NOUA. Bucătărie Românească — Restaurant in Bucharest

Disappointing Experience at Noua Bucătăria Românească

Last night, I had dinner at Noua Bucătăria Românească in Bucharest, drawn in by its reputation for modern Romanian fine dining and its ambitious 17-course tasting menu. Unfortunately, the experience fell drastically short of expectations — especially considering the high price point.

The meal begins with six dishes inspired by different regions of Romania, an idea that sounds promising on paper. However, the execution left much to be desired. Most of the dishes were either excessively salty, overwhelmingly sour, or featured flavor combinations that simply didn’t work together. While the plating was undoubtedly creative, the taste was, in many cases, unbearable.

Rather than offering a thoughtful, modern reinterpretation of Romanian cuisine, the menu felt more like a chaotic experiment where flavor and balance were forgotten. Several dishes were so poorly executed that they were inedible — we even sent some back untouched. What dominated the courses instead was an excessive use of shaved cheese and fermented vegetables, the latter tasting more rotten than refined.

Adding to the disappointment was the lukewarm temperature of the dishes, which made many of them feel like pre-prepared meals reheated in a microwave rather than freshly cooked fine dining creations. The entire kitchen felt more like it was assembling astronaut food for presentation than actually cooking with care.

Even more surprising was the stark contrast between our experience and the glowing reviews found online — both on Google and from well-known Romanian food bloggers. Some go so far as to call Noua the best Romanian restaurant, even suggesting it deserves a Michelin star. Honestly, that left me baffled. Just looking around the dining room during the evening, it was clear from the progressively more puzzled and dissatisfied expressions that we weren’t alone in our disappointment. At some point, I genuinely felt like we were part of an experiment — a culinary endurance test to see how much bad food we could tolerate.

When we finally gave feedback to our waiter about the overpowering, clashing flavors, we were met with a defensive reply: “It’s all about the experience.” Well, I’ll give them that — it was an experience. Just not the kind anyone would want to repeat. It was, without a doubt, one of the most unforgettable — and worst — meals I’ve ever had.

The idea of modernizing Romanian cuisine is a worthy and exciting challenge. Unfortunately, at Noua, it’s been lost in translation, resulting in a visually interesting but ultimately unpleasant and overpriced dining misadventure.

Given how many foreigners were also dining there, it felt particularly disappointing. Presenting Romanian food in this way — distorted, overworked, and ultimately flavorless — does a disservice to both the cuisine and the country. It borders on an insult to serve such a poorly conceived experience as a proud representation of our national food culture.

Perhaps Noua was once a great place, and maybe that’s what earned it its glowing online reputation. But right now, those five-star reviews and influencer endorsements are misleading — and honestly, doing everyone a disservice. Food, at its core, should nourish, delight, and connect. Here, it felt more like an ego-driven performance — one that forgot its audience and,...

MICHELIN-STAR GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCE IN BUCHAREST: THE MUST-VISIT PLACE TO EAT

My experience at a restaurant in Bucharest has been exceptional, comparable to the quality of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain. This establishment offers a tasting menu of Romanian-fusion cuisine with outstanding culinary technique. The service is remarkable, with staff proficient in multiple languages, including English, Romanian, and Spanish. The table presentation is impeccable, featuring high-quality utensils, plates, and cloth napkins.

The restaurant adopts an open kitchen concept, allowing diners to observe the chefs at work. It is noteworthy to see the inclusion of a woman in the kitchen team, and all staff members actively participate in delivering dishes, creating a dynamic and engaging experience.

The menu stands out for its reinvention of classic Romanian cuisine, highlighting flavors from various regions of the country. The proposal balances the hearty nature of Romanian cuisine with an 80% emphasis on vegetables, followed by a fish and a meat dish. The three desserts add a light and surprising touch.

Despite the high-quality experience, the price is perceived as "affordable" for this type of offering, standing out in terms of quality, price, and experience compared to other places in Bucharest. It wouldn't be surprising if this restaurant earns a Michelin star or makes its way onto European lists in the future.

The venue, a charming two-story house, hosts the open kitchen on the upper floor along with several tables. Attention to detail is evident from the start, with scented towels provided for hand cleaning before enjoying the starters.

Appetizers are presented playfully, using a wooden map of Romania divided into pieces. Each piece represents a region, and diners complete the puzzle while enjoying the starters, providing a comprehensive view of the country and its flavors. I particularly highlight a crispy tomato-filled delight, delicious and memorable.

Regarding the main courses, while all are noteworthy, I suggest enhancing the smoked flavor in the first for an improved experience. The combination of hot and cold ingredients in the second course is exceptional, and the lamb with mushroom and mushroom sauce is sublime. The desserts, surprisingly light for Romanian tradition, stand out, with the citrus one being my favorite.

In summary, this restaurant offers an outstanding menu that blends Romanian culinary tradition with modern techniques, providing an unforgettable...

Long review, but only because I care. Starting with the good: Entry dishes and their presentation - fabulous. Great idea, definitely a highlight of the evening. The duck and the purée was delice on it’s own. Fantastic! The soup and the presentation was definitely great.

And that’s about it for the goods. The bads: Tooooo many dishes! Tooooo sophisticated! Even the duck I mentioned above! It was great but the salad was a dish on it’s own and lived a separate life. The tastes do not combine :(. Most of the dishes hardly combine, tastes together. It is presented well, but the combination of tastes together to interpret it as a story, is well - lacking. Timing - this is simply an outcome of wanna serve tooo many dishes and for too many people. Like waiting time between dishes of over 40minutes is just unacceptable for a place that presents itself at this level. Service - you feel like you’re at a street market, everybody’s running around and understandable when you wait 40minutes for your dishes and then all of a sudden you’re literally given all of them almost at once. If you wannabe Micheline like, make sure to bring proper cutlery for each dish, do not just bring a choose your own, once. Too greedy owner. By this I mean, there’s is simply not enough space between the tables, and when your neighbours are served, the waiter can accidentally hit your glass. This means the waiters and cooks do not manage to prepare the food in time, resulting in a waiting time of 40mins. This also means the waiter doesn’t always remember to pour you water and/or wine. The food - out of the entree, the main dishes are overloaded either tastes, and that is not necessarily a good thing, the problem is these tastes do not necessarily combine well. I would say offer less yet better quality. Life motto: quality quantity. The deserts: of the cherry on top. These were okay-ish. The crème brûlée was not a cream it was just milky liquid. The new experimental pear, was okay. However from a Romanian restaurant I was expecting a take on the traditional cuisine, not french one - poorly executed. Price around 100euro p.p. That’s okay, but for the amount of mistakes...