The Best Restaurants in Dorobanți, Bucharest

One of the first restaurants to pop up in Dorobanți, Grano has built its solid reputation steadily over the past ten years. Having started as an Italian deli, by popular demand it turned into a restaurant serving traditional Italian food with a focus on the country’s northern cuisine. This doesn’t mean you won’t find here a fine carbonara, or burrata straight from Puglia. But it does mean that their Piedmontese chef is more at home when cooking pasta with homemade basil pesto or his signature dish, ravioli with truffle and parmesan and leek sauce. Oh, and although the vibe is relaxed and casual, this is a ‘no pizza’ kind of Italian restaurant.

Arguably one of the best Japanese restaurants in the country, Yuki stays true to Japan’s traditional cuisine with a menu built around dishes with a homemade feel. In fact, apart from the soy sauce and the Japanese curry powder, everything served in this restaurant with a cosy interior is made in-house. For a classic taste, try their tempura, tofu and udon dishes, and, for a departure from what you’ve come to expect from this cuisine, explore their rich curries and the matcha tiramisu. With an eye on sustainability, the restaurant uses local products sourced from nearby farms for most of its dishes.

Only the second Thai restaurant to open in the city, Tuk Tuk has built a steady following with a selection of dishes that capture the spirit of the country’s cuisine. Try their tom yum soup for a starter and the spicy drunken noodles or expert rendition of pad Thai, and you’re set on your Thai culinary journey. Whatever you choose, before delving in and focus on exploring the rich mix of tastes and textures of the dishes, make sure you pause and take a look at the colourful plates on which the dishes are presented.

One of the hottest restaurants right now, Maize – Farm to Table is the place to take your experience of Romanian cuisine to a whole new level. Using seasonal produce sourced locally, the restaurant’s Noma-trained chef will take you on a culinary ride using original shapes, textures and innovative cooking techniques to reinvent classic Romanian dishes. Under the motto ‘New Romanian Cuisine’, Maize serves dishes like rainbow trout cooked on fire with celeriac skin, smoked lemon and onion purée, black truffle paste and cauliflower or Shepherd’s octopus served with creamy polenta, goat cheese sauce and evergreen oil.

The appeal of this casual fish restaurant lies in the winning mix of great quality ingredients and expert skills in preparing dishes that best highlight them. Offering a variety of fish on the grill, it also serves a handful of classics, such as seafood risotto or stew. Plus, their sushi puts others to shame. Located in the former Dorobanți Market and featuring a modern design, it invites guests to eat at the counter, making it the ideal choice for a quick lunch.

As an answer to the local demand for novel, Middle Eastern flavours, the local Four Seasons Dorobanți brings authentic Lebanese food to the Romanian capital. Serving classic Lebanese dishes, such as tabbouleh, baba ghanoush and fattoush, alongside a wide array of dishes from traditional Middle Eastern cuisine, it adds a touch of the exotic to the neighbourhood. The large variety of dishes, combining lamb, beef and chicken, can be easily paired with authentic Lebanese wine labels, making the experience an even more original one.

With its intimate setting, La Pescăria Dorobanților resembles more a quiet restaurant in a fishing village than one set in one of Bucharest’s trendiest neighbourhoods. Serving a large variety of fish and seafood sourced from Romanian waters, it makes for a great choice if leaving Bucharest for the seaside or the Danube Delta is not an option. The starters list offers several must try typical Romanian dishes, such as fish Zacuscă, a spread with a vegetable base and the ever popular fish roe salad. Also, this is the best place in town to try storceag, a fish soup originating from the Delta.