Traditional Romanian Experience: Take 2

After our disappointing attempt to find some tasty Romanian food in Brasov, we tried again, this time in Sibiu.

Being a much bigger town than Brasov, we hoped we’d have more choice of restaurants, but instead of relying solely on photos of food, this time I turned to TripAdvisor for some restaurant reviews. I don’t normally like Trip Advisor, mainly because reviews can be so biased as to one bad or good experience which doesn’t reflect the majority and also because I’m pretty sure some reviews are bought or written by owners or owners’ friends themselves. Anyhow, the number one restaurant was Crama Sibiul Vechi and as it is also the oldest restaurant in town, we decided that this was probably the best place to find good Romanian food in Sibiu.

Our decision was enhanced by the fact that when we turned up, the restaurant was full-to-bursting and there was no table for us, even on a Thursday night. At first, one of the waiters told us that there were no tables, but with some persistence we were told to come back in around twenty minutes, when hopefully at least one table would be free. So we braved the cold night air and waited.

Sure enough, once we got back to this intimate cellar restaurant, there were two tables paying the bill and getting ready to leave. We sat down and were treated to some traditional Romanian folk music by a two-piece band (apparently there is live music every night).

I had read on reviews of the restaurant that service can be very slow, and it was, but to be fair there were at least two large parties in on this occasion and only two waiters serving everybody. Plus, as it was nice and warm inside the restaurant as opposed to outside and the live music was being played, we really didn’t mind waiting for them to take our order.

We ordered a portion of the breaded deep-fried cheese to share for starters; I have seen this on many Romanian menus and it reminds me of a dish I use to have at an old Austrian restaurant I used to visit with my family, so was sure I’d enjoy it.

For main course I ordered the Peasant’s Stew with polenta, while Scott ordered the Sarmale – a very popular Romanian dish consisting of meat rolled inside cabbage leaves.

We also ordered a half jug of the home-made house white wine, which came in a ceramic carafe and was delivered to the table along with the bread. My only issue with the bread that is served in Romanian restaurants is that they never seem to give you a side plate to eat it off of, thus the table usually ends up covered in crumbs. Oh well.

The starters arrived and the chef had split the two slices of cheese between two plates to make it easier to share, which is always a bonus. The cheese was gooey and not dry or greasy at all. We were definitely off to a good start.

Then came the main course. A pile of polenta sat in the middle of my Peasant’s Stew, and surprisingly on top of that there was a fried egg (not an unwelcome addition), plus a sprinkling of cheese. It was definitely appealing to the eye, particularly on a cold winter night. The stew included pork and slices of sausage in a rich sauce which I had to mop up with the bread.

Scott’s dish was also a winner. Not only did he get the cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat, a side of sliced cabbage and polenta, but also a large cut of pork which sat on top of the dish. Definitely good value for money.

At the end of the two courses I was full and had no room for dessert, even though I had been dying to try the traditional local dessert of Papanasi (round donut-shaped balls filled with sweet cream cheese and usually topped with some kind of fruit/fruit sauce and cream).

We left feeling a sense of accomplishment that we had at last eaten some good Romanian dishes, and even with a starter and a jug of wine, the bill was cheaper than our last attempt.

If you follow in our foodsteps:

• The restaurant is located at Str.Al.P.Ilarian  Sibiu, Romania, down a side street between a bank and the Billa supermarket in the centre of Sibiu.
• If dining from Thursday to Sunday, it’s probably best to try and make a table reservation as the restaurant gets particularly busy, or to wait until later in the evening (after 9pm).