Pri Kmeta - The Mayor Brewpub

Good value establishment very near the Alexander Nevsky catherdral and St Sofia Church. The bar has two areas, a tradional "Kelder" one with wood panels and seating areas and an open area at the back. The open area one is split on two levels the second one containing the bar and more seating.
The lower outside area is disabled friendly.
The beers comprise an ordinary larger, weizen beer, red ale and a dark ale. Of the ones our gang tried the dark one seemed to have to most about it although the others were bordering on hum-drum.
The food although reasonable didn't seemed properly cooked and was a bit too much quantity not enough quality.
A good in town venue from the sea of boring ones.
Good points:
Good atmosphere.
Reasonable and decent.
Handy for centre. (Tube stop Sofia University - 10 mins walk).
Minus points:
Beers a bit boring.
Foor a bit dodgy.

Having read recommendations of this bar, a party of eight of us visited one evening in July 2011. Only 2 minutes walk from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, junction of Paris and Moskovka Streets. We sat outside in the alley at tables adjacent to the covered area. The server (who spoke a little English) suggested we had a "Meter of beer" and promptly brought a long 'wooden tool box' containing 8 half litres of beer - two halves each of the 4 different beers available: Light, Red, Weiss and Dark. Have to say none of the beers really impressed us, but all were preferable to the mass produced beers popular in Bulgaria (thin lager style tasteless stuff) Although we wouldn't rave about the beer, we had a really good time, good atmosphere, lively at the time of our visit, good prices. The Red and Dark seemed to be most favoured of the four. One of the party returned another night and said the food was good. Beer cost was under $3 a half litre, typical of beer prices in Bulgaria. One of the few places in Sofia to have their own local beers, and whilst the beer is not outstanding, it is certainly worth finding.

JohnW
B'ham UK July 2011

Recently visited along with my partner Lub and her sister Maria, this brewpub sits at the back of (or opposite to) the Sofia City Council, hence the name “The Mayor”. Located in the basement of an ordinary apartment building, this was frankly the first beer drinking establishment I had visited in BG. Having in mind a modern-ish picture as seen on the website, the interior in fact feels more spacious yet cozy than anticipated. You could see the conditioning tanks on display at the entrance, and the menu invites all to come and experience their brewing process on a certain date(s) of the year, which is a very good, albeit commercialised, sign for beer lovers.

As, or more precisely “although”, it was on the afternoon immediately before the national holiday “St. George’s Day” when we visited, the brewpub was almost totally empty. According to Lub and Maria, this is a sign of economic recession (otherwise, they said, BG folks would get out of work early at 3pm and start celebrating in bars and cafes!), but to me I definitely appreciate this quieter and, most importantly, smoke-free environment. We had a very nice mid-afternoon lunch there, choosing six dishes from a very extensive menu. All dishes came in good size and of very decent quality. Beer-wise, as reported by the previous reviewer, they still produce all four brews: Wheat, Light, Dark and Red. While the Wheat was somewhat off-ish or not terribly tasty anyway, the other three were of decent quality with Red going particularly well with all dishes we ordered. On both bars (one long and the other shorter) they even have hand-pumps (beer engine) on display, but according to my UK-pubbing experience these are fake ones operated by electricity; no harm done, as they do help contribute a pub-like atmosphere all in all.

Different than the previous reviewer’s experience, the service was friendly and attentive without being interrupting (perhaps because the waitress had no one else to attend to), adding a few more points to the overall decent price performance and very pleasant experience. For one, I’ll certainly go back during my future visits to Sofia, preferably on a smoke-free and quieter afternoon again!

Atmosphere: The pub is located on a backstreet in the center of town, but a small path from the entrance leads back into a pleasant courtyard called the "Summer Terrace" where I ate and hung out a bit my first time there. It's a nice quiet spot. There's also indoor dining, and a little bar as well. Everything is all clean and well kept with some tvs around on the walls.

Quality/Service: If you're an American visiting, it will seem kind of horrible, but such is the case in most places in Bulgaria. The service is very much hands off and you will constantly have to flag down the waitresses (who were just hanging out at the bar and drinking) to get anything. Pretty typical though here. Everything else is quality though. They don't slack on cleanliness, and the beer and food was well made.

Selection/Food: There are 4 taps of "Kmetsko" the brewpub's beer (Light, Wheat, Red, and Black), as well as a typical selection of Euro pales and Bulgarian beers in bottles on the menu. Food selection includes Bulgarian cuisine and pizzas, which is all pretty tasty. I got a "satch" which is a skillet of meat and vegetables that was good. They make their own "Kmetski Sauce" as well which was delicious.

Value: A 500mL mug of their beer is about 3 leva, so not bad at all. Food ranges from about 5 to 10 leva on average, which is a good price for Sofia, and about average for Bulgaria.