic beats) does not match Nino’s gracious atmosphere. Though, when I asked on one occasion, the waiter did politely turn it down. Otherwise, the food is top-notch and the waitstaff actually does its job (and well, too). Add this to its setting in an old house with a garden on the quiet side of the street, and it makes Nino one to put on the list of good Sofia restaurants.

Overall: 5/6
Service: 5/6
Atmosphere 4/6
Food 5/6
Price $$$
($ up to 12 leva a person for three courses; $$ 12 to 20 leva pp; $$$ 20 to 35 pp; $$$$ 35 and over pp)

Address:
47 Cherkovna Str, Sofia
Tel: 088/ 400 06 06
Open: every day, 11am to 1am
Credit cards: yes