Guidebook for București

Radu
Guidebook for București

Food Scene

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Gambrinus
38 Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta
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Should probably be the first stop on the food and drink list of any visitor to Bucharest. Wonderful interiors - painted ceilings, ornate woodwork - make the place an attraction in itself, but do not leave without trying some food. The breakfast is worth getting up early for, the sarmale with mamaliga terrific, and the baked apple a simple, tasty treat. They even serve their own rather good beer. The service is usually good and there is a terrace in summer. We should also mention the touristy but nevertheless enjoyable folklore show which takes place most evenings
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Caru' cu bere
5 Strada Stavropoleos
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Should probably be the first stop on the food and drink list of any visitor to Bucharest. Wonderful interiors - painted ceilings, ornate woodwork - make the place an attraction in itself, but do not leave without trying some food. The breakfast is worth getting up early for, the sarmale with mamaliga terrific, and the baked apple a simple, tasty treat. They even serve their own rather good beer. The service is usually good and there is a terrace in summer. We should also mention the touristy but nevertheless enjoyable folklore show which takes place most evenings
Crama Domneasca serves huge portions of tasty local food at more than decent prices. If you are really on a tight budget, then one of the city’s many kebab shops could well be what you are looking for. The best is Gyros Thessaloniki on Strada Selari in the Old Town.
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Crama Domnească
13-15 Strada Șelari
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Crama Domneasca serves huge portions of tasty local food at more than decent prices. If you are really on a tight budget, then one of the city’s many kebab shops could well be what you are looking for. The best is Gyros Thessaloniki on Strada Selari in the Old Town.
Big, happy to accommodate large groups and serving great food often accompanied by some decent live music, look no further than the Hard Rock Cafe.
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Hard Rock Cafe
32 Şoseaua Pavel D. Kiseleff
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Big, happy to accommodate large groups and serving great food often accompanied by some decent live music, look no further than the Hard Rock Cafe.
You probably didn’t come to Bucharest to eat German food, but the Deutsche Kneipe is an institution not to be missed. It serves great homemade sausages and schnitzels the size of the Bismarck. Good German lager on tap and a lovely beer garden to drink it in.
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Die Deutsche Kneipe
9 Strada Stockholm
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You probably didn’t come to Bucharest to eat German food, but the Deutsche Kneipe is an institution not to be missed. It serves great homemade sausages and schnitzels the size of the Bismarck. Good German lager on tap and a lovely beer garden to drink it in.
Popular with expats who have a regular rendezvous here, this place is a pub and bistro in one, where you can get a tasty meal for a decent price while enjoying excellent company. The menu is international with a choice of British dishes - we can recommend both the beef and chicken pies - but best of all we like the beef sour soup (ciorba de vacuta) - one of the best in the city. There is Guinness and Kilkenny on draught: both at a good price. You really can’t go wrong. tel. (+4) 021 211 31 51, www.trafalgarpub.eu. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 01:00.
The Trafalgar Pub
4 A Strada David Emanuel
Popular with expats who have a regular rendezvous here, this place is a pub and bistro in one, where you can get a tasty meal for a decent price while enjoying excellent company. The menu is international with a choice of British dishes - we can recommend both the beef and chicken pies - but best of all we like the beef sour soup (ciorba de vacuta) - one of the best in the city. There is Guinness and Kilkenny on draught: both at a good price. You really can’t go wrong. tel. (+4) 021 211 31 51, www.trafalgarpub.eu. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 01:00.
A veritable Strada Smardan legend of a venue, whose longevity is a credit to its management who keep rethinking and reinventing the vast international menu packed with cracking dishes of all flavours and making sure there is always good reason to come and eat, drink or just have one of over 30 coffees here. Indeed, there is so much to choose from here that making individual recommendations is pointless. Everyone will find something they like, and I might add that the desserts are fab too. It also occupies one of the very best locations in the Old Town.
Les Bourgeois
20 Strada Smârdan
A veritable Strada Smardan legend of a venue, whose longevity is a credit to its management who keep rethinking and reinventing the vast international menu packed with cracking dishes of all flavours and making sure there is always good reason to come and eat, drink or just have one of over 30 coffees here. Indeed, there is so much to choose from here that making individual recommendations is pointless. Everyone will find something they like, and I might add that the desserts are fab too. It also occupies one of the very best locations in the Old Town.
Bright and airy place that gloriously lets the light in through its huge windows. Fine food, including a luscious fried brie with onion marmelade, an outstanding chicken and artichoke salad, a couple of duck dishes and good steaks. Prices are more than fair given the location, setting and quality of food.
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Gargantua Anniversaire
2 Strada Icoanei
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Bright and airy place that gloriously lets the light in through its huge windows. Fine food, including a luscious fried brie with onion marmelade, an outstanding chicken and artichoke salad, a couple of duck dishes and good steaks. Prices are more than fair given the location, setting and quality of food.
Huge, set over two levels, the house is surrounded by a large courtyard and garden, which is superb in the right weather. Pick of the serviceable menu is unquestionably the Ciolan la protap: an enormous, slowly roasted pork knuckle served with sauerkraut and mamaliga; it’s big enough for two to share. They serve their own beer, which is highly drinkable and a bargain at 7.90 lei per pint.
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Hanu' Berarilor Casa Oprea Soare
2 Strada Poenaru Bordea
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Huge, set over two levels, the house is surrounded by a large courtyard and garden, which is superb in the right weather. Pick of the serviceable menu is unquestionably the Ciolan la protap: an enormous, slowly roasted pork knuckle served with sauerkraut and mamaliga; it’s big enough for two to share. They serve their own beer, which is highly drinkable and a bargain at 7.90 lei per pint.
Built in 1808 the enormous, three-level Hanul lui Manuc (Manuc’s Inn) is one of Europe’s last remaining caravanserai. The interior courtyard is a spectacular sight and essential for any visitor to Bucharest, not least the grand staircase to your left as you enter from Strada Franceza. A hostelry ever since it opened the Han is now run by the City Grill group and has seldom been better. Serves good, simple Romanian food (the mici are excellent, as is the enormous lamb shank - enough for two people) and a more than decent pint.
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Manuc's Inn
62 Strada Halelor
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Built in 1808 the enormous, three-level Hanul lui Manuc (Manuc’s Inn) is one of Europe’s last remaining caravanserai. The interior courtyard is a spectacular sight and essential for any visitor to Bucharest, not least the grand staircase to your left as you enter from Strada Franceza. A hostelry ever since it opened the Han is now run by the City Grill group and has seldom been better. Serves good, simple Romanian food (the mici are excellent, as is the enormous lamb shank - enough for two people) and a more than decent pint.
Great Gastrobar. Trully recommended!
Decadance Bar
11 Strada Constantin Daniel
Great Gastrobar. Trully recommended!

Parks & Nature

The most central of the city’s public gardens, Cismigiu is a haven of lawns, trees, flowers and lakes. Often mistakenly referred to as a park, Cismigiu is actually a large garden, first designed and laid out in 1845 by the German landscape architect Carl Meyer, but not completed until 1860. More than 30,000 trees and plants were brought in from the Romanian mountains, while exotic plants were fetched from the botanical gardens in Vienna. Highlights of the 17-hectare garden include the Roman Garden, laid out in the style of ancient Rome, and including busts of Romania’s most famous writers, the lake, which can be explored by rowing boat in summer or skated upon during the winter, and Ion Jalea’s French Memorial in Carrara marble, which commemorates those French troops killed on Romanian territory during World War I. The park has a couple of cafes, refreshment kiosks and - in summer - terraces, as well as some good, large children’s playgrounds. It can get very busy in good weather, but it is a lovely place to spend time.
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Cișmigiu-puisto
Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta
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The most central of the city’s public gardens, Cismigiu is a haven of lawns, trees, flowers and lakes. Often mistakenly referred to as a park, Cismigiu is actually a large garden, first designed and laid out in 1845 by the German landscape architect Carl Meyer, but not completed until 1860. More than 30,000 trees and plants were brought in from the Romanian mountains, while exotic plants were fetched from the botanical gardens in Vienna. Highlights of the 17-hectare garden include the Roman Garden, laid out in the style of ancient Rome, and including busts of Romania’s most famous writers, the lake, which can be explored by rowing boat in summer or skated upon during the winter, and Ion Jalea’s French Memorial in Carrara marble, which commemorates those French troops killed on Romanian territory during World War I. The park has a couple of cafes, refreshment kiosks and - in summer - terraces, as well as some good, large children’s playgrounds. It can get very busy in good weather, but it is a lovely place to spend time.
Bucharest’s fabulous Botanical Gardens were founded in 1860 with the significant financial backing of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, at the time the leader of the nascent Romanian state. Completed in 1866 to the designs and instructions of Ulrich Hoffmann, they were originally in the grounds of the Cotroceni Monastery, moving to their present location in 1884. The garden, administratively part of Bucharest University’s Botanical Institute, today extends over an area of more than 17 hectares, and hosts more than 10,000 species of plants, approximately half of which are cultivated in the impressive glasshouses. Of particular note are the exotic flowers (more than 1000 are on display) and the bizarre Symphytum ottomanum, a plant which can appear to vanish without trace only to reappear up to 50 metres away. The recently renovated glasshouses are fabulous, and kids love the wide variety of strange plants inside, especially the cacti and the Venus fly traps. Many locals like to take advantage of the bargain entrance fee and use the exterior of the gardens as a park, and thus the place can often be far more full with courting couples than with lovers of more floral delights. Whatever your reasons for going, it’s a terrific place to spend a morning.
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Gradina Botanica station
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Bucharest’s fabulous Botanical Gardens were founded in 1860 with the significant financial backing of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, at the time the leader of the nascent Romanian state. Completed in 1866 to the designs and instructions of Ulrich Hoffmann, they were originally in the grounds of the Cotroceni Monastery, moving to their present location in 1884. The garden, administratively part of Bucharest University’s Botanical Institute, today extends over an area of more than 17 hectares, and hosts more than 10,000 species of plants, approximately half of which are cultivated in the impressive glasshouses. Of particular note are the exotic flowers (more than 1000 are on display) and the bizarre Symphytum ottomanum, a plant which can appear to vanish without trace only to reappear up to 50 metres away. The recently renovated glasshouses are fabulous, and kids love the wide variety of strange plants inside, especially the cacti and the Venus fly traps. Many locals like to take advantage of the bargain entrance fee and use the exterior of the gardens as a park, and thus the place can often be far more full with courting couples than with lovers of more floral delights. Whatever your reasons for going, it’s a terrific place to spend a morning.
Anyone who still thinks that Bucharest is a city of concrete and cement has clearly never been to the city’s lung, the incomparable Herastrau Park. Quite simply, this glorious park, spread over 187 hectares around Herastrau lake is one of the jewels in Bucharest’s crown, which might explain why half of the city chooses to spend its summer Sunday afternoons here. Fear not though, for so big is Herastrau that it never gives the impression of being crowded, and even on the busiest of days you will always be able to find a quiet, shady corner somewhere. If you look hard enough. Herastrau was laid out from 1930-36 on what had until then been mainly marshland around the (natural) lake. You can rent bikes from I’Velo, close to the entrance. Rental costs 5 lei per hour, or 15 lei for a full day. Under-16s and over-65s can rent bikes for free, but for a maximum of two hours.
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Kuningas Mihai I -puisto
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Anyone who still thinks that Bucharest is a city of concrete and cement has clearly never been to the city’s lung, the incomparable Herastrau Park. Quite simply, this glorious park, spread over 187 hectares around Herastrau lake is one of the jewels in Bucharest’s crown, which might explain why half of the city chooses to spend its summer Sunday afternoons here. Fear not though, for so big is Herastrau that it never gives the impression of being crowded, and even on the busiest of days you will always be able to find a quiet, shady corner somewhere. If you look hard enough. Herastrau was laid out from 1930-36 on what had until then been mainly marshland around the (natural) lake. You can rent bikes from I’Velo, close to the entrance. Rental costs 5 lei per hour, or 15 lei for a full day. Under-16s and over-65s can rent bikes for free, but for a maximum of two hours.

Arts & Culture

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Romanian Athenaeum
1-3 Strada Benjamin Franklin
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The National Museum of Art of Romania
49-53 Calea Victoriei
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Antipa-museo
1 Şoseaua Pavel D. Kiseleff
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Bukarestin kansallisooppera
70-72 Bulevardul Mihail Kogălniceanu
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Drinks & Nightlife

Control is a place we have long labelled as ‘a club for people who don’t like clubs.’ Popular with young locals fed up with the more flashy venues that now litter the capital, you can even eat here (well into the night) at Alt-Shift upstairs.
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Control Club
4 Strada Constantin Mille
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Control is a place we have long labelled as ‘a club for people who don’t like clubs.’ Popular with young locals fed up with the more flashy venues that now litter the capital, you can even eat here (well into the night) at Alt-Shift upstairs.
Oktoberfest sells possibly the cheapest pint in the city centre: it is a more than drinkable bargain. Not brewed on the premises it’s nevertheless a beer you will only find here. The crowd is young and during term-time mainly made up of students
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Oktoberfest Pub
3 Str. Franceză
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Oktoberfest sells possibly the cheapest pint in the city centre: it is a more than drinkable bargain. Not brewed on the premises it’s nevertheless a beer you will only find here. The crowd is young and during term-time mainly made up of students
Boasting one of the best addresses in the city this effortlessly middle class venue is perhaps the most popular place in Bucharest right now for arty types, fashion people and general trendies. Situated in the grounds of the early 19th-century Stirbei Palace this place is perhaps a café, bar and late-night drinker. There is also often music, either from a DJ or a local act. As such it does get very clubby late on. Well worth your time, if only to see how the Romanian other half live: prices are, accordingly, relatively high, but still cheap by western European standards
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Gradina EDEN
44-46 Calea Dorobanți
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Boasting one of the best addresses in the city this effortlessly middle class venue is perhaps the most popular place in Bucharest right now for arty types, fashion people and general trendies. Situated in the grounds of the early 19th-century Stirbei Palace this place is perhaps a café, bar and late-night drinker. There is also often music, either from a DJ or a local act. As such it does get very clubby late on. Well worth your time, if only to see how the Romanian other half live: prices are, accordingly, relatively high, but still cheap by western European standards
Perhaps the most iconic building in Bucharest. Inside the shell of an old house destroyed during the 1989 revolution a new building has risen, home - fittingly - to Romania’s architectural association. The cafe (and bar) which occupies part of the building is more than worthy of its location, a contemporary space with walls decorated with scenes from the revolution, where you can enjoy coffee and cocktails in the company of a good young crowd. There are tasty sandwiches too, which can be taken away if you are in a hurry
Permanently Closed
Strada Demetru I. Dobrescu
Perhaps the most iconic building in Bucharest. Inside the shell of an old house destroyed during the 1989 revolution a new building has risen, home - fittingly - to Romania’s architectural association. The cafe (and bar) which occupies part of the building is more than worthy of its location, a contemporary space with walls decorated with scenes from the revolution, where you can enjoy coffee and cocktails in the company of a good young crowd. There are tasty sandwiches too, which can be taken away if you are in a hurry
The name means Bicycle, and it will not take you long to work out why: the place is by and large furnished and decorated with parts of old bicycles. On the second floor of a Lipscani house the place boasts a good long bar, plenty of stools (some of which incorporate old bike seats) and a couple of leather sofas for those who want something a bit more comfortable. Coffee by day and cocktails by night is the order of things, and at the weekend the place has a DJ and quite frankly rocks.
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Bicicleta
38 Strada Lipscani
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The name means Bicycle, and it will not take you long to work out why: the place is by and large furnished and decorated with parts of old bicycles. On the second floor of a Lipscani house the place boasts a good long bar, plenty of stools (some of which incorporate old bike seats) and a couple of leather sofas for those who want something a bit more comfortable. Coffee by day and cocktails by night is the order of things, and at the weekend the place has a DJ and quite frankly rocks.
The new location serves food, has live music some evenings but is still first choice to bring somebody you really want to impress with your Bucharest insider’s knowledge.
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Interbelic
17 Strada Lipscani
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The new location serves food, has live music some evenings but is still first choice to bring somebody you really want to impress with your Bucharest insider’s knowledge.
A year or so after opening, this place is now one of Bucharest’s leading after-work and expat venues. A venue which has plenty going for it, not least the hands-on owners and the great staff, all concerned clearly know what an actual pub should look and feel like, which is nothing less than revolutionary for this city. For instance, it’s got a great wooden bar and proper stools so you can sit at the bar itself. (We are fed up with Bucharest pubs telling us we can’t sit at the bar). Serves plenty of bitter and hosts regular events, from theme parties and gaming nights to karaoke. You will find this place at the northern edge of the Old Town, at the end of the little alley that runs from Lipscani to Blanari, opposite the church.
Expat Pub
21 Strada Blănari
A year or so after opening, this place is now one of Bucharest’s leading after-work and expat venues. A venue which has plenty going for it, not least the hands-on owners and the great staff, all concerned clearly know what an actual pub should look and feel like, which is nothing less than revolutionary for this city. For instance, it’s got a great wooden bar and proper stools so you can sit at the bar itself. (We are fed up with Bucharest pubs telling us we can’t sit at the bar). Serves plenty of bitter and hosts regular events, from theme parties and gaming nights to karaoke. You will find this place at the northern edge of the Old Town, at the end of the little alley that runs from Lipscani to Blanari, opposite the church.
The name (as you might have guessed) means 100 Beers, and that’s exactly what they have here: beer, and lots of it, from all over the world. In fact, looking at the menu it would appear that they stock considerably more than 100 beers, and there is more besides: shorts and cocktails for those who don’t fancy a beer. Nice long, English-style bar at which you can sit all night and sample as many beers as you can.
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La 100 de Beri
61 Strada Gabroveni
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The name (as you might have guessed) means 100 Beers, and that’s exactly what they have here: beer, and lots of it, from all over the world. In fact, looking at the menu it would appear that they stock considerably more than 100 beers, and there is more besides: shorts and cocktails for those who don’t fancy a beer. Nice long, English-style bar at which you can sit all night and sample as many beers as you can.

Everything Else

None of Bucharest’s sights charge very much for entrance: even the tour of Casa Poporului only costs 25 lei.
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Palace of Parliament
7 Bulevardul Nicolae Bălcescu
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None of Bucharest’s sights charge very much for entrance: even the tour of Casa Poporului only costs 25 lei.

Shopping

Bucharest‘s most impressive bookshop is this wonderful building on Strada Lipscani. Dating from the later part of the 19th century the building was home to a department store during the communist era, before standing neglected for almost a quarter of century until reopening earlier this year after a long renovation. And what a renovation: the building has been brought back to life by Carturesti‘s team of architects and is that impressive that even if you are not in the market for any books, you must pop in to have a look. It is also perhaps the only shop in Bucharest where the staff do not tell you off for taking photos: indeed, it‘s positively encouraged. Besides the tens of thousands of books and gifts on sale there is gallery and exhibition space, and a rather good bistro on the top floor
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Cărturești Carusel
55 Strada Lipscani
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Bucharest‘s most impressive bookshop is this wonderful building on Strada Lipscani. Dating from the later part of the 19th century the building was home to a department store during the communist era, before standing neglected for almost a quarter of century until reopening earlier this year after a long renovation. And what a renovation: the building has been brought back to life by Carturesti‘s team of architects and is that impressive that even if you are not in the market for any books, you must pop in to have a look. It is also perhaps the only shop in Bucharest where the staff do not tell you off for taking photos: indeed, it‘s positively encouraged. Besides the tens of thousands of books and gifts on sale there is gallery and exhibition space, and a rather good bistro on the top floor