When thinking about Romanian food, Romania's cuisine is an eclectic mix of European influences. Many traditional dishes found around the Old Town restaurants consist of pork, polenta or sour cream and sometimes sauerkraut. If you're staying in Bucharest, you'll probably spend a lot of your time in the Old Town, where most of the restaurants are placed. We made a selection of top five Old Town restaurants for you to visit while in Bucharest, easily reachable via any cab service.

We made a selection of top five Old Town restaurants for you to visit while in Bucharest, easily reachable via any cab service.

Top 5 Restaurants in Old Town Bucharest

Grand Café Van Gogh

Van Gogh is known as one of the places with the most extensive drink menus around Bucharest, so it isn't the type of place to visit if you are looking for cheap options. No, we are not talking about alcoholic beverages, but healthy fruit juices. If you stop by for breakfast, you can choose from a plethora of healthy juices, such as the 'liver cleanse' one, aimed to the backpackers and stag parties that pass through Bucharest. They also have one of the best coconut coffees you will ever try.

The food menu on the other hand isn't quite as long, but it is also not easy to choose from. There are many options if you feel like having a healthy meal with a twist. Such an example is the salmon and cream cheese toast, followed by some amazing cakes and sweets. This café-restaurant is one of the most visited places in Bucharest's Old Town, so be sure to pay it a visit.

The interior design is impressive, with a sophisticated ambiance created by the blend of refined elegance and artistic charm. The restaurant's collection of Van Gogh paintings provides a feast for the eyes, and the venue serves as a perfect meeting point for both locals and tourists. The terrace offers excellent people-watching opportunities in the heart of Lipscani area.

Bistro Carusel

If you are looking for a place that is not crowded all the time, but also looks pretty and amazing, head to Bistro Carusel. Here you won't find any traditional dishes, but you will find a hidden jewel of a restaurant with a glass ceiling that lets all of the natural light in. If you don't know where to look, the Bistro Carusel is easy to miss. It is located on the top floor of the Cărturești Carusel bookshop. Even if you are there, you will need someone to tell you about the bistro, since you cannot see it - the only sign is tucked inside against the wall. Hence, you may enjoy more privacy here.

The menu is more than good, and is recommended for a lunch stop while sightseeing. The staff is very friendly, the Wi-Fi is fast and the sandwiches are really good. They serve a tasty homemade lemonade, coming in some pretty exciting flavors, such as mango and pomegranate. As a bonus, while you wait for your order, you can browse through the endless rows of books, toys and teapots on display.

The bistro operates as a self-service establishment and offers signature drinks including Carusel Cocktail, Dracula's Kiss Martini, and Carusel Mocktail. The modern menu focuses on healthy options including salads, sandwiches, and specialty beverages. It's a 100% smoke-free environment and perfect for Instagram-worthy photos with stunning views of the city.

La Plăcinte

If you want to get a taste of the local life, try out the La Plăcinte place. Many people perhaps try to avoid fast food takeaways and chain restaurants when they travel, but occasionally enjoying them is not a bad thing especially if it means that you can mingle with the local crowds and learn about how others live, their routines and the ways they socialize and spend their time. This is one of the delights while traveling as well. This means that hitting a local chain restaurant is a preferred experience.

The La Plăcinte is not quite a fast food restaurant in its traditional sense, but it's pretty popular among locals. Being so popular, you may wait for a table for a while. There are several branches of La Plăcinte scattered throughout Bucharest, but we recommend the Old Town restaurant branch. Here you can feast upon some tapas-style dishes, like the sauerkraut stew (varzā muratā înābusitā), the tasty potato stuffed dumplings (colțunași cu cartofi) and cabbage rolls (sarmale cu smântână).

This Moldovan chain offers traditional pies and dishes when available, with multiple locations throughout Bucharest. The restaurant provides an authentic taste of neighboring Moldova's cuisine, featuring their famous plăcinte - traditional pies with various fillings including cabbage, meat, cheese and dill.

Il Peccato

If you crave for a bite of a tasty pizza, look no further and hit the Il Peccato place in the Bucharest Old Town. After a long day of exploring, dive into their menu of exciting pizza options - much more exciting than the standard pizza restaurants. Just try their truffle mushroom pizza to understand. Even though their pizzas are huge, they are so light and guilt-free. Il Peccato is located on a corner of a street in the Old Town, being convenient for people watching.

Believe it or not, the kind of people watching you can get here to go with your pizza can be legitimately qualified as an evening or afternoon entertainment. The Il Peccato is a friendly place with amazing food, warmly recommended by all of its visitors.

This authentic Italian restaurant features a wood-fired pizza oven and maintains traditional checkered tablecloths for an authentic Italian atmosphere. The menu includes excellent pasta dishes, premium Italian wines, and cocktails. Located at Str. Franceză 11, it's currently ranked among the top 100 restaurants in Bucharest with consistently positive reviews praising the quality ingredients, excellent crusts, and reasonable prices.

Conclusion

Many of the Bucharest Old Town restaurants serve delicious local dishes and are an amazing way to spend some time. So, if you happen to be traveling to Bucharest, make space in your agenda for tasting the local flavors. Arranging for a transfer from Bucharest Airport to city should be fairly easy too. Bon appétit!