A Belgian bakery with an Italian name in the heart of the Bulgarian capital. Yet another example that Sofia is getting more and more cosmopolitan. The grandson of a Belgian baker who had his pastry shop in the city of Aalst back in 1905 now continues the family tradition.

Pura Vita quickly became one of my favourite spots for breakfast and almost a weekly ritual. It’s a very humble location with a couple of chairs outdoor so you can eat outside or you can also try the cafe next door. We’ve tried to buy croissants for home but they rarely last until the next block…

Sure, you can find croissants in many places. A lot of hip places in downtown Sofia started selling different ‘artisanal’ varieties and raising prices up to 6-8 BGN (3-4 EUR) in some cases. Pura Vita still keeps itself very down-to-earth when it comes to price but very up-to-the-moon when it comes to quality. Much better than some of its priciest rivals in the neighbourhood.

They also sell sourdough bread but just like the pastries it usually runs out really fast. Same with the croissants, though, but the wait until the next batch is usually no more than 10 minutes. Apart from the regular butter ones, they have chocolate, sausage, apple, as well as those nice 8-shaped ones with cream. Bon appétit or smakelijk!