As I researched Romanian food before visiting Romania, I mostly read about how it was “hearty” and “heavy”. And while I found much of the local fare is quite heavy, it’s not always the case.
Romanian food, while holding its own distinct characteristics, also borrows from surrounding countries and cultures. In the local dishes, you can see examples of Ottoman, German, Bulgarian and Serbian influence.
This unique blend, along with the tradition of making use of what’s seasonally available, means Romanian food is unique and, as I found out, quite delicious.
After recently spending several months in Romania, I have come up with my list of the top 6 Romanian dishes you must try when you visit yourself.
The Best of Romanian Food
Sarmale
Sarmale is a very typical Romanian dish that can be found on most menus. The dish consists of sour cabbage leaves stuffed with a mixture of pork and beef and served with sides of polenta (or mamaliga as it’s locally known) and usually salty smoked bacon.
Mici
Mici, which translates to “small one”, are short, skinless sausages grilled over an open flame. The sausages are a mixture of lamb, beef, pork, and a variety of spices.
Mici is typically served with fresh bread and mustard. You can always smell these being grilled from halfway down the block, and I’ve literally never been able to stop after eating just one. Locals usually order at least three at a time.
Soups (Ciorbas)
Romanian soup culture is very real and has created some of the best soups I’ve ever tasted. The country’s specialty is a type of soup known as ciorba, or sour soup. Ciorba differs from regular soup by adding an acid (usually lemon juice) to make the soup sour.
Soups generally consist of both a mixture of meat and vegetables and are almost always served with fresh bread, sour cream, and pickled peppers.
My favorite non-sour soup is a beef and vegetable soup known as peasants soup. This version was served with plenty of freshly sliced onions.
Veal in a Mushroom Wine Sauce
Although pork is the most commonly eaten meat, Romanians also make delicious beef dishes. This house specialty (known as muschi de vitel la tingire cu sos de vin ciuperci si orez) is veal in a sauce of wine and mushrooms and served with polenta. The meat was slow-cooked and served fork tender. Make sure to seek this dish out on menus during your visit!
Bulz Ciobanesc (Sheperd’s Polenta Ball)
Don’t let the unassuming look of this dish fool you- it’s one of the best I had in Romania. The dish is layered with cheese, polenta, and bacon. It’s delicious, but definitely not light or anything I recommend for someone on a diet. How can you go wrong with bacon and cheese?
Salata de Icre (Romanian fish egg salad)
Don’t let the name of this one scare you off like it almost did me. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this dish.
The salad, served as an appetizer, is more of a spread than an actual salad. Fresh roe (fish eggs) are mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped shallots and served with fresh bread. This is a very typical starter that you’ll find on most tables before a dinner.
Wine
Ok, ok– I know wine doesn’t actually count as a dish, but it was on the table for nearly every meal so I’m including it. Romania has some truly great wines that no one ever seems to talk about.
I was fortunate enough to visit a couple of vineyards during my Experience Bucharest trip and tried many varieties of local wine. The vineyards in Romania make some truly excellent wines, and the bottles are affordably priced.
One of my favorite wineries was the LacertA Winery — the grounds of the vineyard are gorgeous, the workers are knowledgeable and friendly, and the wine was delicious.
You always make me suffer from extreme #hungerlust Senor de los Momos!!! Looking forwards to the Nepal food post 😀
Cant wait to check these out in a few weeks!
Just wait for the Ultimate Foodie Guide to Bucharest I’ll be publishing next week! These are my Top 6 choices for best of local food- next week I’ll show you exactly where to find them.
YUM!
Wow, this looks so good. I would be especially interested to try the mici. Thank you for sharing.
I loved the wine in Romania too, although the beer is also pretty good. These pictures are making me hungry though
Every single one of these looks delicious. I would try them all. Thanks for the tips for when I visit Romania!
All those dishes look quite interesting. Although I’m more into raw and fresh food, I’d definitely try these ones when we visit Romania. The Salata de Icre reminds me of the Greek tarama or tzaziki salad, which can also be spread on bread.
Yes. It is very similar with tarama from Greece.
You had me at sarmale. My favorite dish in Romania, with culinary brethren around the region. Good stuff!
Hmmmm!!! The only thing I could have was wine! I wonder if any of these dishes can be made Vegetarian! It’s often hard for me to find good stuff in Eastern Europe!
you can find vegetarian versions. sarmale can be made without meat, with mushrooms. in summer
sarmale are wrapped in vine leafs and not sour cabbage. you can find also vegetarian soups and dishes like zacusca (a vegetable paste), salata de vinete (eggplant paste similar to baba ganoush), roasted peppers, chiftelute de dovlecei (cougettes patties), ghivechi (like a romanian ratatoulle) and salats. i grew up eating lots of vegetables and fruits. i hope you can find this helpfull. love from romania
I had heard the same as you about Romanian food, that it is heavy and hearty, but what you’ve just described and shown looks so good! I’m surprised to see that they have a sour soup, and the Salata de Icre sounds delicious as a starter. Also happy to see that there’s good wine to be found in Romania!
I love your overview of Romanian foods. I’m vegetarian, and since most of the main dishes include meat, restaurants were a bit stumped over what to feed me. I ended up eating a lot of baked cheese. My husband, however, very much enjoyed many of the dishes you mention, such as the mici and sarmale.
next time try some “Salata de Vinete” Eggplant salad, you will love that one also 😀
That’s exacly what I was going to suggest. DELICIOUS !!!
Hello Nathan, you captured the dishes very well, and made them quite appealing. I would add salata de vinete(eggplant salad), especially since is summer; I love it with tomatoes and fresh bread, it is also more of a spread. Salata de roșii( tomatoes salad), which is on our table all summer long; we eat it with French fries, feta, or just fresh bread. A lot of Romanians fast( eat vegetarian) on Fridays, then for weeks before certain religious holidays. Also ciulama, not sure how to translate: it’s a thick flour sauce, made with chicken broth and the chicken meat. It is served with polenta, and it is delicious. Drink some șpriț after, since it’s summer: Romanians dilute the wine with cold mineral water or club soda in the summer. And try vișinata, a sweet sour chery liquor, we ask for it when relatives visit, it is that unforgettable.
Thanks again!
I think I am going to enjoy my travel to Romania when we go…the cuisine is so rich and enticing. Stuffed cabbage leaves sounds very exotic! Your pictures are fantastic!
Hi Nathan, you have given a top list food items in Romania which are helpful for tourists to enjoy their food. Photographs are very interesting, special thanks as food lover.
Oh my, I adore sarmale and mici. I could eat hundreds of them. Absolutely delicious!
me too! I’m going back to Romania next week and that will be some of the first things I have!
As a native Romanian, albeit not one who knows Romanian restaurants very well, I’d think it’s hard to find a restaurant which serves food close to reality.
For example, many years back I ordered at work “varza calita” (not sure what’s the correct translation cooked cabbage/boiled cabbage?) from a popular restaurant. It was that bad. It was literally just boiled cabbage with like tomato sauce. No taste, far from the real dish our mother or grand mother cooked for us at home.
The reality is very few restaurants can afford to cook the real thing. It’s not realistic if you think about it. Definitely not crowded\popular restaurants in a crowded city. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to things like sausages, chicken, pork, fish, fries there are many restaurants here which can cook delicious food like this. I’ve been traveling abroad and Romania can compete with any other country when it comes to restaurants.
Another very popular example is “mamaliga” or “mamaliguta” (polenta). If you come here and you order it and you don’t like, I’d not be surprised. Polenta with a good cheese and good yogurt (what good yogurt means is another discussion) is divine. Time it takes me to cook polenta: 50 mins, sometimes I like to boil it for an 1hr. Guess how much time it takes in a restaurant? 10 mins?
How
I’m looking for a recipe for noodles and potatoes fried my mother’s friend and I ate it about 50 years ago I would really like to make it
Thank You
Mici would be my number one choice with fish eggs second…
Then ciorba and sarmale…
Putlgella, eggplant salad. I grew up on this from my grandmother’s kitchen. With olive oil and a piece of real rye brea. Fit for a king
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@Aaron Sloane, you must try stuffed vine leaves. In Romania, they are made with ground lamb and rice, cooked in a tomato broth and served hot with sour cream. Yum, good eats!