We're recently back from a month in Romania. Here is the first installment of a trip report, a summary of the best (and worst) of the restaurants we encountered. There were others, but not worth noting. We also cooked in a couple of nights at our Airbnbs in Bucharest and Brasov.
Bucharest
Noua B.A.R. We enjoyed this place very much. There is both indoor and outdoor seating, but decidedly smoky outdoors. My favorite appetizer of the entire trip was their corn ribs, which is grilled corn, slightly crunchy in cob-length strips. Our waiter described the preparation as removing the roasted corn from the cob with an ax. Can’t imagine that, but that’s what he said. I easily could have eaten a big bowl for a main dish. We had a dish with ground lamb rolled in beef cutlets accompanied by vegetarian stuffed pepper and beef cheek meatballs accompanied by 2 crispy polenta and cheese balls covered in “Hungarian” gravy that lacked a true paprika flavor but was tasty anyway. Service was very slow, but pleasant. The chocolate hazelnut gelato was very good. The place was packed by 7 on a weeknight, so reservations are advisable.
Caru Cu Bere. Despite its very good reviews, we were really disappointed here. Unfortunately, we ordered two mains. They were so large that we took home the second and never ate it. The pig knuckle was ok but a real project to eat. Two mains, one side salad and bread (no wine or drinks) was $74.00, one of our most expensive meals in Romania. The entertainment was the main reason we went, but it was a total bust. We had an entertainment floor-side table but within a minute or two of the start of the show, a crowd of 5 or 6 deep, many of whom had their phone above their heads, completely obscured any chance of seeing anything. Staying was pointless; we left after about 20 minutes. It seemed that most of the diners were tourists, but there were a couple of large tables of local patrons, too. The service was slow and perfunctory.
Osteria Zucco. Both entrees we had were perfectly adequate and a nice variation from Romanian cuisine. One was pasta with a basic tomato sauce with grana padano and beef tagliatelle bolognaise. Both were simply prepared and tasty. The service was good, and a bit entertaining, as one of the entrees that came out was clearly not what was ordered. Our waitress said the cook was old and he forgot his glasses, so that’s how we ended up with the pasta with tomato sauce. Fine, I was hungry and didn’t feel like waiting for a new creation. The prices were reasonable – about half the cost of Caru Cu Bere. We walked in around 7 and had no trouble getting a table, but the sidewalk tables were full.
Brasov
Ceaun provided a very pleasant evening with a good veal paprikash, beef shepherd’s pie and papanasi, the fried donut delicacy served with sour or whipped cream and fruit jam filling, with blueberry apparently being the traditional choice. One is enough for two if you’ve had a big entrée. Location is good for people watching on the main square. The service was quick, attentive, and friendly. About $45 for two, no wine.
Ograda was very good too. The vegetable tart with salad and bread was generous and tasty. My husband had veal liver, which was actually veal, not beef as is often the case here, with potatoes. A cheese pie called alivenci was his dessert. It’s sort of a custard cheesecake, served hot with fruit and cream. It was delicious. Prices were reasonable, in the $40 range for two, and the service was good.
For me, Bistro de L’Arte was a 5 star gem. My main of stewed fresh tomatoes with basil, garlic and olive oil served with crispy polenta was heavenly. The dessert was a traditional boiled plum dumpling-like creation called a gomboti, which was sweet, very heavy and doughy, just how I like my desserts.