The historic core along Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare: the Cathedral, the Triumphal Arch, the Government House, and the bulk of the capital's traditional restaurants.
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.
Signature: Sarmale in cabbage leaves, Mămăligă with brânză, Cauldron-cooked tocăniță
Order: Tocăniță cooked in the cauldron with mămăligă and a shot of house țuică.
Tip: Book a porch table on a warm evening; the kitchen leans on cauldron stews and the placinte are made to order with a 20-minute wait.
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.
Signature: Plăcinte with cheese, Plăcinte with cabbage, Zeamă chicken soup
Order: A mixed plate of plăcinte: cheese, cabbage and pumpkin slices, with smântână.
Tip: Order the plăcinte by the slice from the counter for a quick lunch; the full menu carries zeamă, mămăligă and sarmale at chain-pricing.
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.
Signature: Marbled beef steak, Salmon tartare, Apple strudel
Order: Marbled beef steak with seasonal vegetables and a glass of Fetească Neagră.
Tip: Sit on the terrace in summer for the kitchen's grill program; the wine list is the deepest mainstream Moldovan selection in the neighbourhood.
Symposium in Chișinău is the Mediterranean room and wine club on Strada 31 August 1989, with a 200-label Moldovan and European wine list curated as a club.
Signature: Adriatic seafood plates, Lamb with mămăligă, Moldovan wine flights
Order: The Moldovan red flight with a lamb shoulder slow-cooked over mămăligă.
Tip: Ask the sommelier to run a flight of three Fetească Neagră from different Moldovan regions; the kitchen's seafood is sourced weekly from Odessa.
Beer House in Chișinău is the German-themed brewpub on Bulevardul Negruzzi, brewing on-site and serving grill-heavy pub food with a daily 12-hour run.
Signature: House-brewed lager, Pork knuckle, Grilled sausages
Order: Pork knuckle with house lager and sauerkraut.
Tip: Order the four-beer flight to taste the house range; the pork knuckle for two is the kitchen's grill anchor, request the sauerkraut on the side.
Andy's Pizza on Ștefan cel Mare in Chișinău is the central branch of Moldova's homegrown pizza chain, open into the late hours with a 24/7 sister branch.
Signature: Capricioasa pizza, Mushroom cream soup in bread bowl, Moldovan-style pasta
Order: Cream of mushroom soup in a bread bowl with the Capricioasa pizza.
Tip: Order the cream of mushroom served in the hollowed bread bowl; the Capricioasa is the local-style pizza if you want something Moldovan.
BERD'S Arome Locale in Chișinău is the fine-dining room at Moldova's first design hotel on Cantemir, working Moldovan produce in a refined modern idiom.
Order: The Moldovan tasting menu with the BERD'S Castel Mimi wine pairing.
Tip: Book the Organic Sunday Brunch for the local-producer board; the kitchen runs vegetarian, gluten-free and salt-free tasting menus on request.
Salcioara in Chișinău is the higher-end Moldovan traditional room on Strada Pușkin, working village recipes with organic produce in a folk-decor room.
Order: Slow-roasted lamb with mămăligă, brânză and a Fetească Neagră pour.
Tip: The tasting menu rotates by season; ask for the wild mushroom pickles and the slow-roasted lamb when those land on the board.
Black Rabbit on Strada Vlaicu Pârcălab in Chișinău works as a café in daylight and a small-plates bar after dark, with a serious Moldovan wine list.
Signature: Daytime burgers, Evening sharing plates, House cocktails
Order: The lunch burger with house fries and a glass of Fetească Regală.
Tip: The kitchen leans burgers at lunch and sharing plates after 19:00; the rotating Moldovan natural-wine pours are worth a separate visit.
Tucano Coffee Costa Rica on Strada Pușkin in Chișinău is the central Moldovan-born specialty-coffee chain (Chișinău, 2011), serving 100% Specialty Arabica.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter coffee
Coffee Monkey on Strada Pușkin 22 in Chișinău is the bright blue-and-white specialty bar that locals call the coffee hotspot of the city centre.
Signature drink: Flat white
Pasio Coffee on Strada Vasile Alecsandri in Chișinău is the small specialty bar where the baristas pour for regulars, with rotating single-origins by week.
Signature drink: Espresso flight
Feeling Coffee on Strada 31 August 1989 in Chișinău is the seasonal-flowers jazz-bar coffee room, one of the newest specialty spots in the centre.
Signature drink: Cortado
Raccoon Coffee on Strada Armenească in central Chișinău roasts its own beans in-house and pours rotating single-origin filters and espresso from a small sit-in room.
Signature drink: House-roasted single-origin filter
Crème de la Crème on Strada Alexandru cel Bun in Chișinău is the three-storey Parisian patisserie and café, with the Provençal main floor open from 08:00.
Signature drink: Vienna-style coffee with French croissant
Crème de la Crème Patisserie in Chișinău is the ground-floor Parisian counter under the Provençal café, baking croissants, eclairs and custom cakes daily.
Worth the queue: Vienna-style coffee with French croissant
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.
Worth the queue: Plăcintă with cottage cheese and cherries
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.
Worth the queue: Plăcintă with cottage cheese
Dulcinella in Chișinău is the multi-branch pastry shop best known for the Ion cake, with custom-order cakes and a separate vegan dessert sub-menu.
Worth the queue: Ion cake with wafers, chocolate ganache and condensed-milk cream
Patisserie Caramel on Bănulescu-Bodoni 45 in Chișinău is the French-style patisserie and café with eclairs, red velvet, tarts and a small outdoor terrace.
Worth the queue: Eclair with vanilla cream
Raccoon Coffee on Strada Armenească in Chișinău is the in-house roastery and café sourcing single-origins globally and roasting on-site for retail bag sales.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Tucano Coffee Brazil in Chișinău is the Moldovan-grown specialty-coffee chain's flagship, with V60, Chemex and Aeropress and 100% Specialty Arabica.
Sources from: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, V60, Chemex, Aeropress, Whole bean retail
Carpe Diem on Strada Columna in Chișinău is the country's first wine bar (2011), pouring 10 to 15 Moldovan wines by the glass from a 160-label shelf.
Signature pour: Fetească Neagră by the glass
Wine focus: Moldovan wines, 160 labels from every Moldovan region
Food: Local cheese, charcuterie, quince jam
Invino on Bănulescu-Bodoni in Chișinău is the 2016 sommelier-led Moldovan wine enoteca, with 250 labels on the shelf and 15 pours by the glass.
Signature pour: Anastasia's flight of Moldovan reds
Wine focus: 250 Moldovan labels from 30 wineries, sommelier-curated
Food: Cheese boards and quince jam pairings
Embargo on Pușkin 47/1 in Chișinău is the wine-focused bar showcasing high-quality Moldovan wines paired with local cheeses, charcuterie and house.
Signature pour: Fetească Neagră from a small producer
Wine focus: Premium Moldavian wines with cheese pairings
Food: Local cheeses, baked goods, charcuterie
Taproom by Litra on Strada Vasile Alecsandri in Chișinău is Moldova's first craft taproom, pouring 20 local craft taps in a community-rooted American bar.
Signature drink: Litra unfiltered lagers and IPAs on 20 taps
Food: American-style bar food, hot dogs, sandwiches
Beer House on Bulevardul Negruzzi in Chișinău is a five-tap house brewery in an old-timey Moldovan European-style room, the carte sausage, ribs and brewpub plates.
Signature drink: House craft tap flight (pilsner, dark, light, wheat)
Food: Moldovan brewpub plates, sausages, ribs
Marlène on Strada București 75 in Chișinău is the cocktail bar (2019) inside a restored Moldovan city-house, with a summer terrace and a long menu.
Signature drink: House signature cocktails
Food: Sharing plates and snacks
Piana Vyshnia on Strada Ștefan cel Mare in Chișinău is the elegantly decorated bar serving cherry liqueur, with outdoor seating onto Ștefan cel Mare park.
Signature drink: Cherry-based fruit liqueur
Food: Snacks only
La Mămuca on Strada Pușkin 22 is the takeaway plăcinte counter where the tray turns over every hour and the in-house cheburek fryer runs behind the window.
Try: Plăcinte by the slice (cheese, cabbage, potato) and chebureks
Granier on Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare in Chișinău is the artisan bakery chain selling Moldovan plăcinte, croissants, pain-au-chocolat and pretzels from a glass counter.
Try: Artisan croissants, plăcinte and pretzels by the piece
The Piața Centrală street-food cluster on Mitropolit Varlaam in Chișinău is where the city eats plăcinte by the slice, mititei, chebureks and grilled corn.
Try: Plăcinte, chebureks, mititei and grilled corn (15 to 25 MDL each)
Beer House on Bulevardul Negruzzi in Chișinău is the German-themed brewpub brewing on premises, with a 12-hour daily run and a grill-led pub-food menu.
Piața Centrală in Chișinău is the 19th-century central market half a block off Ștefan cel Mare, with farmers' stalls, cheese counters and a spice row.
La Plăcinte on Ștefan cel Mare 3 is the central Chișinău branch where a tray of plăcinte and a bowl of zeamă lands under 100 MDL, full menu beneath 180 MDL.
Try: Plăcinte tray, zeamă, mămăligă, full meal under 100 MDL
Andy's Pizza on Strada Pușkin 32 is the 24-hour branch of Moldova's pizza chain, with pizza by the slice and the mushroom soup in a bread bowl under 150 MDL.
Try: Pizza by the slice, mushroom soup in bread bowl
Granier on Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare 69 in Chișinău is the bakery chain where breakfast is a plăcintă with cottage cheese and a coffee for under 90 MDL.
Try: Plăcinte, honey cake, almond rings, full breakfast for 50 to 90 MDL
Crème de la Crème in Chișinău is the three-floor Parisian patisserie and café on Strada Alexandru cel Bun, with a brunch menu that runs from 08:00 to midday.
Order: Croissant with Vienna-style coffee, eggs Benedict and the house croissant board.
Pegas in Chișinău serves a weekend brunch buffet on its summer terrace and second-floor room, with hot and cold European-fusion plates and Moldovan wine.
Order: Brunch buffet plate with the Pegas marbled-beef sandwich.
BERD'S Arome Locale in Chișinău runs the Organic Sunday Brunch at the MGallery design hotel, sourcing produce from Moldovan farmers across a 4-hour sitting.
Order: Organic Sunday brunch plate with Moldovan sheep cheese, farm eggs and the BERD'S house bread.
Andy's Pizza on Pușkin 32 in Chișinău is the 24/7 branch of Moldova's pizza chain, with the full menu, mushroom soup in a bread bowl and slices all night.
Try: Capricioasa pizza, cream of mushroom in a bread bowl, Moldovan pasta
Brothers' Pub on Strada Mihai Eminescu in Chișinău is the Irish-style late pub that runs into the small hours, with craft beer taps and Ukrainian platters.
Try: Craft beers and Ukrainian meat platters