A Guide to Eating and Drinking in Bucharest

  Bees on a Hive

With its recent regeneration, Bucharest has seen a boom in the number of great bars and restaurants and new venues open daily. Traditional Romanian eateries mix with an evolving international scene; all of which is still fairly cheap by European standards.

Romanian specialties often combine elements from their eastern neighbors, such as the use of 'polenta' (made from ground maize) in 'tocana' (stew) and 'tochitura' (meats and sausages served with eggs and polenta). Traditional snacks, meanwhile, include 'gogosi' (doughnuts), 'pateuri' (pastries) and 'covrigi' (pretzels).

And you won't have to pay through the nose for these either. Restaurants in Bucharest are widely affordable, and the common practice of basing price on the weight of the food upon your plate means you can basically choose how much you want to eat and pay.

Bucharest has plenty to offer visitors looking to enjoy a few drinks after a hard day's sightseeing. Many of the bars and clubs are located in the historic center of town, meaning bar hopping, or bar crawling for those who have had a few, is a definite possibility.

The Lipscani area is a favorite with young and trendy drinkers, while large beer halls across the city also pull in the punters. Likewise, wine is always high on the menu here: Romanian wines are justifiably famous and Cotnari, Dragasani and Murfatlar are just some of the good bottles available.

Club-wise, Bucharest is also booming. Again, establishments tend to be situated around the historic center, where party-goers dance until the sun comes up. One thing to note, though: many of the larger clubs close for the summer so the months between June and October don't always live up to Bucharest's generally impressive nightlife reputation.

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