If you’re visiting Bulgaria for the first time, don’t stop at the dishes you see on restaurant menus. Some of the most memorable Bulgarian foods are surprisingly simple: thick yogurt, salty white cheese, warm banitsa from a neighborhood bakery, grilled kebapche, or a slice of bread spread generously with homemade lyutenitsa.

Bulgarian food is shaped by the country’s mountains, fertile valleys, farming traditions, and centuries of cultural exchange across the Balkans. Fresh vegetables are everywhere in summer, dairy products appear at almost every meal, and many regional dishes are still closely associated with the places where they originated.