BOWLING GREEN — On a cool Friday evening, we found Naslada Bistro on a quiet downtown street in Bowling Green, nestled among shops that include an old-fashioned Five-and-Dime. Most of these places had called it a night, except for a few caffeine and board game junkies going to get their fix at a coffee shop/bookstore.
It can be easy to miss Naslada’s in the sleepy part of the city if you don’t know where to look. You’ll only find on-street parking in this part of town. The rest is on foot. But parking was surprisingly easy to find after 6 p.m. and the treasure at the end of our walking journey was more than worth it.
Stepping through Naslada’s entrance is to be transported to a restaurant like no other. What surprised me at first was how empty it was on a Friday evening, especially for a place that has few tables (roughly 20 or so). It’s beautifully decorated to show off its Bulgarian roots, with a flourish of Italian and old world charm. Speaking of charm, the bartender/host/waiter essentially runs the front of the restaurant and made us all feel immediately welcome. He whisked us to our seats and had us all settled in no time.
I was initially concerned the food quality would suffer because the restaurant wasn’t busy. That wasn’t the case here. From start to finish during both visits, everything we ordered arrived as if it were lovingly decorated and meticulously prepared, as if we were VIPs in the establishment.
During our first visit, we started with an appetizer of their Classic Old World Bruschetta ($10), French baguettes made with cheese, balsamic-infused diced tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. From the first bite to the last, they can only be described as an explosion of fresh flavor. Partly what made it so good was the Balsamic vinegar used on top. I didn’t realize what I’ve been missing out on. It’s so delicious, I took a photo of the bottle so I can buy it for home (Roland Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. You’re welcome).
If bruschetta isn’t your preference, the Baked Brie Crostini ($10) will be worth your time. They’re double cream French Brie on toasted baguettes with fruit jam on top. These are lighter fare than the bruschetta and a sweet way to start the meal.
One thing you’ll notice when ordering dinner is there aren’t a lot of options on the menu. Your choices typically consist of four dishes under the titles of gourmet sandwiches and salads, seafood, veggie lovers, and “European Entrees.”
If you’re like me and have never really tried food from a Bulgarian restaurant, but really want a taste of something different, I highly recommend skipping to the Chicken Piccata ($18) under “European Entrees.” It’s essentially a lemon chicken, but the cutlets are cooked in a lemon chardonnay sauce with Turkish capers. It comes with grilled asparagus spears and organic noodles.
What I liked is that neither the lemon or spices used were overpowering and instead it was a perfect harmony of flavor, with the asparagus and noodles acting as perfect companions to the meal.
My dining companion took the other chicken meal, called Chicken Pomodoro ($18), which are chicken cutlets cooked with tomato and scallions with a vodka cream sauce. This comes with spicy green beans and basmati rice. I especially liked the green beans and probably would have enjoyed this more had I not tasted my chicken first.
On a second visit, my companion and I wanted to see if the cheaper gourmet sandwiches measured up for those who go for lunch (ranging from $12-$16). We ordered the Greek Steak ($16) — which is tenderloin served on ciabatta bread mixed with cherry tomatoes, English cucumber slices, and kalamata olives with a feta spread — and a Tuscan Panini ($12) which is essentially a smoked ham and turkey-style sandwich.
For this visit, the panini wins my recommendation, although it’s worth noting our chef managed to work his magic in making every bite flavorful. But let’s face it, even with all the food being great, some food is greater than others.
You have two options for dessert: the French crepes ($8) — they come in multiple flavors (we went with Nutella, but there are fruit flavors worth a try) — or Apples in Vino ($8) which are poached apples in wine and flavored with “autumn seasoning” topped with honey-infused whipped cream. Both come with organic vanilla ice cream.
I thought the crepes would win the day, but the poached apples were a pleasant surprise that captured the taste of the fall season.
For a small journey, Naslada definitely delivers terrific food from a world away. It’s too bad there were few people dining during both of our visits, which leaves me to wonder if Naslada really is the best kept secret of Bowling Green.
First Published June 25, 2019, 3:00 p.m.
