I went to a new restaurant in Sofia recently. This is how it was described to me: There is this new place --a  Terry Pratchett based A'tuin coffee &amp; dinner.

Um. <em>Okay</em>.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Sign on the floor for A&#39;Tuin"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="Sign on the follor for A'Tuin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336165651/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6115/6336165651_71201f81f0.jpg" alt="Sign on the floor for A'Tuin" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

For the record, I said yes even though I had I no idea what this description meant. I've never read a book by Terry Pratchett. (This is probably something I should do. Just like I should probably finish reading <em>Under the Yoke</em>.)

So here's the deal. The restaurant/cafe space is beautiful. It wasn't crowded when we were there, the waitress was helpful-ish but the food was only so-so.<!--more-->

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Interior of A&#39;Tuin"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="Interior of A'Tuin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336165369/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6223/6336165369_6406bb55a2.jpg" alt="Interior of A'Tuin" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Menu at A&#39;Tuin"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="Menu at A'Tuin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336922518/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6215/6336922518_546d2971c2.jpg" alt="Menu at A'Tuin" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

The menu is pretty has an interesting mix of food. They have a vegetarian menu, a meat-inclusive menu and a wine list. The vegetarian menu included foods and flavors that aren't very common in Bulgaria. So much so, that there's a description in the menu of avocado and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa" target="_blank">quinoa</a>.  I was surprised to see the description of avocado as this seems to me like a pretty standard grocery store staple but really who knows what quinoa is? I knew that it's a grain but I probably haven't eaten more than two or three times in my life.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The green menu at A&#39;Tuin"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="The green menu at A'Tuin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336920780/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6041/6336920780_bfd7a08fb3.jpg" alt="The green menu at A'Tuin" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

The non-vegetarian menu has salads, sandwiches and main dishes but I couldn't put down the vegetarian menu so I don't remember the other menu as well.

I ended up ordering one of the quinoa dishes. The one I asked for to start with wasn't available so I ended up with the quinoa, black olives and walnuts.  This was a shame. The dish I ended up with was fine if not a little too salty. The combination of olives, walnuts and quinoa was texturally interesting but the black olives overpowered the other flavors.  I don't think it's a dish that I'll order again. Basically, it's the kind of dish I wanted to like but didn't.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Olive, walnut and quinoa dish at A&#39;Tuin"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="Olive, walnut and quinoa dish at A'Tuin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336921134/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6239/6336921134_d806bb7b3d.jpg" alt="Olive, walnut and quinoa dish at A'Tuin" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

We ordered a plate of guacamole which was clearly never going to be what I am used to in the States but this was certainly a surprise.  It had some avocado giving the dish a light-green color, a lot of dill and some other unknown ingredient. It was the kind of dip that you eat and think: not what I was expecting. Then you try some more trying to pin-down the various flavors. I was never successful. My favorite "oh-Bulgaria" moment of the whole night was that the avocado-dill dip was served with little triangles of toasted whole wheat bread rather than tortilla chips.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The avacado and dill dip at A&#39;Tuin"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="The avacado and dill dip at A'Tuin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336164595/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6106/6336164595_82788a5786.jpg" alt="The avacado and dill dip at A'Tuin" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

After much back and forth, A. settled on the the pork roll filled with almonds, figs and something else, maybe olives. The dish was well plated and visually very appealing. The big problem was that the pork overcooked and as a result pretty dry. I could imagine how when well cooked this pork dish would be delicious. Only the one A. ended up with was far from this.

<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="Pork roll at A'Tuin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336921512/"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6097/6336921512_73caf09be4.jpg" alt="Pork roll at A'Tuin" width="500" height="375" /></a>

All in all the food seemed like it was going to be interesting but in practice, it was disappointing. Luckily, the beer and wine selection was more than acceptable. It's really a shame because the restaurant is well designed. It has simple clean lines, good lighting, comfortable seating and an impressive bar but the food, the food was only so-so.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The bar at A&#39;Tuin"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="The bar at A'Tuin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336164939/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6220/6336164939_801037362e.jpg" alt="The bar at A'Tuin" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

Maybe it's the kind of place that I should just stick to for coffee or a drink rather than food. It's just hard because I want to like the food. Then again maybe the restaurant will get better after they've been open a little longer--although this mostly seems like wishful thinking on my part. I think that in Sofia a lot of restaurants manage to get by because they have a good location even though their food is only okay.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="A&#39;Tuin and The Mall"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="A'Tuin and The Mall" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6336165517/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6224/6336165517_bcfcd8061b.jpg" alt="A'Tuin and The Mall" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

Speaking of location, on the way out of the restaurant A. said: you don't have to tell everyone where I took you do you? I laughed because it's not like I can write a blog post about a restaurant and not include the location and because we were at The Mall.  (Yes, dear readers, if you're not from Sofia you might not know this: we have a mall named The Mall. <em>Awesome</em>.)

I guess this is probably the other reason I really wanted to like this restaurant. It's a lot more interesting to say: hey I discovered a great restaurant in a mall because really no one expects this but unfortunately, this was not the case.