Travel to USA for fries and burgers, to Spain for Paella, to Mexico for Tacos, to Germany for Marzipan and to Romania for…… Unfortunately Romania is still not well-known for its cuisine; however it is a fusion of Turkish, Ukrainian and traditional dishes. There are many restaurants in Romania offering tasty traditional recipes. Sarmale is stuffed cabbage, Mamaliga is porridge made from maize flour, ciorba is sour soup and Mititei is meatballs. These are the names of just some of the Romanian traditional recipes. Let’s see the top 5 Romanian restaurants that serve them.
- Grand Plaza
Staffed with friendly people, Grand plaza is located in the city of Sibiu. It is popular among the locals and tourists. The menu is written in English and Romanian and the staff speak English, so foreigners should not be stressed about the translation issue. This place is located in the old city where tourists often tired after long visiting tours find a nice place to relax and enjoy good food. The railway station is in the proximity of this restaurant. The menu offers traditional Romanian items like sarmale, mamaliga, tartar beef, pork soup, meatball soup, Ciorba de Burta and more. The most recommended recipe here is the chef special local Sibian pork.
- La Ceaunu Crapat
This restaurant is located in the center of Bucharest and students represent the clientele attracted there; they come either from the Bucharest University and any other big companies. Delicious traditional dishes are served in style and cultural pottery. Everything cooked here is said to be home-made and passed on through generations. Prior reservations can fetch you a table on the terrace where clients enjoy awesome live music and very authentic Romanian food. The must-try recipes are ciorba de burta meaning tripe soup, ceafa da porc meaning pork chunks or steaks, turkey pastrami meaning smoked turkey and their special appertivo meaning vermouth or wine.
- Belvedere
Belvedere makes place on the Marasesti Street of Timisoara and is a one of the finest classic restaurants. Serving mix cuisine from Turkey, Italy, Serbia and Bulgaria, this is also a popular joint for traditional food. Most of the traditional food that is served has Timisoara’s history attached to it. Beef soup called Ciorba de vacuta or ghiveci de legume(vegetarian), fish items like somon teppanyaki or file de dorada la gratar, sarmale or mititie and bread with walnuts, poopy seeds and cheese known as cozonac – are just several of the popular and most appreciated dishes on the menu.
- Keller Steak House
Like the name suggests, the Keller Steak house serves steak but also offers an all-course menu. It is positioned near the main square of Brasov in an old building which is known to be built in the 1400s. The food is authentic Romanian. The items to try at Keller’s are stir fry veal, stuffed champignons, sirloin steak, vegetarian platter and papanasi.
- Restaurant Alex
The restaurant serving Romanian and Hungarian food is located in Sinaia. The staff is polite and the service is quick. With Hungarian music playing in the background, one can find great pleasure tasting the delicacies like the goulash, schnitzels and cus-cus. For liquor do not miss on trying the Palinca de pere, more popularly known as the pear brandy. Our personal favorite is polenta with cheese and sour cream.
Romania’s other traditional delicacies and food pubs and restaurants are available in many Romanian guides and online. Be sure to pick up the right one. The best tip is to try street food for extra exploring.
Irina Kirilov loves Romania and its great food. She is a blogger for Thrifty Romania; feel free to get in touch with her on Twitter @carhireromania.