Eating Out

Even though restaurant dining is still reserved for special occasions in Romania, there are plenty of restaurants from which to choose, especially in tourist areas. Most restaurants serve Romanian food, but one can also find Turkish, Greek, or Chinese. For an average Romanian family it is very expensive to go to a restaurant. Moderate sit-down restaurants require nicer casual clothes (no jeans, no shorts) at least. Restaurants are typically open all day; lunch is served from 11:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. and dinner from 6:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. Dinner is the main meal of the day, but many restaurants serve the same menu for both lunch and dinner.

Romanian cuisine is meat-based with very few vegetarian alternatives. A formal dinner begins with soup and continues with a main course of meat, potato, vegetables, and salad. Common salads include lettuce salad, tomato and cucumber salad, or cabbage salad; all come with the dressing already mixed in. Dessert is usually a sweet cake or ice cream. Desserts tend to be very sweet and rich by American standards. If the restaurant accepts credit cards, it will be posted on the front door; otherwise, one must pay cash.

Delivery services exist, but usually only for fast food or pizza. Students usually eat in fast food restaurants that feature a variety of pizza, hot sandwiches and hamburgers. Ice cream shops are versatile spots where one can order sandwiches as well as sweets. Many kiosks on the street sell hot dogs, sandwiches, and pretzels.