Pan-baked thin pastry filled with fresh brânză cheese and dill: Moldova's street snack, weekend household ritual and bakery counter staple, sold by the slice everywhere.
The word plăcinte comes from the Latin placenta, a flat cake, and traces back to Roman Dacia. From the 10th to the 12th century the Greek influence on Moldavian cuisine introduced fine puff and pulled-pastry techniques, which the Moldovan kitchen folded into a thin pan-fried pastry with seasonal fillings: brânză with dill in spring, sour cherries in summer, pumpkin in autumn, salted cabbage in winter. Each Moldovan region has its own plăcintă shape and crimp, and the chain La Plăcinte turned the home recipe into a sit-down restaurant category in the 2000s.
4 editor picks for Plăcinte cu brânză in Chișinău, ranked by editorial score. All Chișinău signature dishes · Plăcinte cu brânză across every city.
La Plăcinte (Ștefan cel Mare 3) ★ 4.2
centru · Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare și Sfînt 3, Chișinău, Moldova
La Plăcinte on Ștefan cel Mare 3 is the central Chișinău branch of the Moldovan chain that turned the street plăcintă into a sit-down restaurant.
Granier ★ 4.2
centru · Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare și Sfînt 69, Chișinău, Moldova
Granier in Chișinău is the all-day bakery chain on Ștefan cel Mare and beyond, baking honey cake, plăcinte and almond rings that sell out by closing.
La Plăcinte (Hâncești 58) ★ 4.1
botanica · Șoseaua Hâncești 58, Chișinău, Moldova
La Plăcinte on Șoseaua Hâncești 58 is the Botanica-side branch of Moldova's plăcinte chain, with the largest dine-in room and a kids' play area attached.
La Mamuca ★ 4.0
centru · Strada Pușkin 22, Chișinău, Moldova
La Mămuca in Chișinău is the takeaway-only Moldovan bakery chain on Pușkin 22, where the plăcinte tray turns over hourly and the chebureks are house-fried.