Archive for the ‘Fox’s Bar Reviews’ Category

(behind Carturesti Bookshop)
Address: Str. Pictor Arthur nr. 13-15
Phone:  021 317 34 59
E-mail: ionescu.stelian@gmail.com

Gradina Verona is a garden cafe bar situated at the back the Carturesti Book Store, 2 minutes walk from Piata Romana in the direction of Piata Universitatii.   The entrance is on Pictor Arthur Verona.
The garden bar is a total escape from the busy surrounding streets of down town Bucharest . The large outdoor area has mature trees with overhanging branches, giving shade from the sun. It is decked out with a mixture of different wooden furnishings.

This a great place to have lunch or a drink on a warm afternoon and read a few chapters of the book bought from next door. There is also a small play area for children to enjoy.
The food offering is a simple selection of salads, sandwiches, pasta, casserole  with deserts of very high quality.  The presentation is attractive. There are two beers, Becks and Leffe Blonde, available on tap, served well chilled, in addition to a large selection of bottled beer.
There is a good selection of Romanian and imported wines, and an interesting range of cocktails both alcoholic and non alcoholic.
This garden bar can be the perfect place to spend an afternoon or evening on a hot day. It is open from April until the end of October from 10am until midnight daily.

As summer is in full swing. Many of the expat community are away holidaying somewhere outside of Romania, certainly a good time to escape Bucharest as the humidity rises.

Travelling to other parts of Europe and the World it’s great to experience the taste of the local drinks in their home environment accompanied by the local food.  When you try to bring some of that 4 Euro a bottle Rose back from the Cote d’Azur to recreate the same moment in the garden at home, it doesn’t quite work. On a recent golfing trip to the UK with a group of Romanians, the bottle of Palinca one of the Romanian team members had in the golf bag didn’t quite hit the spot. It is much superior when consumed at home. From a personal point of view, drinking Ricard with the French in-laws is a daily ritual not to be missed.  It is greatly enjoyed, often in large amounts, whereas the bottle in the drinks cabinet at home never gets a look in.

Travelling back to UK in the summer, Pimms No1 is  a fabulous drink on a balmy summers day in Blighty.  Of course it may require some imagination whilst using expressions such as ‘balmy summers day’ and ‘Blighty’ in the same sentence, but those who have tasted will appreciate the sentiment. This summer a personal stash of the gin based No1 will be imported back to Bucharest……anyone for a party…… anyone for Pimms!

Another great drink and one under rated or even disregarded by many and only ever drunk locally, is Sherry. It is a fabulous drink and there is nothing better then sitting by the water front in Jerez, eating the local Sardines and sampling the Sherry.

So wherever you are this summer, enjoy the local fair, as it doesn’t always taste the same at home.

ADDRESS: Calea Floreasca 111-113
PHONE: 0 733975277
E-Mail: mirela.thegang@yahoo.com

Always on the look out for something new and different on the local bar scene, I found The Gang Cafe and Lounge.  Situated directly behind Floreasca fruit market on Calea Floreasca, it is perhaps not the best location for passing foot traffic, but if you are in the area, it is certainly worth looking for.As you enter the premises there is a very neatly presented terrace, the edges of which are surrounded by pots of freshly growing flowers.  It is set back a good 30 meters from the busy road to create the impression that you are not sharing your glass of wine with the people in their cars. Look for the Peroni beer logo as all chairs and umbrellas were obviously supplied by the aforementioned beer brand.

Going into the interior space you enter a totally glass fronted bar area. This works well in summer when you may want to sit in an air conditioned environment but still enjoy the summer sunshine. It could also work well as a feature in winter time.

In the facing glass fronted area there is a showcase of green apples! Different!

The inside floor space is laid with solid wood parquet, and in the rear area of the bar this continues right through, up the walls and along the ceiling, to great effect. The furnishings are made up of very funky white padded sofas and stainless tables all with a small bouquet of fresh flowers in keeping with the flowers on the terrace which shows good attention to detail.

The food menu has a simple range of hot and cold food, and based on personal experience, it is of very good quality. An uncomplicated drinks list of beers, cocktails and wines, offers top local wine at very reasonable prices. The walls are decorated with random pictures of old American cars which, interestingly fills the blank wall space.

This is a place to go for a quiet lunch or a drink with friends during the day, but maybe it is as its best as a destination for a group of friends, meeting for a night out.
Overall, I like the Gang Cafe very much, with its comfortable and friendly environment, and uncomplicated good quality offering.

ADDRESS: 32 Kiseleff Avenue
PHONE: +40 0311 076 371
WEB: www.hardrock.com

The Hard Rock Cafe is a global institution in the bar and restaurant world; loved by many, but not by all. The first was opened in London’s Mayfair in 1971 by two Americans, Peter Morton and Isaac Tigrett, and there are now 149 Cafes around the world in 53 countries. The one in Bucharest opened its doors three years ago in a great location by the lake in Herestrau Park.

I have to say that on balance I am a fan of the HRC formula, for various reasons. The main ones are the standard of service, the consistancy of the offering, and the attention to detail. The Bucharest HRC ticks all of these boxes, and in a city where I think you would all agree the standards of service vary enormously, the HRC is a long way ahead of the game due to good training methods and maintaining standards.

If it’s a burger you fancy then the Cafe is hard to beat, although my own favourite is the BBQ  ribs – the best in town!

A characteristic feature of Hard Rock Cafes is the live music in an intimate setting: you can enjoy the gig whilist eating those ribs. Call or look at the website for details on up coming events.

The memorabilia around the walls is always interesting, and here they currently have one of John Lennon’s suits which was donated by Paul McCartney.

The Bucharest HRC has a large island bar in the middle of the floor as you walk in where you can eat, drink or both. To the right of the bar is the smoking section and to the left is the non-smoking section, which leads out onto the very large lake-front terrace.

All in all I would say the Hard Rock Cafe in Bucharest operates with a very high standard and makes you leave feeling as though you’ve had a good time and that’s one of the reasons they have a very loyal following.

ADDRESS: Strada Smardan 9 (vis-à-vis BNR, Lipscani)
PHONE: +40 0311 076 371
WEB: www.vangogh.ro

As you’ll know, Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter who’s works have influenced, and inspired, many. He died in 1890, of self-inflicted wounds, and could not have every imagined that one day his works would sell for millions, and, perhaps more importantly, that 119 years after his death he would have a bar named after him in Bucharest. Opened, by a fellow countryman in October last year, it’s a bar to make the great man proud. The building itself is an old converted bank with domed high ceilings in the main bar area supported by large pillars. Yet the defining feature remains the bar itself – solid oak, and very, very long – inspired, perhaps, by a man who comes from a culture where they do their drinking sitting on a bar stool.

The food is good, both hot and cold. I washed down an excellent Coq au Vin with a large draught Heineken, as ice-cold as advertised. Perhaps at odds with the melancholic artist and his cavalier approach to his hearing, the bar is centred around the patrons listening and talking to each other, with TVs absent. Usually absent: the World Cup is an exception – so a fantastically large screen shows the games, with English commentary and side orders of related food and drink specials. A full-function room upstairs can be hired for private events tailor-made to your requirements. Small groups for dinner, corporate events and drinks parties for up to 100 people, with pre-booking required. A basement bar area, open in the winter time only, is designed inside the converted safe of the old bank, the original safe door still there. The terrace in summer is a large space with seats for around 60. So if you’re drifting through the old town and need to make an impression(ist) with friends, the service and atmosphere of Van Gogh would make a fine choice.

ADDRESS: Strada Smardan Nr. 7 (next to Van Gogh)
PHONE: +40 0749 057 771

Kartell is a compact and bijou café bar situated in the old town opposite the National Bank of Romania. The bar is totally unique in this area with its Baroque style decor and its eclectic mix of chairs all covered in pillar box red velvet; it activates the senses on a first visit.

They launched their new food and drinks menu last week which looks interesting and what I sampled was very good. On the opening page the food offering starts with eleven different types of bruschetta, just about anything you could want on toast. The rest of the food menu is made up of salads, pasta and some very good looking Mexican tortillas and quesadillas, which are great bites to go with a drink. The

drinks menu leads off with a selection of coffees, twenty-nine different types to be exact, that would compete with any New York coffee shop. The large espresso I had was very good. They have a very extensive range of hot and cold non-alcoholic drinks, but if you are looking for something a little stronger you have to turn to page 7 before you find a ‘proper’ drink. They have an interesting choice of cocktails with some good house specials, a range of local and imported bottled beers, and a broad choice of red and white wines.

The outside space is furnished with tables and chairs with original design which compliment the interior decor, and create the difference in look between this bar and any of its neighbours in the old town as you walk down the strip.

In summary, I like Kartell as it offers something a little bit different in terms of look and feel, so I intend to do some more practical research into its new menu.

Ethic Wines

ADDRESS: Banu Antonache Nr 55
PHONE: +40 0722 388 239

This week as a change of scene I am commenting on a wine shop rather than a wine bar. Ethic Wines is an independent wine shop based opposite Floreasca fruit and vegetable market. The shop is owned and run by Cornel and Lucian, a pair of wine enthusiasts who appreciate the grape.

They carry a wide and diverse range of wines made up of around 50% Romanian and 50% imported wines including French, Italian, Chilean and Australian varieties. For me the interest lies in their fantastic selection of Romanian produce.

Romania is now producing some very inovative and exciting wines and experimenting with blends that you will find nowhere else in the world. A good example of this is a wine I picked out last week with the guidence of Lucian.

It was the Solo Quinta created by wine maker Hartley Smithers at the Recas Estate. A blend of Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Feteasca Regala and Muscat makes a very different and fabulous glass of wine.

The range of Romanian wines starts with many of the commercial labels to be found in the supermarket, all priced very honestly, going up to the small production high quality wines. In an article I read recently, it was saying that the only places left in the world where you can drink very good quality wines at very reasonable prices are Romania and Moldova, and I am making the most of it!

Cornel also owns a vineyard, so there is often the home produce available to taste and to buy. His Feteasca Regala is a good simple crisp dry white, which could invite itself to any BBQ on a hot summers day. If you buy it directly through the store, it is a bargain!
So the moral of my story is, whilst in Romania drink Romanian, and do give Ethic Wines a try.

Sky Bar

La Belle Epoque

ADDRESS: AV. RADU BELLER NR. 6, DOROBANTI
TEL: 0762472468