Egur, Egur Exquisite Armenian restaurant with attention to detail and excellent cuisine

Hilda Kazasyan excels at at least two things – singing and developing a restaurant. The first Egur, Egur opened about 10 years ago on Sheynovo Str. in Sofia and since then has had thousands of customers who visit it because of the excellent cuisine and elegant and calm atmosphere. Today Egur, Egur can be found on Tri Ushi Str. and is a real pleasure for all senses.

(scroll down for the interview)

Hilda Kazasyan is a third generation Bulgarian and feels like such. At the same time she feels Armenian as well and considers some of the main characteristics of this ethnic group to be a huge advantage – broad-mindedness and not paying attention to petty and trivial matters. “Without this it’s difficult to survive,” she smiles. She has no relatives in Armenia any longer – they are all scattered in different parts of the world and most of them are in California. “I recently took part in a festival in Yerevan and I felt sad that I no longer have any relatives in Armenia,” she said.

The idea to open an Armenian restaurant came to her about 10 years ago, because Hilda’s home has always been full of friends and they all loved her Armenian grandmother’s meals. The first Egur, Egur restaurant on Sheinovo Str. opened about 10 years ago, then a second one on Dobrudzha Str., then Hilda Kazasyan opened the Ethno restaurant on Alabin Str. and since October 2013 Egur, Egur has been situated on Tri Ushi Str. All the recipes on the menu come from her grandmother. They are very specific, because different Armenian families use different cooking tricks.

“The name Egur, Egur comes from a children’s poem, the only one I knew in Armenian. A very close friend of mine Koko Kamenarov often used to recite it to me: “Hey little chicken, come, I’ll give you candy”. “Little chicken” was not appropriate, neither was “candy”, but I liked “come, come” a lot, which is actually “egur, egur”.

According to Hilda it’s worth visiting the place, first of all, because of herself (she’s there quite often). Second reason is the authentic cuisine and third – the wonderful atmosphere. The place attracts a certain circle of people and customers somehow connect to each other and this makes their visit pleasant. They are all people with taste – for good food, good wine and a good experience. “The restaurant is not only about eating, it’s really an experience and I think we have taken care of every detail”, Hilda is pleased. Most customers are Bulgarians but foreigners from different countries visit the place as well. “Word of mouth is the most genuine form of advertising to me”, the singer says.

Armenian cuisine is very spicy, aromatic, tasty, but unfortunately it’s not really for people on a diet. It’s characterized by a mixture of a subtle sweet and salty taste – sweet spices like cinnamon and raisins are used in some salty dishes… One of Hilda s favourite Armenian dishes is manti - dumplings with yogurt, spearmint, garlic and lots of butter – “It’s phenomenal!”, says Hilda with her eyes shining. Also keşkek- a typical Armenian dish with chopped chicken and groats, poured with sizzling butter and cumin.

As we discuss Bulgarian cuisine, Hilda says: “It’s hard to talk about Bulgarian cuisine, because it has been “stolen” from many places and has no clear image. I like it, of course. Nothing better than a nice grill. I also like Bulgarian stuffed cabbage rolls a lot.”

Interview: Bistra Ivanova
Photos: Stefan Suchev
Translation from Bulgarian: Boyan Boychev
Illustration: Mila Lozanova for Compote Collective
14 November 2014