Today I challenge you to name a restaurant in Cluj where you have never been before. Pretty hard, right? Surely you checked all of them in the city center, then the ones everybody talks about, even the ones that are kind of hidden gems. It’s tough to find a new place to eat, to discover chefs and new dishes on a regular basis. Have you ever considered going to a hotel restaurant? Yes, you read that right. Hotel restaurants are a great choice for lunch or dinner and even make you feel kind of touristy while you are basically in your hometown. They are clearly something different, but unfortunately, we are not used to seeing them as a choice when we are looking for places to eat. Or at least, not yet. Why so?
Maybe you just didn’t know that going there for a nice meal is a legitimate option. Or maybe you felt that those places are just for tourists and visitors. Well, they aren’t, they are for everybody. So today I am going to tell you about 4 must-try hotel restaurants in Cluj where locals can enjoy lunch and dinner. Ready?
The first one on my list (and my favorite) is Marco Polo Restaurant. This is located in the heart of the city, inside the DoubleTree by Hilton Cluj – City Plaza Hotel. Here you may enjoy a choice of international cuisine daily between 12:00 pm and 11:00 pm. The menu is very complex, offering a variety of tastes and colors and we feel like it’s our duty to name some of our favorite dishes: pumpkin cream soup with goat cheese, homemade tagliatelle with truffles sauce and parmesan, sea bass with mashed peppers and almonds, the famous beef hamburger with bacon (which is also the biggest in town) and all the deserts, because we really can’t choose only one. The food is absolutely delicious, the staff makes you feel welcome and I think it’s a great way to escape in your own city. We simply love it here.
Only 10 minutes away from the downtown area, on Observatorului Street 129, inside the Golden Tulip Ana Dome Hotel, you will find Novem Restaurant. Decorated with modern dining tete-a-tete, the restaurant has a capacity of 80 seats, so you will surely find a quiet table. They say that the rigor chef-building, attention to detail and the finest selection of ingredients brought an exquisite menu prepared to satisfy the most demanding tastes. We think dishes like the Black Tiger Shrimps in beer crust with potatoes chips and the lamb chops with parsnip puree really invite to unique culinary experiences. Simply mouth watering.
In the central square of Cluj, the Beyfin Restaurant offers its guests a magical atmosphere. You will be charmed by the interiors, which are elegant and warm, and the luxury grand piano that reflects the magnificent kitchen style. The dining hall has 70 seats, but more important is the terrace with its stunning views of the nineteenth-century Cathedral. Clearly, this one is open only during summertime, but it’s totally worth the wait. Here you can find the famous Romanian dish “sarmale”, which is served with polenta, the proof that restaurants are not all about fancy dishes and you can as well enjoy something traditional.
Last, but not least, we would like to recommend you a nice restaurant somewhere far from the city center, a place where you can also enjoy the silence for a while. Located in a residential area of the city (Fagetului nr. 5C), the Roma Restaurant inside the Brilliant Hotel offers you a secluded venue, with a modern, Italian-inspired style, where the chefs prepare dishes from both the local and international cuisine. Depending on the season, you can also enjoy your meals outside since the hotel has a nice terrace.
What do you say? Are you tempted to try one of these?
