Vatra Neamului — Restaurant in Centru Sector

Very nice food in a smart central traditional restaurant. A nice atmosphere in historic styled room. At other times I might find traditional musicians (a popular theme in Belgrade restaurants) annoying, but these ladies singing and dancing and the accordion player did add atmosphere and were relatively unobtrusive. I had one vegetarian and one meat dish. Neither were what I expected them to be (the vege option bean stew more like a light soup), the beef stew was deconstructed (meat, veg, potato, sauce) but both were very good. Service was polite but very slow. It was one hour after arriving that I got any food. This included me taking a long time to order, and the delay by my not knowing Romanian. A waiter tried to help me in English. Soup was served without bread which would be unusual if not strange in England, and heretical in Serbia or Albania or Macedonia I think. Another reason for delay might have been that although the room I was in (to the side of the entrance) was a little too quiet, the main room that seemed to be on the left hand side of the entrance appeared to be full when I looked in briefly from outside. The only disappointment was that I wanted to try some Moldovan wine and would have liked a glass of red wine with my beef stew. They had a great wine list. But they only sold wine by the bottle. I didn't at that time want to buy a bottle (and fairly pricey choices albeit of wines I believe to be good. The menu listed half bottles but I think the waiter told me that they only had full bottles. Maybe I misunderstood, or maybe he didn't think I would have ordered a half...

The food was good, the wine and other drinks overpriced, however when about to pay they said we cannot pay by card as the device is not working. Also they mentioned they accept foreign currency at their exchange rate (I doubt this is legal). As we were a bigger group and we did not have enough cash with us, we asked to find a solution, and out of nowhere the device was working so we could use the card. In exactly the same time, two other colleagues of ours were sitting on the terrace, and they were told the same line and they had to pay cash. After discussing with other people, apparently this is a scheme they usually use, pretending the card payment is not working (maybe more often with foreigners). Quite...

Traditional Romanian and Moldovan Cuisine paired with traditional ambience. Best part was a separate section for vegetarians in the Menu. They have very good traditional live music during evenings. We enjoyed the food, place and music so much that we visited it thrice in a week. Their beans soup and fried potatoes (they serve it along side cooked semolina) were amazing. Even their freshly baked traditional bread was also very delicious. To go here and have a meal is a delightful and historical experience which gives you a ride into the romanian /...