Livada - Cluj — Restaurant in Cluj Metropolitan Area

I've eaten at Livada before, and all three: the food, the service, the atmosphere have been marvelous, a 5/5 experience. I particularly recommend the Halloumi Burger with sweet potatoes, any lemonade, and the lava cake.

Well, things have changed over time, or at least that was the case for our latest visit: despite the lack of customers, the 4 waiters (all men) to whom we interacted, have caused us some inconvenience. The first one directed us to the table, and never came back in spite of the fact that we called him politely: "Sir, may you take our order? May you come here?" 0 consideration.

We noticed that the Cluj's mayor was there. He also tried to reach out to the waiters, with 0 consideration to him as well. That's the moment when we realized that we had to reach out to them and beg for them to take out order. So one of us reached out to waiter #2 that normally wouldn't care for our table, but he said he would make an effort and send waiter #3.

Waiter #3 came shortly. We both ordered a beverage and a burger, 4 different things. 3 minutes later, the beverages arrive, all good. 5 more minutes later, my partner's burger arrives, mine not. I told myself: "Okay, no worries, mine will arrive shortly." It didn't. 10 more minutes later, when waiter #3 was taking another table's order, I asked him politely if my burger was on its way. His face shocked, he reached his notebook, asked me: "Did you want any food?" I said politely again: "Yes, yes, we both ordered a beverage and some food." He nodded, went to the kitchen, and eventually, I got my burger. Happy ending, and we ate happily ever after.

Waiter #4 only stole our menus :))

Yes, the food and the beverages were great, the cozyness of Livada's garden mesmerizing, but the waiters should make an effort. I would have understood if it was overcrowded, but that was not the case. The garden was filled 20%.

Note: Burgers' Meat is prepared medium by...

My latest experience was pretty bad, to be honest and the one before wasn't much better so I will definitely avoid this establishment. First of all, half of the stuff in the menu were unavailable and the ones that were, where the most basic ones. Second, they are cheap with customers and I'll give you an example. I ordered "somon burger with fried sweet potatos" but they didn't have the somon burger available. I asked if I can get the normal "livada burger with normal fries" but with "sweet potatoes" instead and they told me that only if I order them separately. I think the pandemic affected their brains quite a bit. The burger that I got was genuinely horrible - it was cold, the meet was not cooked properly, the sauce seemed off (like forgotten in a bottle since before the pandemic) and the fries were greasy, unsalted and untasty. Other people at my table had similar issues with food quality. Thirdly, the wine list is very limited and full of noname wineries with questionable wine quality and premium prices. Fourthly, the waiter seemed to "not be all up there" with long waiting times for beer, water and lemonade refills - it but of chasing him around was necessary. Finally, when we asked for the check, we asked if we can split the bill and pay separately by card or cash to which the waiter replied that this is not possible. Well, it is possible if he wanted to do his job right and reduce the clients' stress of having to send money around the table. All in all, a terrible experience and I advice against visiting such food...

Update... we did go back, with a friend this time. From the summer menu I chose a salmon dish this time and I asked to not overcook it. The fish came out perfect! Thank you chef, it was great. My two table partners chose a pizza and a pasta. Both were okay, but not more than that. All in all, therefore still 4 out of 5 stars. It's good but not great. Extra cheer, though, for the staff... they are excellent and very professional.

We had a lovely dinner the other day. My squid tentacle as a starter was well prepared and very tasty. The sea food risotto tasted good, but wasn't exciting. The mussels were too salty and risotto should be more "wet". My girlfriend had the salmon. The combination of flavours was excellent (especially the parnsnip puree was delicious). For me, the salmon was overcooked, but I understand this is how Romanians like it. Drinks were good, service was okay. The interior is interesting at first, but overall a bit boring. More could be done. Especially if you ask somewhat higher-ranged prices. Nevertheless, a place we'd both happily come back to (in the summer, when they have nice,...