WHAT TO EAT IN BUCHAREST

BEST TRADITIONAL FOOD IN BUCHAREST

Gastronomy might be a travel purpose itself in Bucharest for there are a lot of restaurants where Romanian cuisine is the main attraction for tourists and challenge for the cook. Of course, you will find in the Romanian capital Italian, Indian, Chinese, Turkish, Greek, Libyan restaurants and so on, fast-foods, shop-and-goes, bistros, vegetarian, vegan, raw-vegan locals. Of course, you will be served everything you ask for everywhere. So, you don’t have to worry about what to eat and drink in Bucharest. There is a dish for every question. Just ask. Yet, there is something a tourist should not miss from the Romanian cuisine when visiting Bucharest. Even for many of the inhabitants, some restaurants are gastronomical adventures, reservation needed.

The Romanian cuisine to discover in Bucharest is a mixture of different cultural experiences Romanians had to deal with in the past 2,000 years. The Greeks built fortresses here on the Black Sea shore, then the Romans came and conquered the area where the Dacia tribes lived, then there was the influence of Barbarians who will cross Europe and put an end to the Western Roman Empire. Bucharest was not a city at that time. The Russians, the Austrians and the Turks became, according to their strategical and political interests, contributors to what Romanians eat today and to what you will eat in Bucharest. At least, some of the dishes it worth trying.
So, what to eat in Bucharest?

TO BE SAFE IN BUCHAREST. LEARN MORE…
When you go to a restaurant in Bucharest for the first time and it’s your first visit in town, you should try a different type of lunch or dinner. You may forget everything you knew about gastronomy for this is a different experience.

WHAT TO DRINK BEFORE YOU EAT IN BUCHAREST

First of all, you might be curious about something local to increase your apetite. Ask for palinka or tzuica, that is the way these drinks are spelled. They are traditional spirits Romanian use to drink, of course, when they need not to go to work or drive, during meals. 40% or more alcohol, made from the distillation of plums, they are natural drinks. One or two small glasses may be enough. Otherwise you might forget about food. That was a joke, of course, but you know great truths are spoken in jest. You will be very hungry after a small palinka or tzuica glass, so you will need something to eat immediately.

This photo of Sura Dacilor is courtesy of TripAdvisor

EAT IN BUCHAREST THE BEST ROMANIAN DISHES

Ask for a grilled eggplant salad and a few slices of bread. Tell the waiter you are experiencing something new and you need to understand Romanian cuisine and he or she will know what to do. The grilled eggplant salad is made of grilled eggplants, of course, peeled and chopped, mixed. You will feel some onion, garlic and mayonnaise in a delicious mixture. You can also try another natural dish, the zakuska. This is a vegetarian cooked meal, quite light, prepared in autumn for the cook needs eggplants, pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, a good mixture with slices of bread calling for another small palinka glass because what’s next is fabulous. To remember Bucharest!

ROMANIAN TRADITIONAL SOUP TO EAT IN BUCHAREST BUT WAIT…

Before the soup, you should try some smoked-dried bacon and traditional cheese. There are different kinds of bacon, so you can ask for the waiter’s opinion. This will help you feel much better after palinka effect. The palinka effect is when you would eat even the waiter, you know. You may also ask for greaves with onion. Don’t find the in the menu? It might happen. Ask for ”jumari”, spelled just like that. They are fried pieces of bacon, usually kept after that, in lard and everyone loves them in Christmas time. Now, after the traditional bacon, usually served with onion and salt, you may try the final small palinka or tzuica shot. This might be tried also at Romanian restaurant in Village Museum. Don’t worry, your stomach is ok for the Romanian bacon is a real keeper of the seven senses. And now it is time for…

ENJOY YOUR LUNCH IN BUCHAREST

The rustic platter will be yet a great start for a great lunch. You will have also smoked bacon but also vegetables and other animal origin food. From a rustic platter you can choose from pork rinds, greaves, bacon, even traditional smoked sausages or meatballs with mustard, cheese, fresh tomatoes, stuffed eggs, fresh green salad and onion. This can be a nice and energizing breakfast if you don’t put some hard drink on the list. Maybe a natural apple juice would be just fine in the morning. If this will be but an appetizer for lunch or dinner, after walking a lot and visiting a lot, well, you may need to try some of the traditional drinks in Romania, like tzuika or palinka, always served in small glasses, remember that.

IF YOU LIKE FISH, YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING INTERESTING TO EAT IN BUCHAREST FOR SURE

Tripe soup in Bucharest is a good choice, of course. It is known worldwide for its taste and for its great support against hangover. It’s not your case, of course. But you can try it. Tripe soup is not a unique masterpiece of Romanian gastronomy, it can be found in other countries too. Vinegar, seed oil with cream dressing at your service and following your own wish and taste will make this tripe soup a delicious meal. It is that kind of soup almost ready but which still needs your help to be perfect. Of course, you might not like it at all from the beginning and, since you need a soup, you can try…

CABBAGE ROLLS IN ROMANIA I GASTRONOMY IN BUCHAREST

Fish borsh is also a special borsch made following special recipes. For example, you can ask the waiter how many fish types were used while cooking the borsch. He or she will know, for sure, what to tell you. It is important at least 3 kinds of fish to be used for a great fish borsch, according to some masterchefs. You will find in Bucharest such fish borsch for sure but legends and people also say that the best fish borsch is to be found only in Danube Delta where cooks make it with water taken purposely from the river. And a tip: we know this kind is soup needs not cream to be delicious but we tried it this way. And it was very good.

WHAT TO EAT AT LUNCH IN BUCHAREST

You will get now to the next level of pleasure. The cabbage rolls are spelled in Romanian, sarmale, just like that. You will surely find them in the menu. They are made of ground meat, which is pork, beef, sheep and even fish, according to some cooks. This meat with many interesting spice is covered with cabbage leaves and then slow-cooked for at least 6 hours. It takes some time for in this mixture of meat you will also find rice, onion, herbs, eggs, tomato juice. They are great with cream and pepper and are usually served with the Romanian traditional polenta which is a kind of food made from boiled corn with salt. You can also ask for polenta with cheese and cream as a different dish. And maybe at a different lunch. Or not. If you think you may not like cabbage rolls, you may let one of your friends try them( of course, if he or she didn’t read this article) and you can order…everywhere in Bucharest.

…which is a delicious meal if accompanied by pickles. Ask for raw tomatoes as pickles. It is a great experience with the smoked pork knuckle and beans sauce. This dish is cooked in large quantities, in Bucharest for it was usually served for special national day or in the army. For it is cooked in large quantities, it has a special taste. What was in the army? Well, ask the waiter if the dish is cooked like at the popota, spelled just like that. Popota is the Army’s kitchen. He or she will tell you that the smoked pork knuckle with beans sauce is just like at the popota. It will be fun and you will enjoy your meal with a tzuika for free. Or not. Some say that this smoked pork must be served with tzuica but you have already had enough palinka earlier. So…at your command. Yet, what if…try the national most wanted dish?

…or, simply ask for mici, spelled just like that: do you have mici? The “mici” are everywhere in Bucharest. Everybody have wee ones in menu for they are the most beloved dish in Romania. They are said to have entered by mistake in the Romanian cuisine in the 19th century. You may believe it or not but on May Ist, 2015, in Romania 30 M wee ones sausages were eaten. Of course, it is a kind of national day, the day of work. You can work too. Wee ones are made of pork or beef, or beef and pork. We add garlic, spices and baking soda. At the origin they were ordinary sausages. Now, they are served with bread and mustard. And beer. You deserve a glass of beer after so much palinka or tzuika, don’t you?

CHRISTMAS TIME I WHAT TO EAT IN BUCHAREST IN WINTER

…is the most important meal, or one of the most important during Christmas in Romania. There is a simple reason for it. It is all about tradition. It would absolutely lovely to come to Romania in winter and during Christmas time and go somewhere to the village where people sacrifice a farm-raised pig and the first thing they do after the ritual is to cook: pork feast which is fresh meat, ribs, bacon cooked together. Polenta is absolutely necessary and so are the pickles. You can find pork feast also in Bucharest and very well cooked, too, no matter the period you enjoy your visit in the capital. But at the country after the pig is butchered, men usually have a chat about what they did or no during the year about to end, about their wishlist, about what they are to do anyway in the following year, drinking palinka or tzuika. After that they enjoy the pork feast. At most of the restaurants in Bucharest, you may ask for a tzuika and this dish, also it is not advisable in summer.

…is a must before leaving Bucharest. Romania has been an agrarian country for centuries, so it is no surprise that what we usually call polenta which is mamaliga in Romanian is a popular meal. But when brought together the cornmeal porridge, the natural cheese, feta cheese, the cream and the tasty butter, the result is something so light and delicious that you may want for one more. Some cook also use a boiled egg for the taste and also for design. It is quite important the polenta to be hot when served, so that you could add cream, butter or cheese at will. In Bucharest, this dish is usually served complete and you are asked whether you wish more cream and so on. When you see it, you will surely know what to do.

…is a delicious meal in Bucharest and also in the Balkans. Do you know how it is made? The cook will use pork loin, some bacon, onions, tomato paste, salt and pepper, chopped dill and, of course, potatoes. He or she will not forget about the hot or mild paprika, lovage and parsley. It is surprisingly light and it may be a good option for dinner. The pork stew is usually served with polenta, a mixture you will surely not forget to soon. Also ask for pickles. After such a meal, a good red wine will always be a blessing.

…are the best sweet dessert, energizing for you next visiting program if you have any after a great lunch or dinner. Why are they so delicious? Well, to cook these pancakes you need wheat flour with eggs and milk and some water. You will get thin pan-fried dessert to be filled with jam, chocolate or even cheese. They will make your day. We are talking about natural jam made of fresh fruits especially in autumn when jam is usually made, strawberries jam, apricots jam, plums jam or bitter cheries or berries. Never leave Bucharest before you try it!