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4 Traditional Romanian Food Experiences In Transylvania

Traditional Romanian food is legendary. Why not travel to Transylvania and eat it at the source?

Skyline in Sibiu Romania
Image: ©2foodtrippers

After a hectic month in Bucharest, we were ready to leave Romania’s biggest city and head to the hills of Transylvania for some much-needed rest and relaxation in the smaller city of Sibiu. Who are we kidding? Our top priority was to eat traditional Romanian food.

After getting our first taste of artisan Transylvania food products in Bucharest, we had high expectations of the food we would eat in Transylvania. However, we had little expectations of Sibiu, the town where we based ourselves for our week-long food quest.

As it turned out, we loved Sibiu. A former Capital of Culture, Sibiu is a charming town with a preserved city center featuring unique architecture with eye-like house windows that literally make the homes look alive, interesting museums memorializing Transylvania’s noble history and plenty of relaxing cafes to relax around a classic town square.

Pro Tip
Hire a car from a reputable car rental company. Since Romanian trains are limited, you’ll be happy to have a car to drive to various villages in the countryside.

Typical Sibiu Architecture in Sibiu Romania
We never felt alone in Sibiu. With houses always watching over us, maybe the region is truly haunted. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

With so many things to do in Sibiu, we never got bored during our stay in the Transylvanian city. Our apartment was the cherry on top of our Sibiu sundae thanks to ultra-fast internet and a more than hospitable host who brought us fresh strawberries from his grandmother’s garden.

But what about the food?

Though we could have happily lingered in Sibiu and spent our time strolling through the winding, romantic alleys and drinking Romanian wine, we had work to do. And by work, we mean food exploration both in Sibiu as well as in the Transylvania countryside.

How To Experience Traditional Romanian Food In Transylvania

Bistro Cibin Mici - Traditional Romanian Food
We discovered mici in Bucharest and were pleased to find even better versions of the uncased, grilled, kebab-like sausage in Transylvania. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Ironically, many people visit towns like Sibiu and spend their days eating pizza, pasta and Sacher torte. True confession – we ate pizza in Sibiu too. But there’s so much great food to eat in the best Romanian cities beyond typical tourist fare.

In just a short week, we found traditional Romanian food in Transylvania that brought back memories of our Eastern European grandmothers. We also experienced a local Transylvania food culture with simple deeply flavored stews and classically grilled meats along with lots of garlic.

Read on to see how you can do it too.

1. Dine At A Traditional Romanian Restaurant

Head Photo in Romania
Eating flavorful Spring Borscht in Early June at Casa Tera put smiles our faces. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Dining at traditional Romanian restaurants in Transylvania will give you the best introduction to local foods and drinks, many of which are based on traditional Transylvanian recipes that span generations and ruling monarchies. Similar to Romanian culture, Transylvanian cuisine has a storied and rich history that warrants exploration.

For our traditional Romanian restaurant experience, we chose Casa Terra based on a strong recommendation from My Secret Romania‘s Gabriela Solomon. After spending time with Solomon in Bucharest, we were more than confident in her knowledge of traditional food and the Romanian people who cook it best.

Transylvania Casa Terra Chef Dana Graura at Casa Terra in Fagaras Romania
Chef Dana Graură serves terrific traditional Romania food in her Fagaras restaurant in the heart of Transylvania. Her respect for details and tradition places her food among Romania’s top chefs. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Located in a nondescript building in the sleepy town of Făgăraş, Casa Terra is a shockingly good restaurant led by Chef Dana Graură along with a staff who welcomed us as if we were old friends. The homey dining room also screamed Transylvania with antique furniture, candelabras and walls filled with black and white family photos.

A former chemical engineer and self-taught chef, Graură wowed us with her passion as well as with her execution of traditional Romanian dishes that combine local farm products with the best flavors of Romania, Germany and Hungary. Graură’s scientific background gives the chef a unique mastery of Romanian recipes with an accurate nod toward Transylvania’s rich history.

Drob at Casa Terra at Casa Terra in Fagaras Romania
Move over French Pate. Romanian Drob gives you a run for your money, at least it does at Casa Terra. Made with lamb and egg, Drob is typically served at Easter time in Romania. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

After starting our meal with refreshing elderflower juice, we settled into our first course of Drob, a popular Romanian Easter dish with lamb and eggs, a well as herbs, veggies, salted sheep cheese and super garlicky eggplant salad.

Before we knew it, the next course arrived – Spring Borscht with two kinds of salad (red and green), bacon, and scrambled eggs. This was a uniquely Romanian borscht with stewed greens and a garlicky white broth, unlike the red beet borsch more commonly seen in Russian cuisine.

Eggplant Salad at Casa Terra in Fagaras Romania
We coined the word “garlicious” after eating this eggplant salad. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We sipped on Polinka, the plum liqueur that is so prevalent in Romania and ate Sarmale, Romanian Stuffed Cabbage topped with sour cream and dill and served with a side of succulent pork ribs. The stuffed cabbage at Casa Terra, with classic meaty yet acidic sour flavors, ranks for us as both the tastiest and prettiest food we ate in Romania.

Sarmale at Casa Terra in Fagaras Romania
New rule – all Sarmale should be topped with sour cream and fresh dill and served alongside with pork ribs. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Like all good things, our lunch at Casa Terra finally came to an end… but not until we ate a lamb stew followed by small bowls of Rice Pudding served with Plum Jam and Peach Mint Jam. We departed Casa Terra with a shared food coma and a new respect for typical Romanian food. We should have also left with a jar of their wonderful jam which was for sale next to the restaurant’s front door.

Pro Tip
Do your research based on where you’re staying and make reservations to avoid disappointment. Popular restaurants like Casa Terra tend to book in advance.

Casa Terra is located at Strada Negoiu 2A, Făgăraş 505200, Romania.

2. Eat At Local Restaurants And Cafes

Traditional Romanian Lunch at Bistro Cibin in Sibiu Romania
Traditional Romanian food is simple and inexpensive, as was the case with our lunch at Bistro Cibin. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

In addition to eating epic meals at restaurants like Casa Terra, travelers can experience Romanian cuisine at local restaurants like the casual eateries we found in Sibiu. Frequented by both locals and tourists, these local restaurants serve tasty food at affordable prices compared to much of Europe.

Traditional Romanian Soup at Pasaj in Sibiu Romania
The soup game is strong in Transylvania. We ate this bowl of beef soup at Pasaj in the center of Sibiu. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

When in Sibiu, you can enjoy hearty beef soup and lamb burgers at Pasaj, a casual restaurant located by the 13th century Passage of Stairs that connects the city’s Upper Town and Lower Town. You can also eat elevated bar food at Gradina Restaurant if you crave hamburgers and feel like getting away from the city center.

Discover more of the best soups in the world.

Hamburger at Gradina in Sibiu Romania
Hamburgers are popular all over the world including at Gradina Restaurant in Sibiu. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Or, you can go to the down and dirty, super casual Bistro Cibin on the edge of the central Cibin market. More of a cafeteria style cafe than a bistro, Bistro Cibin serves local classics like cabbage soup, beef stew and the Romanian sausage known as mici.

For the unfamiliar, mici are the grilled caseless sausages, similar to kofta kebabs, that are popular throughout Romania, especially during the summer months. If you’re feeling thirsty, beer flows freely at all three of these Sibiu restaurants.

Pro Tip
Add Don’t worry that you’re leaving good coffee in Bucharest behind. You can find decent coffee in Transylvania at cafes like Arhiva de Cafea and Ceai.

Arhiva de Cafea and Ceai is located at Strada Arhivelor 2, Sibiu 550164, Romania.
Bistro Cibin is located at Piaţa Cibin, Sibiu 550197, Romania.
Gradina Restaurant is located at Bulevardul Victoriei 34, Sibiu 550024, Románia.
Pasaj is located at Strada Turnului 3A, Sibiu 550197, Romania.

3. Shop At Local Markets

Cherries at the Cibin Market in Sibiu Romania
Transylvania markets sell mountains of cherries during the late spring and early summer months. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Markets play a big role in Romanian life. Both housewives and chefs shop daily for seasonal, reasonably priced produce, cheese and meat while mingling with farmers and other vendors. Savvy shoppers shop with the season for the best Transylvania market experience.

During our visit, we reveled in sweet Romanian cherries that were at the peak of their season. We loved the cherries so much that we literally bought them by the kilo.

Pro Tip
Bring a canvas bag to any Romanian food market so that you can easily carry your bounty.

4. Eat With Locals

Cherry Hike in Transylvania Romania
This view was our first reward for hiking. Lunch was the second. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

In an ideal world, Transylvania locals will welcome you into their home and ply you with tiny glasses of plum Polinka. Don’t worry if that fantasy doesn’t come true.

Instead, do a little research and find a culinary event where you can eat with locals for a small fee like we did with Eat Local while we were in Transylvania.

Traditional Romaniann Soup in the Kisdisznod Hills of Transylvania
We needed this soup after our morning hike in the Cisnădioara hills. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

For just 75 Lei (under $20 USD) each, we hiked the lush Cisnădioara hills and caught timeless country views of Transylvanian villages that we could never see from a train or highway. We then ate a picnic feast filled with food including fresh cherries, local cheese and meat plus an assortment of homemade baked goods like cherry-topped chocolate and vanilla cakes.

Pro Tip
Go out of your way to talk to locals in Transylvania. We found the people to be friendly. Plus, the majority speak English.

Romanian Food In Transylvania Video

Watch our YouTube video for the full story about our lunch at Casa Terra.

Transylvania Planning Checklist

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About The Authors

About The Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers their unique taste of the world.

Disclosures

Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Funding
We self-funded our trip to Transylvania.

Sponsorship
We thank Casa Terra for hosting our epic lunch.

Original Publication Date: October 16, 2017

stephany

Tuesday 11th of June 2019

This article was amazing! In 2018, I made a trip to Romania with a group of close friends. We made a nice trip and we decided to visit Bucharest and Brasov in a rented car. It was sooo beautiful in Brasov and we had nice weather. I swear I'm in love with this country! We had such a pleasant time and we found great places to eat. You must try salata de vinete, sarmale, covrigi and papansi! Everything was so delicious!

Susan

Monday 1st of August 2022

My grandparents were from Bocavina. We called our stuffed cabbages Galuske and they were made from Pork, onions and stuffed in sour cabbage. We of course topped with sour cream and ate with Mumalega made on stove then put in bowel until set, then flipped over and cut like cake with butter, salt and pepper on top. Of course we also had cabbage soup and green beans with sour cream. EVERYTHING with sour cream lol.

Eddy

Wednesday 18th of October 2017

Great article... now craving for sarmale and have to tell my mother not to wait until new year... happy that you liked my hometown Hermannstadt aka Sibiu, unfortunately hardly there... cheers, Eddy

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Friday 20th of October 2017

Thanks Eddy. We're glad we did your hometown proud! It's so gorgeous in Transylvania you should try to get out there for a one or two week getaway.

Ryan Biddulph

Tuesday 17th of October 2017

Hi Guys,

Everything looks so delicious.

My grandpa used to make mititei when I was growing up. I think mici is the same thing. He'd grind up pork, beef and lamb I think then season it in garlic with our flavors, letting it marinate, then onto the grill again. He was 100% Transylvanian and would often cook other regional fare for us. I miss him and his awesome meals but know he did his job well; whenever I read about Romanian food anywhere, I can taste that garlic-meat delight, the best meat dish I have ever enjoyed, hands down. Even better than the Kobe beef I had in Tao. And I didn't have to pay $100 for 8 ounces of it ;)

Thanks for the rocking share guys.

Ryan

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Friday 20th of October 2017

When we were driving to Sibiu we passed a really cool road stop street food market with a number of sausage stalls. Mici was cooked over charcoal and we had to eat a plate. It was not only cheap but the best way to eat it. We've heard a number of things about the food at Tao most of them bad. (Maybe you've had a different experience.)

Fshoq!

Tuesday 17th of October 2017

I spent two weeks driving every day thru Romania and Hungary and the best memories came from Transylvania, not only because of majestic views but also from a good food.

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