New Worthing restaurant to bring a taste of the Balkans to the town centre

Donchevi opened in Montague Place yesterday (April 12), settling in a permanent premises after offering deliveries since December.

The family-run eatery, led by Doncho Donchev, is offering fresh, traditional food from the Balkans – a region in Europe that includes Bulgaria, Romania and Macedonia.

“We wanted to bring something new and we were thinking ‘what can this area benefit from?’” said Doncho, who runs the restaurant with his wife, mother and father-in-law.

“Most people’s experience of Bulgarian food is kebabs or takeaways in Sunny Beach, but we need to educate people about our cuisine.

“People can think the Balkans is a dangerous area, but we’re trying to show, through our food, that it is full of good, interesting people.”

Serving traditional dishes such as slowly cooked cow tongue, kebapche, fresh dried meats prepared on-site and a wide range of drinks, the aim is to give a sense of holiday for the thousands unable to go abroad.

A loyalty card designed as a blue passport invites diners to ‘travel round the Balkans’.

“We can’t travel, but we can at least feel like we’re in the Balkans,” said Doncho.

Rather than the fast food and takeaways often associated with Eastern European cuisine, Donchevi will offer fresh food, prepared on-site by an experienced head chef.

Express meals, cocktails and Bulgarian beers available nowhere else in the town will also cater for sun-seekers enjoying the seafront.

As we emerge further from lockdown, events such as wine tasting and traditional dance nights will bring more Balkan culture to the town centre.

Opening until 12am in the summer, it will breathe life into Montague Place in a way neighbouring venues, such as Costa, cannot.

“We’re very excited, we can’t wait to share our culture and cuisine with everyone,” said Doncho, who has lived in Worthing with his family for seven years, since moving over from Bulgaria.