Location: 21 Decembrie 1989 Blvd, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Web site: http://www.casaardeleana.com/

Telephone number: +40 (0)264 439 451

Date of visit: 07/04/2010

Approx. cost per head: €10 – very good value

Comments on wine list/beer: Romanian, and rather good

Review:
Casa Ardeleană in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania bills itself as a traditional restaurant and seems to live up to this promise as far as I was able to tell, which wasn’t very far. The decor and atmosphere are rural and no-nonsense respectively.

The starter, a mixed plate of cheeses, meats and salad with chunky bread, and ostensibly for two, fed four of us easily. Particularly nice were the goat’s cheese and, surprisingly, the pork fat (although the deep-fried pork fat was not so delicious!). My Transylvanian friend recommended that the pork fat be eaten with onions, which proved a good combination. As it turns out they really do eat lots of onions and garlic in this neck of the woods.

The above was accompanied by a shot of the local plum brandy which, at 52% proof, is not for the faint-hearted, as well as a very-nice Romanian red, of which more below.

Romania has a lot in common with those other countries in Europe where romance languages are spoken. Wine is produced and drunk in high quantities, digestifs are very popular, and, I am reliably informed, Romania has more types of cheese than France. The Romanian word for thank you—multumesc—is also often replaced by the word “merci” by the locals.

For the main course one of us had a lamb kebab which looked very nice, while the rest of us had beef steak presented on a hot stone. The meat is served quite raw and one simply slices it and waits for it to cook to one’s liking before getting started. I enjoyed this self-cook method, and the meat was of a high quality. This came with various side dishes including mushrooms, chips and a basic salad.

It just so happened that another round of rum brandy was served, as was a second bottle of an excellent local 2007 Pinot Noir. The grapes were from Moldova (the region as opposed to the neighbouring country, the Republic of Moldova, which is historically, ethnically and culturally, yet no longer politically, joined with Romanian Moldova). The provenance of the grapes is clearly important, as it was something my local companion was keen to point out.

The wine went by the splendid name “Immortality Pinot Noir – The Legend of Transylvania”.

There was no room for pudding.

- Damian (d@staffordnet.org.uk)