What might have been just an average café turned out to be one of my favorite places in the city for any time of the day…

Ciccione has some of the best croissants in Sofia and delicious coffee at a price that could hardly be beaten in the city centre (if you also have a sweet tooth, wait for the raspberry-filled croissants).

For lunch I highly recommend the namesake sandwich, featuring rocket salad, prosciutto cotto, pancetta, brie and a couple of sauces in a tasty ciabatta bread.

But the best comes at nightfall. You’d better reserve a table at Ciccione because many flock to this place to enjoy the mouthwatering plateaus of antipasti, be it sausages like mortadella, prosciutto or salamella or traditional Italian cheeses such as scamorza, mozzarella, grana padano and parmigiano. The various breads are tasty enough even without the many dips they offer.

Of course, a glass of wine is a perfect companion to all this deliciousness. Luckily, some of the best Italian wine regions like Chianti and Valpolicella are represented here in convenient variety of sizes.

Did I mention that everything in Ciccione is at bargain prices? A lot of the products are even cheaper than in supermarkets.

The only downside – during the summer they have only a couple of seats outside. They also have a second location at 9 Gurko street, next to Memento.

P.S. If you are looking for traditional Bulgarian food, this is definitely not the place for you! (try Izbata, instead)