Eat Out in The Best Restaurants, Bars & Cafes in Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca, Romania, offers fantastic restaurant and dining options. These include places serving traditional Romanian cuisine. Cluj has a vibrant cafe culture throughout the central areas, most with indoor or outdoor seating.

The central square area overlooking the Roman Catholic Cathedral is a top area for eating out. The side roads toward the Franciscan Church are also a fun place to be in the evening.

Best Restaurants & Bars in Cluj-Napoca

Here are some of the best-rated restaurants, bars and cafés in the city that I’ve visited. This includes some dog-friendly places. Options range from traditional Romanian restaurants to trendy bars.

Social People – One of the Best Restaurants in Cluj

Social People is one of the best restaurants for food and ambience. We discovered Social People by accident while taking a shortcut and are glad we did. The interior is very nicely decorated in a relaxed-formal style. The servers were friendly, spoke good English and provided excellent service.

For drinks, we enjoyed some draught lagers and a bottle of radler. For starters, we tried their chicken liver pâté. This was a substantial portion. It could have fed a few people with a bit more toasted bread. The flavours were great, and I really enjoyed this.

For my main course, I enjoyed their baby back ribs cooked in barbecue sauce. They served this on a bed of mashed potatoes with a side of homemade slaw. This was a delicious main course, and the ribs were very tender.

Vărzărie Restaurant

Vărzărie Restaurant is a nice place that serves traditional local cuisine. They have a pleasant indoor seating area and a fantastic courtyard for alfresco dining. They even have some nifty street art in the courtyard.

Their menu is interesting and includes a local dish, Varza a la Cluj. This is a cabbage dish made with minced meat, sour cream and herbs. It’s delicious and reminds me a bit of a cross between sarmale and meatloaf. They also have Romanian beers on their menu, including Ciuc Premium.

Enigma: One of The Best Bars

Enigma is one of the best bars in the centre of Cluj, especially when it’s quiet in the daytime. It sits on the road linking the two cathedrals, at Strada Iuliu Maniu 12. When you enter Enigma for the first time, the unique decor will grab your attention. The entire bar is distinctive in appearance. They also have the Secret Garden to the rear of the bar, basically a beer garden with street art on the walls.

Enigma provides at-the-table service for both drinks and food. They have a decent drinks menu, including a variety of continental beers. Their food menu has some modern dishes and some classic Romanian cuisine.

I enjoyed a few Staropramen beers on my visit and lunch, too. Their house burger was cooked well and had all the extras a burger needs.

Old School Coffee House

A cafe-bar that I enjoyed visiting frequently is the Old School Coffee House. Old School Coffee House is in the city centre and has a nice venue. They have indoor and outdoor seating at the bar, both of which are pleasant. It’s a quiet place in the daytime for a beer or two. However, the vibe gets more vibrant in the evenings and on weekends.

Old School Coffee House has a good range of drinks, including good-value beers. You can pop to the bar and choose your drinks. I found it a bit more social, and it was easy to chat with the other patrons.

Casa Dacilor: A Traditional Restaurant

At Iulius Mall, overlooking the mall’s lake, Casa Dacilor is a fantastic traditional Romanian restaurant. It’s a large place with both indoor and outdoor seating. The restaurant’s interior is traditionally decorated.

They offer a selection of drinks, including local beers and wines. I enjoyed Bucur, a blonde beer, with my meal. They have a comprehensive menu with lots of options. For starters, I enjoyed Varza a la Cluj, which was big enough to fill me up.

For the main course, I enjoyed pork covered with cheese and potatoes. Overall, the food at Casa Dacilor was delicious and very hearty.

Joben Experience Bar: A Unique Place

Another highly decorated and unique bar that serves food is Joben Experience Bar. Joben Experience Bar is a fantastic place to visit, and its decor is fascinating. They are quite small and thus have limited tables; however, it’s easy to get a seat for lunch during the week.

They serve a variety of drinks, including wines, beer and cocktails. I enjoyed a few Bucur beers at Joben Experience Bar while taking in the view and waiting for my lunch.

For food, I opted for their pulled pork burger, which was delicious. They served this with chips and sauce. The burger’s garnish was tasty, as was the pulled pork.

Boierul restaurant

Friends recommended Boierul Restaurant for good, tasty traditional Romanian cuisine. The restaurant was good, and they served some tasty dishes. The restaurant has a nice interior and has big, long tables. It is a neighbourhood restaurant in the city’s suburbs. They served drinks at the table. I enjoyed Ursus, a Transylvanian lager, and a few shots of Tuica.

On my visit, I started with bean soup, or “Ciorba de fasole”, which is probably one of Romania’s most traditional dishes. They served this soup with optional red onion slices, sour cream, and bread. For mains, they introduced me to the delicacy of mici sausage without the skin, served with polenta. Mici has become a firm favourite of mine, and I even cook my twist on the dish.

Carrousel in the park

Enjoy a summer afternoon or evening sitting out at the Island Restaurant on Central Park Lake. The Carousel restaurant serves great food and a great selection of wine or cocktails. Carrousel is a lakeside eatery serving delicious contemporary food and cocktails.

The chicken here was very flavourful and well presented, making for a thoroughly enjoyable meal in stunning surroundings. The outside seating area is a great place to chill out after a nice walk in the park.

Shadow Cafe-Bar

In the nicely lit streets of Old Town is my favourite local restaurant, Shadow Cafe-Bar. Shadow Cafe-Bar is a very informal place with outside seating, a covered area with solid wooden furniture, and inside seating, too. It is a popular place to eat or drink later in the evening and attracts many of the city’s students.

The beer is local, with options for different Ursus varieties, all served at the table by friendly servers. Food I have enjoyed here includes mici and mustard, small local sausages with cheese. Tripe soup is also on the menu here, and it is a very well-cooked version.

Another nice dish they serve is their beef steak and mash, which was nicely cooked on my last visit. If you’re out late and other places are no longer serving food, the Shadow Cafe-Bar is often open.

Casa Veche

Casa Veche sits on the beautiful side streets near the Art Museum and Franciscan Church. Casa Veche is a traditional Romanian restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. I ate out here in the late summer on a sunny day, so I sat at an outside table with a parasol.

For drinks, I reverted to my favourite local beer, Ursus Retro, which came in a bottle. This lager is very refreshing and very easy to drink, with a nice flavour.

For food, we started with a Transylvanian-style bean soup with smoked pork, and mici with mustard as the other starter. For mains, I went for a simple grilled pork dish, cooked to perfection and tasty.

Rhedey Cafe and Bar

In the main square is Rhedey Cafe, a nice place with outside seating. This venue has magnificent views of the statues outside the Roman Catholic Cathedral and enjoys the hustle and bustle of the town square.

The beer was great here; they had some delightful options, including St Stefanus, a Belgian abbey beer, which is a strong tipple at 7% strength. They also have a great selection of normal-strength local beers like Ursus. Ursus has become a firm favourite of mine when in Transylvania.

The Rhedey food menu has a wonderful selection of dishes. Their goulash is very good with massive chunks of tender meat. It has great flavours and was filling. Their covered outdoor seating is a lovely place to sit out in the evenings.

Euphoria Biergarten: A Top Bar Near the Park

Near the city park is Euphoria Biergarten, a great place to drink or eat out. It’s a great bar to pop in for a drink, with plenty of good drink options. I visited during the winter, so I sat inside their restaurant, which was nicely decorated. I enjoyed a few beers at Euphoria Biergarten and spent a quiet afternoon there.

Their menu is eye-catching too, with some wonderful steak options. Another draw is their sharing platter, which is great for nights out with friends. Overall, Euphoria Biergarten impressed me, and I would love to revisit on a hot day to enjoy their beer garden.

Rochelle Restaurant & Pub

Another pleasant restaurant to visit is Rochelle Restaurant & Pub. Rochelle Restaurant & Pub sits on the banks of the river and offers water views from its terrace. They have both indoor and outdoor seating and are popular on weekends.

Inside, their restaurant is fancy with various comfy seating options. Their servers are good, and most speak good English and humoured my Romanian. Rochelle Restaurant & Pub has a good range of drinks, including beers, cocktails and wines. They also do a range of soft drinks and coffee, which is nice for a daytime visit.

Their menu is eclectic with Romanian dishes, pasta, pizza, meat and burgers. We dined here a few times and liked the food. Their burger was particularly delicious. Overall, Rochelle is a great place for food or drinks when visiting.

Fabrica de Bere: A Fabulous Bar & Restaurant

Another top bar and place to eat out is Fabrica de Bere. Fabrica de Bere is slightly out of the city centre but well worth visiting. Their bar is in the former Ursus brewery, which closed in 2011 and has since become a bar/restaurant and the Bârlog Craft Brewery. Inside is beautiful, and it’s very nicely decorated.

They have a fantastic range of craft beers and the usual Romanian beer choices. Fabrica de Bere also has some of the less common Ursus beers, including a pilsner and IPA. It is also a good place to dine out, with a solid selection of dishes. Their food menu includes breakfast, mains, and light bites, and is quite varied. Overall, Fabrica de Bere is an impressive venue with good beer options.

Nuka Bistro for Great Burgers

Nuka Bistro is one of many bars and eateries on the main square in the shadow of the Catholic cathedral. It has plenty of outdoor seating, fantastic views, and attentive servers. I went mainly to chill out and enjoy a beer while watching the city’s activity.

However, I got sucked into the menu and the Nuka Instagram page. The Instagram photos of the burgers tempted me, so I tried their burger for an afternoon bite. It was delicious, with nice meat and very flavourful pickles, which I washed down with some cold Stella Artois. Nuka was a great cafe-bar, and it was very relaxing to sit outside on a warm summer’s day.

Bardot a Posh Bar & Restaurant

Bardot is a lovely place for drinks or food, and it’s posh. They have a very nice indoor seating area with comfortable seating. I enjoyed an evening out with friends here and mostly had beers.

Their whisky sours are also a fantastic drink and a nice treat. Bardot also serves delicious food, including quesadillas, burgers and ribs.

Motor Rock Bistro: A Unique Bar

Fate took us to another part of the city, and we ended up visiting Motor Rock Bistro. This was a rockers’ bar with a motorbike theme and, supposedly, popular with the biker community. Motor Rock Bistro was certainly somewhere different, but friendly nonetheless, and made me feel welcome. The bistro has indoor and outdoor seating. The outside seating was nice to sit in and take in, and I stuck to a few glasses of local lager.

I needed a snack to soak up the booze, so I opted for their pizza, which I highly recommend. In Romania, pizzas typically differ from Italian ones and have much more cheese. Cascaval is often the cheese used, which is like English cheddar.

From Cafe: A Cool Bar/Restaurant

If you like trendy cafes that also do food, then Form Cafe is great. They are a hive of activity, with various seating options, from sofas to raised tables. Form Cafe is pretty cool and very modern in design.

They have plenty of coffee and beer options, plus a fantastic menu. Their menu includes sandwiches, burgers and a variety of other dishes. I can see why it’s so popular; however, “cool bars” are not my vibe.

La Tevi, a Rock Bar With Friday Night Karaoke

If you fancy a fun night out or a quiet afternoon drink with some nice rock music on, then La Tevi is a great bar. La Tevi has reasonably priced beers and a great selection to choose from. On weekend evenings, the bar gets busy, and they have weekly karaoke on Friday nights. It’s a young, friendly crowd.

Zama: A Posh Restaurant

Not far from Unirii Square and the university is Zama, a posh restaurant. They have a lovely dining room and seem like quite a formal place to dine out. Thus, it’s great for date night or meeting people. They specialise in a modern twist on traditional Transylvanian cuisine. Their food is delicious, including their Cluj cabbage and soups.

For drinks, they offer Romanian beers and various soft drinks. They also have a wonderful selection of regional wines.

Café Bulgakov: A Great Place For Beer & Food

Another great place to eat or have a drink is Café Bulgakov, which is near the medieval city walls. Café Bulgakov has a comfy dining area and a terrace for alfresco dining. Café Bulgakov serves a range of traditional Romanian and Hungarian specialities, including goulash.

They also have a decent vegetarian menu, including mushroom paprikash, falafel and polenta with cottage cheese. They cook their grilled food perfectly, and it goes well with their salads.

For drinks, they have some Romanian beers, including Ursus. To my surprise, Café Bulgakov was the first place I saw an Ursus retro glass.

Sultan Döner & Shawarma

On Strada Memorandumului is Sultan Döner & Shawarma, a late-night place to either eat in or take out. The shawarma served here was absolutely delicious and a great late-night meal. These were full of good-quality chicken or beef, lots of flavourful salad, and possibly the best shawarmas I have enjoyed.

Zen Hostel: A Social Bar For Backpackers

If you like to meet other backpackers and enjoy a cheap beer at the same time, then Zen Hostel has a friendly bar. They are in the city centre, near the cathedral and opera house. Zen Hostel has indoor and outdoor seating, and on my visits, I’ve always found someone to chat to.