december-2011
december-2011
december-2011
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Eat<br />
130—GW<br />
T I M E O F F I N …<br />
BUCHAREST<br />
The Romanian capital is a lively place,<br />
full of contradictions and contrasts. The<br />
gastronomic scene is equally diverse:<br />
in Bucharest, you can dine out on<br />
everything from Italian to Japanese<br />
food. But don’t forget to try the local<br />
cuisine, which uses regional ingredients<br />
and boasts exceptionally tasty fl avours.<br />
Romania’s national dish is mici, a<br />
delectable-smelling pork, lamb and beef<br />
mince, which is fi nely seasoned and<br />
cooked on a charcoal grill. You’ll fi nd the<br />
best in town at LA COCOSATU► Str<br />
Neagoe Voda 52A, +40 (0)21 232<br />
8796, www.lacocosatu.ro ◄. If you<br />
don’t mind sitting on wooden benches<br />
and couldn’t care less about Feng Shui,<br />
you’ll feel at home here.<br />
A more sophisticated option is the<br />
CARU’ CU BERE► Str<br />
Stavropoleos 5, +40 (0)21 313 7560,<br />
www.carucubere.ro ◄, an elegant<br />
beer hall that does nothing to damage<br />
the city’s reputation as “the Paris of the<br />
East”. It’s located in the part of the Old<br />
Town that was lucky enough to survive<br />
Ceausescu’s bulldozers. The stunning<br />
interior boasts elaborately painted<br />
ceilings, pillars, delicate wood carvings,<br />
and stylish furniture. Try a cool draught<br />
beer with Bucovina roast pork and<br />
mamaliga, a kind of polenta, or the<br />
sarmale traditional cabbage rolls.<br />
THE LOCANTA JARISTEA ► Str<br />
Georgescu 50-52, +40 (0)21 335 3338,<br />
www.jaristea.ro ◄ is as legendary as<br />
its former proprietor, the “lady with the<br />
big hat”. The restaurant’s aristocratic<br />
fl air provides the perfect backdrop for<br />
the equally refi ned Romanian cuisine.<br />
The house speciality is suckling pig and<br />
there’s live music in the evenings.<br />
Sleep<br />
It’s not diffi cult to fi nd stylish rooms in<br />
Bucharest, and pretty much all tastes<br />
are catered to, with hotels ranging from<br />
the ultra-modern to 1930s chic to the<br />
truly historic.<br />
In keeping with its fi ve-star status, the<br />
HOWARD JOHNSON GRAND<br />
PLAZA► Calea Dorobantilor 5-7,<br />
+40 (0)21 201 5000, www.hojoplaza.<br />
ro ◄ is located near the Piata Romana,<br />
home to the famous sculpture of the<br />
Roman she-wolf, the emblem of several<br />
Romanian towns. The 18-storey hotel<br />
offers great views of the city, and its<br />
smart interior has been furnished by<br />
luxury French brand Ligne Roset. Further<br />
design is by German lighting specialist<br />
Ingo Mauerer and Philippe Starck,<br />
known for his spectacular, modern style.<br />
The hotel also boasts two fi rst-class<br />
restaurants. The Benihana, which<br />
serves authentic Japanese Teppanyaki<br />
cuisine and sushi, and the Avalon, which<br />
specialises in creative international<br />
dishes. The latter also offers an<br />
excellent Asian fusion brunch on<br />
Sundays. Reservations recommended.<br />
The French diplomat Paul Morand once<br />
referred to the CASA CAPSA►<br />
Calea Victoriei 36, +40 (0)21 313<br />
4038, www.capsa.ro ◄, as<br />
“Bucharest’s eardrum”. The hotel’s café<br />
was once a popular high-society haunt<br />
and the restaurant still attracts well-heeled<br />
hotel guests and non-residents alike.<br />
Fans of smart but cosy interiors will feel<br />
at home in the boutique HOTEL<br />
REMBRANDT► Str Smardan 11,<br />
+40 (0)21 313 9315 ◄. The building<br />
housing this pretty three-star dates<br />
from 1925 and lies in the former<br />
commercial quarter in the centre of<br />
the Old Town.<br />
Drink<br />
There’s no shortage of nightlife in<br />
Bucharest. The city is teeming with<br />
clubs, bars and cafés, although many<br />
are only open at the weekend. There’s<br />
something for everyone around the city<br />
centre. The HANUL LUI MANUC<br />
► Franceza 62-64, +40 (0)21 313<br />
1415◄ is located in the Old Town’s<br />
recently renovated caravanserai, a<br />
courtyard full of restaurants and bars<br />
surrounded by balconies sporting<br />
beautiful carved wooden pillars.<br />
The hotel was built in 1806 by Manuc<br />
Bey, an Armenian who fl ed to Romania<br />
to escape various political and<br />
romantic scandals.<br />
Not far off is the MACCA-<br />
VILACROSSE, an historic arcade,<br />
which houses various pubs and shisha<br />
bars. You don’t have to be a jazz fan to<br />
enjoy the atmosphere at the GREEN<br />
HOURS 22 JAZZ CLUB ► Calea<br />
Victoriei 120, +40 (0)788 509 689 ◄.<br />
It’s a great place to sip a cocktail and<br />
watch a live jazz concert, or take in<br />
some fresh air in the romantic<br />
Biergarten. Serious clubbers should<br />
head to Budapest’s most famous club,<br />
CLUB A ► Str Blanari 14, +40 (0)21<br />
315 6853 ◄. There’s different music<br />
every night, and it’s a great place to<br />
dance into the wee hours.<br />
See<br />
Many epochs, cultures and religions<br />
have left their mark on Bucharest, which<br />
means there’s a surprise lurking on<br />
every corner, be it an elegant Boyar<br />
house, an art nouveau facade, a<br />
synagogue, a lively market, an Orthodox<br />
church or a modern theatre.<br />
Bucharest’s earliest building is the OLD<br />
PRINCELY COURT, a red and<br />
white-striped palace chapel, decorated<br />
with original frescoes. Romania’s most<br />
famous celebrity, Count Dracula, or<br />
Prince Vlad Tepes III as he was really<br />
known, constructed the building in<br />
1459. Tepes later became the model for<br />
Bram Stoker’s fi ctional vampire. He was<br />
buried in the cloister on nearby Snagov<br />
Island, although his coffi n is now empty.<br />
A stone’s throw away is the city’s main<br />
boulevard, the 2.8km-long CALEA<br />
VICTORIEI, which is lined with<br />
various palaces. Number 141 is<br />
the eclectic PALAIS<br />
CANTACUZINO, which is now a<br />
museum dedicated to musician George<br />
Enescu. The world’s second-largest<br />
administrative building is situated<br />
nearby on Arsenal Hill. The parliament<br />
building was built under dictator Nicolas<br />
Ceausescu. Construction began in<br />
1984, during which 20,000 construction<br />
workers and hundreds of architects built<br />
on 330,000m² of land, demolishing<br />
large parts of the Old Town in the<br />
process. The palace’s new glass wing<br />
contains the National Museum of<br />
Contemporary Art.