Bucharest Food & Drink Guide: A Taste of Romania’s Capital

Welcome to your ultimate Bucharest food and drink guide, where culinary adventures await in Romania’s vibrant capital! 

From traditional dishes that reflect the country’s rich heritage to trendy cafes and lively bars, Bucharest offers a diverse dining scene that caters to every palate.

Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a seasoned traveler, this guide will take you on a flavorful journey through the city’s best eateries, local delicacies, and hidden gems. Get ready to savor the unique tastes of Bucharest, where every meal tells a story and every drink adds a toast to your unforgettable experience!

Bucharest Food & Drink Guide: the Cuisine

Before getting into all of the incredible restaurants and bars that Romania's capital has to offer, we're going to share some dishes you need to try while in Bucharest.

🥩 What is Traditional Food in Bucharest? A Dive Into Romanian Cuisine

The cuisine of Romania is quite hearty, and has influences from a few nearby countries.

• Turkish Influence: Dishes like sarmale (similar to dolma) and ciorbă (sour soups) have roots in Turkish cuisine.
• Hungarian Influence: You’ll see goulash and hearty meat stews on menus in Transylvania, reflecting the region’s Hungarian history.
• Greek and Slavic Influence: The presence of grilled meats, rich soups, and stuffed vegetables like the neighboring Balkan countries have.

🧀 Key Ingredients in Romanian Cuisine

• Pork: A staple in Romanian dishes, from stews to sausages.
• Dairy: Cheese, particularly telemea (a brined cheese similar to feta) and caș (a fresh cheese), are common in many meals. Sour cream is also used in many dishes.
• Polenta (Mămăligă): Similar to Italian polenta, this is a corn-meal based polenta, and is served as a side to meats or stews. It;s also often topped with cheese and sour cream.
• Cabbage: Cabbage is a major ingredient in traditional dishes like stuffed cabbage rolls (sarmale).
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Bucharest Food & Drink Guide: Local Dishes

Now that you know a bit about what the cuisine of Romania looks like, the next part of our Bucharest food and drink guide dives into the local dishes that you need to try.

🍖  What is Traditional Food in Bucharest? Must-Try Romanian Dishes

Now that you know a bit about the cuisine of Romania, let's take a look at some of the dishes you should try.

🇷🇴 What is the National Dish of Romania?

The national dish of Romania is Sarmale, which is something you can easily find in most restaurants, and is known as a comfort food.

🥬 Sarmale (Cabbage Rolls)

Sarmale is one of the most popular Romanian dishes. Boiled cabbage is filled with meat and then made into rolls. This popular item can be found as an appetizer, side, or main dish.

🌭 Mici

This is another super popular item that you'll find throughout Romania. Mici is minced meat that are formed into the shape of sausages. They are seasoned heavily, and are full of flavor.

🍲 Ciorba

This is hands down my favorite Romanian dish, and is perfect for chilly days. Ciorba is a hearty soup, and there are several different versions. My personal favorite is the veal, but there is also tripe, pork, and plenty of other meats to choose from. 

Ciorba is traditionally served with bread and a huge chili pepper, creating a bit of more unique culinary experience.

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🌽 Mamaliga

Mamaliga is essentially polenta. This is a very popular side dish in Romania, and is often served with different types of meat, and accompanied by sour cream.

🍨 Papanasi

Ready for one of the most typical desserts in Romania? Papanasi is a fried dough made of cottage cheese and semolina flour. It is topped off by sour cream and jam, and is definitely something you'll want to try while in Romania.

🍳 What is a Traditional Romanian Breakfast?

A traditional Romanian breakfast is hearty and diverse, featuring fresh, crusty bread often served with various types of cheese, such as telemea or caș, and slices of cured meats like șuncă or salami.

Accompanying these are scrambled eggs or omelettes, fresh vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers, and sometimes pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings. The meal is typically enjoyed with strong coffee or herbal tea, making for a satisfying start to the day that highlights local flavors and ingredients.

🍸 What Alcohol is Romania Known for?

The national drink of Romania is Tuica, which is a strong brandy that is made from fermented plums. It's typically drank as an aperitivo, and meant to be sipped slowly.

Bucharest Food and Drink Guide: Restaurant Recommendations

Now that you know what to order while eating out in Romania's capital, it's time for our favorite part of our Bucharest food and drink guide, which is all of the incredible eateries we experienced.

When it comes to food in the Carpathians, some of our best meals were in Bucharest, especially the brunch options! Here are some of our favorite restaurants in the city.

🍝 What to Do in Bucharest for Dinner

Going out to dinner in Bucharest is a treat, and there are so many great restaurants to visit with a romantic and intimate setting. Here are a few of our favorite dinner spots in the city:

🎶 Restaurant Hanu lui Manuc

If you're going to try one restaurant in Bucharest, then please let this be it. It's located right in the heart of the city, has delicious Romanian food, and an authentic vibe.

Everything from the service to the live music will make you fall in love with your dining experience, and it is definitely a place that should be the top of any Bucharest food and drink guide.

🕯 Caru' cu Bere

This is another great option for dinner in the Old Town. It's a bit on the pricier side, but we definitely think this restaurant lives up to its expectations.

The food is incredibly fresh and authentic, and the place is just stunning. We definitely recommend getting a reservation in advance, as it is extremely popular by both tourists and locals.

🍝 Il Peccato

Il Peccato is another great restaurant in the center of Bucharest. Serving up fresh fish and Italian cuisine, we think that all-round this the perfect dinner spot. With delicious dishes, great service, and fair prices, you can't go wrong by making a reservation at Il Peccato.

🍳 What to Do in Bucharest for Brunch

Since we are digital nomads, finding good breakfast and brunch spots in Bucharest was key to enjoying our time and being productive at the same time. While these spots are not strictly brunch spots, they're particularly some of our favorites to go for a cup of coffee, and a filling, delicious meal to start the day.

☕️ Frudisiac

Frudisiac was one of our go to spots for breakfast in Bucharest. It is small, but has a large table across the cafe that allows everyone to sit together, making it have a great social atmosphere. The breakfast options are simply delicious, and they even are flexible with letting you customize your meal.

💎 Fior di Latte

This may just be one of the fanciest places we've ever had breakfast. With a stunning dining room, every detail at this place will make you feel bad and bougie. 

Their menu is on a tablet, and one thing looks and sounds better than the next. Fior di Latte also serves lunch and dinner, but we didn't get a chance to get back there. It is a bit of a pricey establishment, so we suggest saving this for one of your "splurge meals".

🥞 Maison des Crepes

This place is everything crepes. From delicious savory crepes with eggs or steak, to layered crepe cakes, there isn't anything here that did not blow our mind at Maison des Crepes. The service was incredible, and the place adorable, making it a must for crepe-lovers.

Note: We recently saw that our Google Review shows the place no longer exists. We don't know if this is just a problem with Google, or if the restaurant went out of business. However, we do suggest checking, as it is definitely worth a visit!

🖼 Grand Cafe Van Gogh

Now this is one that we were very hesitant on recommending. When we first walked in, we just loved how beautiful this cafe is, decorated from top to bottom in paintings.

Unfortunately, feeling like you're in an art gallery is really the only perk to visiting here. The service was amongst the worst we've ever had, and was only staffed by foreigners with zero interest in being there. The food took ages, the waiters were careless, lazy, and uninterested, and the food came out cold. 

That being said, the place is beautiful, so if you are the very first to get there in the morning, it may be worth checking out. However, if you're visiting mid-late morning you'll only find long waits and a huge waste of your time.

🥗 What to Do in Bucharest for Lunch 

While many of the spots we've already mentioned can also be visited for lunch, we decided to leave these as two of our favorite lunch spots.

🍃 Bistro Acuarela

This restaurant is not open for breakfast, but has a nice menu for lunch. The reason we like it for this meal is because the outdoor venue is so quirky and cute, and the menu is simple but tasty. Bistro Acuarela is a great place for digital nomads to go to have a nice workspace while grabbing a bite to eat.

🍻 Brewery H

Another awesome options for where to eat in Bucharest for lunch is Brewery H. This place is enormous, and has a ton of different events held here to enjoy. Brewery H has a variety of food options, live music, and both indoor and outdoor seating.

Bucharest Food and Drink Guide: Foodie Tours

The final part of our Bucharest food and drink guide is for the true foodies out there!

Experiencing local restaurants is one of the best parts of traveling, but what's even better is being able to connect with locals while experiencing the flavors of the region.

🥘 Fun Food Tours in Bucharest

Whether it's experiencing street food, being guided through markets, or trying some unique cooking classes, there are so many fun activities you can try out while visiting Bucharest.

Here are a few fun food tours we've found for you:

🍻 Fun Drinking Tours in Bucharest

There's nothing like having a drink while exploring! Bucharest has a ton of experiences from wine tastings to brewery tours, there are plenty of ways to enjoy Romania's capital with a drink in hand!

Here are a few fun beverage tours we've found for you:

We hope you've enjoyed our Bucharest food and drink guide! Make sure to pin this post so that you can have it handy for your future Bucharest travels.

Want to learn more about Bucharest? Check out our Bucharest Travel Guide. Looking to explore more of the country? We also have some more Romania travel guides for you to check out!

Ready to start getting your trip planned? We can help! At Scratch Your Mapa we are dedicated to creating you the most epic adventure, while saving you money along the way. Want to learn just how it works? Check out our travel planning packages that we offer.

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