Berăria Poftă sau Foame — Restaurant in Zona Metropolitană Brașov

I hate to leave a bad review, especially when I was excited to come to this place. I was very ready to eat and drink a lot and this place seemed perfect for that. For context, I don’t speak Romanian and I was waited on by an older lady who didn’t speak much English. From the moment I sat down, it felt like my presence in her section was bothering her. I ordered my drink and was happy with the liter of beer that I received. I was looking at the menu for a moment but wasn’t ready to eat just yet. The waitress came over and said Yes? Yes? And pointed at the menu. I said oh I am just looking at the menu. She then snatched the menu from the table without saying another word. It was at that moment that I knew it was time to go. I finished my beer and asked for the check. The waitress brought the check and walked away. Odd but ok. I pulled out my credit card and she walked over and said no cash only. I said I don’t have cash and she told me that I have to tell her before how I will pay. I said I do not understand the problem. At the point, she went to the other waitresses and all I heard was “Explica Al straini”. For those of you who know French or Spanish or Italian, I was a foreigner who needs to be explained how things worked. Her fellow colleagues wouldn’t help her and she printed another bill without saying another word to me. I left as soon as that receipt printed out. Too bad since I had high hopes and was ready to spend some money there. Non Romanian speakers beware, try to get a younger member of staff to help you. Or better yet, just go...

The place is overall nice and has plenty of space, but was a bit cold.

As for the food, the soup was not seasoned, but not something some salt and pepper couldn't fix. Just a bit plain. The recommended schnitzel was very tasty as well as the mushroom sauce. As a side I wouldn't recommend the garlic potatoes, being quite plain as well and would instead go with fries.

The service was at most alright, initially. For the soup we did not receive any seasoning initially. While fast service is usually, appreciated, I would rather eat my soup without having to navigate my elbow around the second course. Everything was rushed. So far it might seem alright, however one of our group asked for the food to go and we would've expected the food to be packed (I assume server was in a rush again). Instead, the server came back with just a paper bag and later with ome cardboard box, even though we had 3 meals to be packed.

At the end, the server presented the tipping options as 10% would be the minimum amount. After we asked for a lower tip, the server insisted the food came very fast which was very unprofessional.

UPDATE as I can't reply to owner's message:

I would rather not go into more detail on the identity of the server. I hope the issues above would be addressed at a restaurant level. I'm more than happy to change my review if the situation will be different on my next visit as I want the review to be as true to the...

First, the atmosphere is the best. It's lively and makes for a great social environment. The service was ok. Service is one of the more difficult things in Romania. I do not expect US style service. I feel I shouldn't have to ask you to come by the table for things. I realize this place gets busy, but good service will bring in more customers, even if the food isn't great Prices were a little high, maybe it's because of the location? My biggest issue is with the food. While most items seem ok, they have a burger on the menu. I'm asking the manager or owner to remove it now. Please do not offer American style food if you are going to make it bad. I love Romanian food and have only eaten Romanian food since my visit. But I saw burger and wanted to try it. The burger patties were burnt beyond recognition. Dry, and completely waste of food. I forced myself to eat half because I do not like to waste food in such hard times. Please make the burgers thicker and not over cooked, beef will continue to cook 10 mins after removed from heat source. Or, just remove the item and forget it about. If no one eats them, just remove it.

My goal is to make Romanian restaurants better, I hope this helps. Romania is a beautiful country with beautiful people, let's make the...