Donut-shaped fried cheese dough topped with sour cream and a crown of sour-cherry preserve: Moldova's restaurant dessert of choice, also served boiled in some homes.
Papanași arose in the rural Romanian and Moldovan countryside in the 19th century from peasant kitchens with abundant fresh cottage cheese. The name traces to the Latin pappa, an onomatopoeic word for soft food fed to children, which fits the soft cheese centre. The crown of cherry jam is a Bessarabian signature; sour cherries grow across the country and the country's cherry-liqueur tradition is the same fruit pressed differently. The dish is the standard close to a Moldovan restaurant meal.
3 editor picks for Papanași in Chișinău, ranked by editorial score. All Chișinău signature dishes · Papanași across every city.
La Taifas ★ 4.4
centru · Strada București 67, Chișinău, Moldova
La Taifas in Chișinău is the old village house with porch on Strada București, serving rustic Moldovan cooking and live folk music in a clay-pottery room.
Sălcioara ★ 4.3
botanica · Strada Decebal 99/6, Chișinău, Moldova
Sălcioara in downtown Chișinău is the traditional Moldovan dining room with carved-wood interiors, evening live music and a kitchen built on village recipes.
Pegas Terrace & Restaurant ★ 4.3
centru · Strada Albișoara 20/1, Chișinău, Moldova
Pegas in Chișinău is the long-running two-storey European fusion room on Strada Albișoara, with a wide summer terrace and a Moldovan wine list.