The best restaurants Transylvania & Carpathian Mountains

It's the restaurant of the hotel of the same name. Inside and outside, the atmosphere is friendly and soothing. Inside, a room with grey and white tones gives a lounge atmosphere. Outside, a beautiful and quiet terrace, perfect for long summer evenings, occupies an inner courtyard. The map is short and varies according to the seasons. You will find refined proposals, which mix Romanian traditions and international influences: trout fillet in almond crust, mushroom stew, baked camembert, lamb shank with saffron..

This is one of two restaurants in the Tempo guesthouse. Not far from the main square, this is an excellent address, with a warm and elegant rustic decor, featuring beautiful wood panelling and brick walls adorned with attractive ceramics... The large open-plan dining room is also very pleasant, all in wood and dotted with touches of greenery. It's one of the best places to enjoy quality Transylvanian cuisine, with a Hungarian accent: bean soup, goulash and more. And to make matters worse, the restaurant regularly hosts traditional music concerts.

As its name suggests, "Au chaudron", the dishes are prepared in huge cast-iron cauldrons. You'll be served hearty traditional dishes, at very affordable prices. On the menu: polenta, goulash, stewed meats... The interior is very designer, all wood. The yellow and black chairs add a little pizzazz, and the straw-hat lampshades add a touch of originality. Great value for money. The brand has a second address, based on the same principles: you'll find it at 27 rue Michael Weiss.

Certainly one of the best Romanian restaurants in town, right in the center. The delicious and inventive Transylvanian specialties, served in a vaulted room with a successful traditional decor, attract locals and tourists alike. Prices are very reasonable for the quality of the service, which is impeccable and friendly, while live music livens up the evenings. Note that wine can be ordered by the pitcher or by the glass, which is convenient when you want to taste one or more Romanian wines. Don't miss the delicious local ţuica .

A great place to try local specialties, revisited with originality: delicious soups, Cluj cabbage, balmoș (mămăligă with cheeses), veal goulash, papanași... Accompanied by a good natural syrup or lemonade. The menu also features salads, pastas, grills and a whole host of à la carte breakfast proposals. What's more, prices are very reasonable. The warm, high-ceilinged dining room is a blend of vintage and industrial styles, with traditional Romanian touches.

This central restaurant is a highly recommended address for its copious Romanian cuisine, as well as for its low prices. In this canteen with its minimalist decor, most of the customers are locals. If the service is sometimes long, all the interest is in the plate. There are many Romanian dishes on offer, but the house's great speciality remains cabbage (varză), which is available in many recipes, including of course the varză has Cluj, which has the same ingredients as sarmale, but cooked au gratin.

A must-visit address in Brașov. If you're looking for good, typically Transylvanian cuisine, this is the restaurant for you. The choice is wide and the dishes hearty: grilled meats, șnițel of chicken Saxon style, gulaș with dumplings, Angus beef stew... Here local specialties are perfectly executed and enhanced with a touch of originality. You're greeted in traditional dress, in a magnificent underground cellar with vaults sometimes whitewashed, sometimes of exposed brick. Service is meticulous.

Don't be fooled by its old-fashioned façade and décor: the Grand Plaza offers excellent Romanian cuisine at ridiculously low prices. Moreover, this restaurant in the lower town, which looks like a canteen and has the name of a palace, is popular with the locals. On the menu you will find a good variety of dishes: omelettes, soups, salads, platters of cold meats and cheeses and a whole host of meat preparations. Perfect for a quick lunch on the go or a dinner without fuss. You can also order take-away food.

This restaurant, much appreciated by local gourmets, is housed in a 600-year-old house that has been tastefully restored down to the finest detail. On the menu, Italian specialties (with a wide selection of pastas) rub shoulders with more local meat and fish specialties, featuring seasonal produce. Prepare yourself for a true gastronomic experience and let yourself be tempted by surprising dishes such as spicy shrimps with mango. The menu offers a wide choice of desserts, so gourmets won't be outdone.

A good address, serving original cuisine. Part of the menu is inspired by old Transylvanian recipes, brought up to date, such as rabbit stew with caramelized fruit and mămăligă. We particularly recommend the slow-cooked pork with beer sauce. The meat is of excellent quality and well prepared. You'll also find more exotic specialties: Argentine beef entrecôte, chili con carne, etc. The setting is modern and warm, all wood, in a Nordic style imbued with traditional local reminiscences.

Located a 15-minute walk from the National Theater, in the pretty bourgeois neighborhood of Andrei Mureşanu, the Gook artisan bakery-café is popular with locals for its atmosphere, specialty coffees, bread (the best in Cluj) and for its garden. Here, all breads are made from 100% natural ingredients, and you can try out original creations such as beet bread or turmeric bread. There are also a number of pastries, such as the delicious lemon-poppy seed cake. A lovely, quiet place to take a break.

To enter this restaurant, you have to pass under the porch of an old merchant's house: it's a nod to history when you know that Ograda cooks mainly with local produce from the Brașov region. The menu therefore gives pride of place to traditional dishes, which are beautifully served and no less tasty. Before leaving the restaurant, you can fill up your basket, as Ograda is also a delicatessen, allowing you to take a little piece of the terroir home with you. Last but not least, the service is efficient and friendly.

Don't miss this restaurant, located right next to the fortified church. Housed in an elegant 17th century building that was once used as a prison, it has recreated a pleasant, warm and unadorned medieval atmosphere, with lots of light wood and a few decorative items (helmets, coats of mail, spears...). They eat very well, at reasonable prices. The menu, which is rather tight, offers chicken and pork dishes, various stews, trays, soups... A terrace occupies the inner courtyard, glued to the bastion.

A little far from the citadel, an excellent restaurant that deserves a travel by taxi or a bus (Albesti direction) to get there.

If you want to know a place away from the city centre, this restaurant (without a sign) is made for you. The reception is excellent. The choice is wide and the dishes are rich at a low rate.

One of the best options in the city. Remarkably well placed in the pension of the same name. The menu offers excellent Romanian cuisine perfectly executed.

Directly on Piaţa Cetăţii and Strada Bastionului, we appreciate inside its elegant room. The reception is warm.

Excellent and elegant restaurant of Hungarian and Transylvaine cuisine. Here you can find good trout (pastrav).

Small restaurant in a charming area. The reception is nice, and the rustic decor is a success. Plats-style dishes font. In short, a highly recommended address for dishes that do not exceed 7 €.

A self-service of Hungarian specialities. The bottom room is particularly friendly. On the floor, the room is more class and favours the hotel guests. In any case, the choice is wide and we eat it very well.