All the Food I Tried (and You Need to Try) When Visiting Romania

Romanian cuisine threw me off a bit during my visit. I went in reading about the country’s hearty meat dishes, but I found much more variety than I’d have thought for a Balkan country.

Romania’s cultural and geographical influences are visible in its food, as you’ll find a cool mix of hearty Balkan classics, Hungarian holdovers from Transylvania’s past, and surprise influences from neighbors like Serbia and Italy.

Here’s a rundown of the Romanian dishes (and a few honorary imports) that were most memorable to me that you should put on your list!

Mici

Grilled minced-meat sausages seasoned with garlic and spices

Mici is Romania’s version of ćevapi (ćevapčići), which are grilled minced-meat sausages you’ll find in some form in nearly every Balkan country. They’re small, skinless sausages made from a mix of ground meats (usually beef, pork, and lamb), seasoned heavily with garlic, black pepper, and a mix of spices, then grilled until they’re charred on the outside and juicy inside.

Romanian mici stand out from other Balkan ćevapi variations thanks to their heavy garlic seasoning, a beef-pork-lamb blend, and a splash of baking soda and bone broth that gives them a distinctly bouncy, airy texture you won’t find anywhere else in the region.

Order them with a side of mustard and fresh bread, if it doesn’t already come with it!

Kürtőskalács

A sweet, sugar-crusted “chimney cake” cooked on a spit over an open flame

I’d already had my fair share of chimney cake in Budapest, and I wasn’t expecting to find good ones in Romania too. However, the one I got from a vendor way up at Bâlea Lake along the Transfăgărășa was honestly better than any kürtőskalács I had in Hungary (don’t tell that to Hungarians!). Maybe it was the mountain air making the warm, sugar-crusted cake taste even better, who knows.

Either way, you’ll find kürtőskalács throughout the Transylvania region, since it used to belong to Hungary and that food influence still remains today.

Pljeskavica

Serbia’s take on a hamburger: flattened, spiced meat patty with onions, ketchup and cheese

Pljeskavica is essentially a Serbian burger, and while it is not a Romanian dish, it’s commonly found int he Banat region of far Western Romania. I tried pljeskavica at a local market in Timisoara. Admittedly, it wasn’t my favorite, but I later tried a pljeskavica that was much better.

If you’re spending any time in Timișoara, keep an eye out for it. It’s an example of how Romania’s food scene isn’t just Romanian, but shaped by the many cultures surrounding the country. I actually found Romania to have some of the best Italian restaurants I’ve ever dined at!

Chiftele

Pan-fried meatballs made with beef, bread, egg, and herbs

These are Romanian-style meatballs, made with ground beef mixed with bread and herbs, then pan-fried until they’re golden and crisp on the outside. I had my chiftele at a farmstay out in the Banat countryside. Mine were served with mashed potatoes. It was quite filling, but very tasty. They were made by an older woman who clearly had been perfecting her recipe for decades.

Sarmale

Slow-cooked cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice

Sarmale might be the most “grandma’s kitchen” dish I had in all of Romania, and fittingly, that’s exactly where I had my best version of it, at that same countryside farmstay. It’s minced meat and rice wrapped in pickled cabbage leaves, slow-cooked for hours. It tends to be served with a dollop of sour cream and a side of cornmeal polenta (mămăligă).

Sarmale takes real time and patience to make right, and you can taste every hour of it. If you get the chance to eat it homemade rather than at a restaurant, take it! It’s a completely different dish and arguably my favorite Romanian food!

Albinița

Layered honey cake with semolina cream and jam

Albinița was the dessert that closed out one of my favorite meals in Romania. It’s a layered honey cake comprised of thin, slightly caramelized layers stacked with a semolina cream and tangy jam. The name literally translates to “little bee,” a nod to the honey baked right into the layers. I had two servings of Albania in the Transylvanian countryside, one of which came at a guesthouse in the fortified village of Viscri. They were sliced up nicely and addicting to say the least.

Papănași

Fried cheese-dough donuts topped with cream and berries

These fried cheese-dough donuts topped with cream and berry compote are one of the most uniquely Romanian dishes. Papanasi finds the perfect blend of sweet and savory.

My favorite version of papănași came from Caru’ cu Bere, a famous restaurant in Bucharest. I’d highly recommend booking a dinner if visiting the Romanian capital, as the building alone is worth seeing. It’s a beautifully preserved Neo-Gothic beer hall dating back to 1899, with hand-painted murals, stained glass, and carved wood paneling.

Garlic Langos

Deep-fried dough brushed or rubbed with cheese, garlic, or other toppings

Langos is fried dough, plain and simple. However, after trying a few different Langos from street vendors in Timisoara, I have to say that the garlic one was literally incredible, which felt so random. The simple brush of garlic oil gave it a sharp, pungent bite that cut right through the richness of the fried dough.

Langos is another traditionally Hungarian dish, so if you do find it, it will likely be in western Romania close to the Hungarian border, or throughout Transylvania.

Ciorbă de Fasole

Sour, smoky white bean soup with a tangy broth

Ciorbă de fasole is a sour white bean soup, usually made with smoked meat like ham hocks or sausage, and given that distinct tang Romanian soups are known for through a splash of borș (fermented wheat bran liquid) or vinegar.

It’s on the heartier side and exactly what you want after a long day of hiking or driving through the mountains. I found this to be one of the most commonly found dishes on menus in Romanian restaurants.

Supă de Nimic

Simple broth-based soup made from vegetables and eggs

The name Supă de Nimic translates to “soup from nothing,” and it’s exactly as humble as it sounds. It’s a super simple broth-based soup, often built from just vegetables, eggs, and a bit of sour cream, without any meat at all. The story behind this dish is interesting, as it dates back to a time when people had little money and few ingredients to work with during the communist period.

While the flavor was standard, it’s definitely one of the most distinct Romanian dishes thanks to the history behind the soup.

Ciorbă de Perișoare

Sour tomato broth loaded with small meatballs

This was a LOADED soup, but oh so flavorful. Ciorba de Perisoara is a sour, tomato-based soup packed with small meatballs, carrots, and herbs, finished with that same tangy borș that shows up in a lot of Romanian soups. It’s comfort food in a bowl, and another one of the most popular dishes you’ll see on menus across the country.

Plăcintă cu Mere

Pastry filled with cinnamon-spiced sweetened apples

Plăcintă cu mere is not far off from typical apple pie, as it’s a pastry filled with sweetened, cinnamon-spiced apples (think somewhere between a pie and a hand pastry depending on where you get it). It’s a solid, no-frills way to end a meal if you still have an appetite. As someone who loves cinnamon apple flavored dishes, I was a big fan.