Soro Lume — Restaurant in Bucharest

Recommended Romanian/Armenian Fusion Cuisine - Emerging (needs refinement).

Overall, I enjoyed the Romanian/Armenian fusion cuisine, but there are details that need to be refined to stand out in Bucharest.

A charming hidden spot that requires reservations for dining, its cozy ambiance includes a lovely patio with an open kitchen and a house with multiple rooms for indoor dining. In my opinion, the best area would be the kitchen bar (although the seating comfort could be improved in that area).

Update as of 18/01/2024: Couple's Dinner. The restaurant has implemented various recommendations, including making the menu available in English for diners. Furthermore, the portions of the main dishes have been adjusted to offer a customized tasting menu. This is a common practice in Bucharest and, though innovative for tasting menus in Europe, allows diners to choose the dishes they wish to try. It's important to note that one should not expect large portions; the focus is on savoring technique and flavors.

For me, the restaurant's definition aligns with the Japanese philosophy of Hara Hachi Bu, which means leaving the table satisfied but not overly full. On this occasion, the menu was different, and the following describes the dishes. -Autum in Obor : A very well-balanced dish with an incredible flavor that was a delight for both of us, we rate it a 10. We paired it with homemade bread. -Cath of the day:It was a very well-cooked dish, although the portion seemed a bit small for my partner; he could have eaten two. An 8. -Armenian Village Road:A dish with a very successful combination of flavors, it leaves you wanting more. A perfect 10. Desserts: -MBS:This dish, with caramel or tofu, was exquisite. Personally, I wasn't entirely convinced by the flavor combination, but I'll give it a 7 -The Unpredictable sweet:As for the dessert, it's the best for me—refreshing and smooth. Perfect to conclude the meal, a 10.

Price: 347 + Tip

Review from 2023:

I opted for the following: Fish pate (not listed on the menu). It had a good texture and tasted nice, although it could have had a more pronounced flavor. Notable. "Balmos din usa staniii" was a well-balanced dish that deserves a 10. Porc glazurat: a powerful dish that presented an interesting contrast between the meat and the sour vegetables, with a taste reminiscent of wood/not smoked. Notable.

If you're dining alone, I recommend ordering just one starter and one main course; otherwise, the main course might be too much. I accompanied my meal with water and a Roman wine recommended by the waiter, which excellently enhanced the flavors of the food.

To improve, I suggest switching to cloth napkins, modernizing the cutlery, adjusting the presentation of the pate to include the bread on the same plate, adding a light citrus dessert to the menu, and moderating the music in the venue (to create a more ambient atmosphere). Translating the menu to English daily via a QR code would be beneficial. Starters should be served one at a time, except for appetizers, which can be served together if aiming for a tasting experience. It's crucial to decide whether to offer a custom tasting menu or a la carte options. Currently, the portion sizes of the main courses do not correspond to a tasting menu; they are too large, especially considering the heavy nature of Romanian cuisine. This detracts from the experience for those of us who expect a tasting menu, as it limits the number of...

Nice entrance and on hindsight i would have sat in terrace after sunset.

Cooking here is very impressive, blend of fresh, pickled and smoke flavours.

You typical know you are in for a good start when the resturant measures carbs protein and calories in the menu.

But on to the food, which is what counts. Ranked in order of favourites: Appetisers: - paired with local blanc de blanc sparkling and white tamaioasa romaneasca

1. fire smoked bread with homemade smoked sturgeon pate - was a lovely starter, topped with pickled veg, gave a smoke, refreshing acidity and umami flavor in each bite. The bread on its own, high hydration slight chewy with the smoke was lovely even on its own.

2. smoked poleta - we didnt order this, the service messed up and brought it to the wrong table. But what a good mistake. Honestly who orders Polenta on its own, its usually a side kick for some other main stage crustacean or protein or veg. But this.... For us to eat it alone and like it says a lot. Its mixed with cheese which was great to the smoked firmish polenta cubes.

3. smoked cabbage - looks lovely but taste wise it didnt standout like the other 2 before. Needs another dimension of spice or flavour to just smoked.

Mains:

1. lamb skewers - lightest flavoured lamb dish tasted ever. The pickled veg and cream really enhanced the lightness of a mild tasting lamb. A dish with good acidity and flavour, could have even been an appetisers. paired with a local pinot noir

2. beef tongue- again wow. Didn't expect beef tongue to made so tender. Usually it gets firm when grilled and boiled. The sauce of olive and leek paired well with the beef. A beef that was boiled, chilled and the grilled over fire foe smoke. Impressive preperation. paired with local red Fetasca Neagra Dessert:

3. Veal Brains- yes, brains.. Usually in asia its a tonic, here in Romania a dessert😋. If brains were cooked this way, i am sure every kid whose parents tried to feed them brains would lick the dish clean. Had good texture with the crumble and fruity flavours to balance the pastey taste of brains.

4. apple curd custard - had several flavours but could be better with more textural crunchy dimension. Still good but cant discern the flavour profiles like the rest of the dishes aside from apple, carmel and custard. Perhaps bolder walnut flavors and chips would make the dish better.

6 star cooking, 4 for service which got...

It is a real food experience, basically it takes traditional style Romanian cooking and gives it a proper upgrade. We were 3 people and had the chance to experiment with quite a few things. The wine choice is really good but that is expected. The bread has the proper taste from my childhood which is really hard to nail. The bulz tastes like a traditional one but looks nothing like it which blew my mind, the meatball tasted like what a Romanian meat ball is supposed to taste like but that sauce amps up tye game to 10+, the șalău with fish sarmale was executed really well, the fish was crunchy yet soft reminded me of how fish is supposed to taste and the sarmale were really experimental interesting how they used the leek wrapping and even if the taste wasn't my cup of tea I'm still happy i tried it, the mutton was grounded up and had a bone sauce, it had a very familiar stew taste but the sauces and texture were exquisite, had the beans and stuffed bread, beans tasted the way they are supposed to while looking fancy while the stuffed bread had a bit too much focus on the mustard seeds, looked very nice. The dessert just blew my mind, the title mbs which is a savory type of food from my childhood and kicked into overdrive with 2 different type of traditional cheeses with caramel on top and thyme, let me put it this way, it tastes like nothing you have tried before but at the same time it hits close to home, only someone that loves food and lives in Romania could have created this masterpiece, it is very difficult for me to forget this dessert. Overall this place understands fundamentally what Romania tastes like,shows true love for the culture and knows how to use the tools (you could taste it in the bread). If you tried a lot of Romanian food this should reflect the next...