25 Best Restaurants in Romania

As fine an Italian restaurant as you'll find in Bucharest, the Cantina Verde's mission is to present a modern, farm-to-table Italian cuisine with an emphasis on homemade (pasta is made by hand on the premises) and fresh. If you're having trouble choosing, go for the seafood of the day—fresh marinated sardines, filet of sole in a mild lemon butter and caper sauce, pasta with spicy mussels—a house specialty. The spacious garden terrace overflowing with greenery and flowers is a big bonus in the warmer months.

This is a hidden gem in a culinarily-challenged city. Modeled on a French gastro-bistro and housed in a fabulously wacky modern building, it has a café area, beautiful contemporary dining room, and spacious outdoor terrace. The American chef's wonderously ambitious cuisine puts fresh, seasonal ingredients front and center, with an emphasis on seafood and quality meats. Dishes are inventive and beautiful: foie gras terrine with green apple and a deep purple splash of three-berry coulis; pork belly with garlic purée; quinoa with pumkin and almond. Desserts like light lemon meringue pie or almond strawberry shortcake with triple sec and whipped mascarpone are equally tempting. There are excellent sandwiches and salads at lunch and a fine wine and cocktails list to boot.

This elegant restaurant in the beautiful 1900-era Epoque Hotel is a welcome oasis of calm and sophistication in busy Bucharest. Set in a luminous, half-round dining room, complete with crystal and white linens, the thoughtful French-inspired cuisine focuses on fresh, market driven dishes that are sophisticated without being pretentious: duck parmentier perfumed with fresh herbs, roasted sea bass and vegetable risotto, warm lentils and bacon with flecks of black-truffle, followed by a heavenly light mille feuille or caramel crème brulée. A good wine list rounds out an excellent meal.

A sleek, contemporary atmosphere, friendly and attentive service, good music, and top-notch French and European-inflected food with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients all culminate in one of Bucharest's best dining spots. For lunch choose from a selection of beautifully presented soups and salads; and for dinner dishes like tender duck breast with fresh vegetables, lamb cutlets with rosemary and garlic roasted potatoes, and superb gourmet pizzas with a range of imaginative toppings are served by candlelight. Desserts—chocolate mousse or bourbon vanilla soufflé with apricot jam—are not to be resisted. A top-notch wine and drinks list and very good coffee are just icing on the cake.

This lively down-home bistro's popularity is due in part to tasty Romanian dishes made with whatever is freshest in the market that day: pork stew with root vegetables, lemon chicken with bright, crisp broccoli, and a copious olive, tomato, and feta-laden Greek salad. The other part of its popularity? It's one of a handful of Bucharest restaurants with a designated non-smoking area.

The restaurant at the Ciubuc-Szabó family's seven-room bed-and-breakfast (named for the cable car next door) serves good quality home-made food. The atmosphere is homey, with the small, non-smoking restaurant filled with plants and flowers in summer. The menu changes seasonally, but if it's available, be sure to try the house-made zacusca, a Romanian vegetable spread made with roasted eggplant, onions, tomatoes, and roasted gogoşari (red peppers). In winter, warm up with the pumpkin or three bean soups, or the spinach and cheese baked pasta. For dessert, try the crêpe with apple and cinnamon or honey and walnuts.

Prices here are in euros.

This stylish European café in the Hilton Athenee sits right on Revolution Square in downtown Bucharest. It's a popular daytime snack or lunch spot for hotel guests and locals alike for the variety of sophisticated pastries and hot beverages, an appealing brunch menu, and plenty of wines by the glass. At night, out come the candles and the atmosphere shifts to loungy and louche: a DJ spins, and the champagne flows.

It's worth the 45 minute drive to the commune of Comana to eat at this restaurant in Comana Natural Park. The restaurant is divided in two—one section serving traditional Romanian fare, and the other specializing in Greek cuisine—and most of the herbs and some of the vegetables come from its own garden. You'll taste them in dishes like rooster soup, grilled squid filled with cheese, and a photogenic mezze platter that includes feta, olives, tzatziki, stuffed tomatoes, and a basket of fragrant, pillowy flatbreads.

This elegant 19th-century villa turned restaurant houses two dining salons, one of which is open to the outdoors on three sides in warm weather. The menu combines high-end Continental cuisine, along with Romanian specialties like sarmale cu mămăligă (cabbage rolls with polenta). Tables are mostly filled with tourists, expats, and well-heeled locals out for a special night.

This Italian place first introduced Bucharest residents to pizzas cooked in a wood-burning oven several years ago. And it’s still top-notch. The breezy terrace, complete with miniature fountain, might be the most relaxing place in town to kick back for some pizza and a beer. It tends to fill up fast, so come slightly ahead of meal times to secure a table.

At this unique restaurant, each carefully chosen item—from service plates to wall decorations—somehow relates to the fictional Dracula or the 15th-century prince Vlad Ţepeş. Several times each week, the count rises from his cellar coffin to wander, candelabrum in hand, among his guests. The menu highlights well-done Transylvanian and wild game dishes. Not surprisingly, this is a popular spot for visitors.

True to its name, this upscale eatery sits at the back of a boutique hotel and is built into the hillside amongst the trees; these and the resident bunnies running around give the feeling of dining al fresco, even in Romania's icy winters. Visit the wine cellar with the hotel's sommelier to taste a few options before settling down with the menu, which is more like a thick photo album with detailed captions. The food is on the heavy side—pork ribs with baked potatoes, duck breast with pineapple, baked lamb—but local river fish are also available, as are salads. The chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream gets two thumbs up.

The restaurant has crayons and coloring books, high chairs, and a supervised play area.

Constanta's version of a stylish bar, it is also considered the best restaurant in town. The pub's handsome dark wood paneling, fireplace, and comfortable seating recall a classic Irish pub, as do the many beers on tap. You'll find plenty of good pub staples—grilled steak, burgers and fries, fish and chips—along with lighter fare: a decent seafood or Caesar salad, salmon teriyaki, and good pasta dishes. Desserts are nothing extraordinary, but there's a yummy chocolate fondant cake. On pleasant days the terrace, with views of the sea, is a nice option, especially for nonsmokers, as smoking is permitted in the pub.

Part of the Piatra Soimului Resort, Kuib is slightly removed from town but well worth visiting if you have kids in tow, as the hotel has a playground, there's a children's menu, and the kitchen is very good about dietary restrictions and allergies. Everything is labeled so you know if a dish has dairy, nuts, gluten, and so forth. The selection of food here is huge, and Kuib is perhaps the only restaurant in Sinaia with a vegetarian menu, which includes a platter with an organic quinoa salad, guacamole, and marinated tomatoes stuffed with organic couscous. Mains include a lamb filet in a sesame and chia-seed crust and seabass stuffed with seaweed and peppers and served with brown rice.

The smaller of the Brasov's two La Ceaun, this one is for quick bites and the other, just around the corner at Strada Republicii 17, is for more substantial meals. The menu majors on soups and stews, served with pillowy house-made bread. There's a menu for each day of the week. For instance, on Monday, you can tuck into cabbage soup with bacon; on Tuesday its potato soup with tarragon; and on Saturday Papricas de pui cu galuste, a hearty pork and paprika concoction.

Part of a locally owned chain, La Mama is a great choice for an easy-in, easy-out meal if you’re not looking for a big production and are short on time or cash. The menu includes an ample range of pork and chicken staples, Romanian treats like sarmale, and decent soups and salads. Lunches are popular with the local office crowd.

The homey-rustic interior here complements the restaurant's toothsome pizzas and fresh dishes like grilled sardines, vegetable skewers, and Tagliatelle with tomatoes and basil. Sit outside on the patio and toast to your vacation with a crisp glass of Rose Frizzante and a thick slice of tiramisu.

An exciting newcomer to the Constanta dining scene, this has all the makings of a fine restaurant, starting with its romantic setting right on the water. A cozy hideaway in winter, in warm weather the floor-to-ceiling glass doors open up for sunset views over the harbor. The menu features copious pasta dishes with a focus on seafood. Fresh salads are big enough for a meal and sides like garlicky crostini are extra generous. There's also a nice choice of fresh, imaginative cocktails and a solid list of European wines by the bottle or glass.

Right on the Danube River and with plenty of terrace seating, Perla is a relaxing place to tuck into fresh fish while watching the boats go by. The food is simple but good—grilled salmon is served with boiled potatoes and carrots, grilled sardines with a side of mămăliga (similar to polenta), and if you don't like fish, there are a few other dishes, such as spaghetti Bolognese.

Stunning views over the hills of Brasov and the Old Town and excellent food draw people to the restaurant of the Belvedere Hotel, on a hillside about 2 km (1 mile) from town. The kitchen team has won a handful of awards, and this is evident in every bite. The waitstaff, too, should be applauded for their service. Portions are sizeable: Black Angus sirloin with a terrine of foie gras, an onion jam tart with raisins and orange, and a tiny salad is just a starter. Mains include a Danube perch fillet baked with gremolata and served with vegetable noodles, mashed potatoes, and a piquant pepper sauce. There are only few strictly vegetarian dishes—perhaps a creamy white onion soup with baked camembert and crostini—but the kitchen will make substitutions.

Don't be fooled by its name—pizza is not what's served here—but this popular gastropub does have an extensive menu, utilizing seasonal produce whenever possible. You'll find seafood dishes such as carp fillet in brine served with mămăligă (similar to polenta), grilled house-made sausages, and spinach cream soup with bacon. A bounty of vegetarian options there are not, but there are a few, which might include: grilled vegetables with garlic toast; polenta with cheese, sour cream, and eggs; and broccoli in garlic butter.

There's a fun, homey vibe here, with warm service and family-friendly attributes including a children's menu, highchairs, and a proper non-smoking section. You'll find home-style Romanian fare on the menu—sausages, goulash, potato soup, and the hearty tochitură, a traditional stew of beef and pork in tomato sauce served with eggs over easy and mămăligă (similar to polenta). Vegetarians will be safest with zacusca, an eggplant and tomato spread, and some of the pastas and salads.

It's not Mykonos, but in this small Romanian town, the whitewashed covered terrace with blue accents is a nice slice of Mediterranean life. The menu really caters to all tastes, with lots of seafood like crispy fried anchovies and grilled sardines, pizza, pasta, toothsome mezze like fresh feta, tzatziki, and briney olives, and, of course, salads. For dessert, don't miss portokalopita, a tangy, crunchy cake made of phyllo dough, Greek yogurt, oranges, and olive oil.

There are more than 500 wines to choose from here, and the restaurant's sommelier is on hand to help. The food menu is as short as the wine list is long, with a handful of starters, salads, burgers, and four big mains—surf-and-turf, a steak, pork ribs, and salmon. There's little for vegetarians, but the sandwiches and salads can all be made meat free. If you're coming by for a post-sightseeing bottle, pair it with the cheese or meat board.

Although this restaurant's focus is on wine, it's non-smoking and friendly enough for older children, especially at lunch.

Tirol's management has recreated a little slice of Austria in this small Romanian town. Furniture and floor are of dark, gleaming wood, while the male staff dress in lederhosen and the females in dirndls. The food is good, but heavy—think chicken soup with thick noodles, duck breast with mushrooms and potatoes, or veal goulash. The lightest option is a rucola salad with bocconcini, prosciutto, cantaloupe, baby corn, and apple sauce.