Caru' cu bere — Restaurant in Bucharest

Visited on a Monday morning around 11am, it wasn’t until 1pm that it started to get busy, however they still sat us directly next to the other three tables in the section, and packed us in very tight to the point I moved the table three or four inches just so that my back wasn’t touching someone else’s chair. I asked to move to somewhere more private as there was a whole empty restaurant and I was abruptly told ‘it’s up to the hostess’. Hostess never came over, and no one offered to find a solution.

The waitress stood next to us with an iPad for us to order without really acknowledging us, didn’t say ‘what would you like’ or anything similar which was quite awkward…

We ordered the mititei, samale, braised cabbage, polenta, and the kranzy sausages with cheese. It was as all so fatty and oily and salty I couldn’t eat more than a bite or two of each. Hoping the braised cabbage would be tangy and sour and lighten the rest up, we tried that but also too salty.

The waitress came to take our food away, asked me if the food was ok, I explained it was too salty and fatty and she just stared at me with no response at all, for a good few moments, until I felt inclined to say - it’s fine, don’t worry about it, just so the interaction finished. No discussion about it, no apology, no offer to talk to the kitchen about it or offer us anything off the bill (I don’t expect anything off the bill, more than happy to pay full price as we received the food, just a note on the lack of accommodation or courtesy). She could have just turned around and said ‘that’s what it’s supposed to taste like’ and I would have thought, yeah fair enough and just dealt with it, at least there would’ve been some sort of acknowledgement or chat. It was all a very strange experience and I felt like they thought their restaurant or attention was too good for us.

We asked for the bill, and told her the amount that we’d be paying which was the total non inclusive of a service charge, and she stared at us blankly again, and pointed to the total with the service charge. We repeated which total we’d like to pay, the one without the tip, and again she pointed and said ‘this is the one with the tip’. In the end she rolled her eyes and shrugged when we said we won’t be leaving one. I’ve worked in hospitality, the service & food and beverage industry for nearly 20 years and I don’t think I’ve ever taken a service charge off, nor have I felt pressured to leave one.

The building is gorgeous but the service was awful and the food was inedible. Hopefully it is just due to Monday morning service, and if you booked on a weekend or evening you would receive better food and experience. I peronsally think it’s a tourist trap with no heart and was very...

Food: The food was overpriced and terribly cooked. Do not bother coming here. They care very little about catering to all dietary requirements. More than that, the fish texture was like it had been chucked in the microwave. Overcooked at some parts, undercooked at others and very watery. Terrible seasoning, they clearly chucked salt on there and were done. The dish came with two tiny chunks of salmon, definitely not the ‘imperial Salmon I was promised’ and it cost over 99lei. I decided to pay for chips as well which was 25,50 lei. The meat was dry and not to standard. The “wagyu” is clearly a lie, maybe 0.001% of wagyu meat was chucked into a grinder with supermarket mince so they can call it that. The excitement for the pork knuckle was ridiculous, it was dry and gross. Our starter of a “cheese platter” was disgustingly laughable. With three horrible, cheap cheeses chucked on a plate surrounded by crappy sliced vegetable (tomatoes and peppers mainly) and two huge, uncut spring onions on top. This was 95lei of cheap crap.

Service: Service was absolutely atrocious. We had the displeasure of being served by Marius C. He was rude, short and grumpy. Wouldn’t listen to us and was very unclear. Took two hours from sit down to get our mains. Took twenty minutes just to be greeted! No water was served at any point in the meal.

Atmosphere: If you are tempted to go because of the dancing, don’t be. The queue to be seated/taken to the waiting areas is not managed at all and they have placed tables in this tiny area. This means that if you have booked the main hall to watch the events, like we had, there is no point because you can’t see anything. People are constantly bumping into you, crashing into your table and knocking over your chairs. Completely uncomfortable, awkward and unacceptable. You are squished in next to other tables like rats. There is also a creepy clown with a live bird wondering the restaurant who does demand money after of giving you cheap props and insisting he take a photo with it.

There are so many lovely places in Bucharest, do not be dragged into this hyped up tourist trap. The food, entertainment and service is cheap, unprofessional and downright repulsive. They must pay for these reviews I swear because this whole experience was a disappointment, start to finish. You can get so much more for your money!!...

We came to eat at this place twice during our trip in Bucharest, and each time was an appreciated, agreeable and memorable experience.

The restaurant itself : This restaurant is renowned for its architecture. The façade is beautiful. However, the interior can be considered too dark by some people, but, personally, I loved this Neo Gothic atmosphere. In addition, the toilets are clean.

The location: Caru' cu Bere is located in a beautiful listed building, in the historical (and pedestrian) center of the Romanian capital, close to the Stavropoleos monastery.

The service : It is a very busy place, but it is also huge: there are two floors and a large terrace. Thus, don't hesitate to ask for a table even if the number of clients you see would make you hesitate. Each time we came, almost the whole terrace was occupied, but we always found a table available for one hour and a half to two hours inside. Eventually, the wait wasn't too long.

The food : Now, I will talk about the most important part of my comment: the food. We had freshly squeezed lemonade with honey on the bottom of the glass; slices of bread; a typical bean soup in a bread; « sarmale » (cooked cabbage sticks) with polenta, meat and sauce; and « papanași » (Romanian doughnuts), which are the best doughnuts we have ever eaten. They are moist inside and a little bit crunchy outside thanks to the sugar on it, with cheese cream and a blueberry coulis. We found them delicious, although we don't really like doughnuts in general. Concerning the portions, they are very, maybe too generous. For instance, my family and I (four in total) took one doughnut for each of us, while one plate contains two. There are also many classic brasserie dishes (like Caesar salad, hamburgers) and others being from different parts of Romania.

As you probably understood, I totally recommend...