Restaurants: Caru' cu Bere
Recently re-opened after having been renovated and restored during the summer, Caru' cu Bere has open gates for the public again, especially since now it has a brand new wooden revolving door, behind which the smiling staff is ready to welcome you and politely lead you to one of the dozen tables. Oh, yes, it is huge.
Here's what options you have: the ground floor, which is still a little bit unfurnished until the official opening on October 12th, divided in 2 sections, smokers and non smokers, the then there's the first floor, where so far the shareholders hold their meetings and there's also the basement, with a huge wine cellar - Caru' cu vin, which is still being restored.
Caru' cu Bere is one of the restaurants with the oldest tradition in Bucharest. Opened in 1892 and designed by an Austrian architect - Zigfrid Kofczinsky - and built by Nicolae Mircea and his brothers Victor and Ignat, Caru' cu Bere used to be the favorite place for writers and actors. Some of the usual customers were George Cosbuc or I. L. Caragiale.
The name ("beer cart" in translation) was inspired by the beer factory owned by Nicolae Mircea's father, and the general feeling of the place reminds of German beer houses, also because of the Saxon roots of the owners. The building, recently renovated, preserved all the 19th century decorations and details, the wooden panels, stained glass, paintings, chandeliers, ironware, wooden sculptures and even chairs.
It is a restaurant-museum with a small souvenir shop and a very valuable grandfather clock from 1879 (the year when it was built)
If it's a German beer house, then we must have sausages. The menu combines, although not lavishly, German and Romanian traditional dishes, aiming to keep the customer happy and well fed, but not fed up.
There are 4 soup types, among which a very spicy gulas, try it only if you have strong stomach. Soup is 6.8 lei, gulas is 10.
Then come the sausages: white beef sausages grilled or boiled, sausages "caru' cu bere", sausage plateau. The average price for a sausage meal is 13 lei, except the plateau which is 36 lei. With the sausages you might want some side dish. The best is sauerkraut, works like a charm with any kind of sausages, is absolutely delicious and is 6 lei. There are also quite good mash potatoes and fries at 4 lei.
Besides sausages, you can also have pork chops (26 lei) or some excellent juicy fried chicken (13 lei).
Ah, the (in)famous "mici"! We do believe they must be famous because of the price (24 lei/piece),but we also understand they are exquisite and made by a traditional recipe, which used to be in vogue in interbellic Bucharest. And they also have horseraddish! It is one of the few restaurants in Bucharest where you have this spice on the menu
The dessert is German style: Apfelstrudel (apple strudel) or cheese strudel (6 lei)
What can you drink? We would have expected a 2 page list with all beer types. In return, we studied a 3/4 menu page with several well known trademarks, draft or 330 ml. One 400 ml draft is 5.2 lei
The wine menu kept us busy for a couple of minutes. It goes on and on for 3 pages and it's extremely comprehensive. Price: between 25 and 70 lei per bottle.
Teatotallers may have the usual coke for 4.2 lei, fruit juice 6.2 lei and lemonade (with sugar) 7.6 lei/liter and 10 if you perefer it with honey
The most important thing about eating at Caru cu bere is that they bring you the food in a jiff (jiff=15 minutes). Ok, so it wasn't that crowded. Maybe it's different when the restaurant is full.
The way we were handled and treated makes us believe that someone invested a lot in training the staff, They were extremely welcoming and kind, they made us a tour of the place, told us stories about it and the service was impecable.
The grand opening of the new "Car cu Bere" will take place, we have been told, on October 12th, with a big celebration and various guests. If you care to try the sausages or the sauerkraut, the address is Stavropoleos St, no. 3-5, and you can make reservations at 021. 313.75.60 or 0726.CUBERE :)) [0726.282.373]
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