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.
Top-rated food tour in Chișinău
Milestii Mici Underground Winery Tour INCLUDING Wine tasting
Order Tocăniță cooked in the cauldron with mămăligă and a shot of house țuică.
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.
Order A mixed plate of plăcinte: cheese, cabbage and pumpkin slices, with smântână.
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.
Order Marbled beef steak with seasonal vegetables and a glass of Fetească Neagră.
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.
Order The Moldovan red flight with a lamb shoulder slow-cooked over mămăligă.
Symposium in Chișinău is the Mediterranean room and wine club on Strada 31 August 1989, with a 200-label Moldovan and European wine list selected as a club.
Order Pork knuckle with house lager and sauerkraut.
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.
Order Cream of mushroom soup in a bread bowl with the Capricioasa pizza.
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.
Order The Moldovan tasting menu with the BERD'S Castel Mimi wine pairing.
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 Slow-roasted lamb with mămăligă, brânză and a Fetească Neagră pour.
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 The lunch burger with house fries and a glass of Fetească Regală.
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.
Order Single-origin filter coffee
Tucano Coffee Costa Rica on Strada Pușkin in Chișinău is the central Moldovan-born specialty-coffee chain (Chișinău, 2011), serving 100% Specialty Arabica.
Order Flat white
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.
Order Espresso flight
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.
Order Cortado
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.
Order House-roasted single-origin filter
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.
Order Vienna-style coffee with French croissant
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.
Order 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.
Order Plăcintă with cottage cheese and cherries
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.
Order Plăcintă with cottage cheese
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.
Order Ion cake with wafers, chocolate ganache and condensed-milk cream
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.
Order Eclair with vanilla 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.
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.
Tucano Coffee Brazil in Chișinău is the Moldovan-grown specialty-coffee chain's flagship, with V60, Chemex and Aeropress and 100% Specialty Arabica.
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.
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.
Drink Litra unfiltered lagers and IPAs on 20 taps
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.
Drink House signature cocktails
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.
Drink Cherry-based fruit liqueur
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.
Also on this listBeer House
Try Plăcinte, chebureks, mititei and grilled corn (15 to 25 MDL each)
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.
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.
Try Pizza by the slice, mushroom soup in bread bowl
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.
Also on this listLa Plăcinte (Ștefan cel Mare 3)Granier
Order Organic Sunday brunch plate with Moldovan sheep cheese, farm eggs and the BERD'S house bread.
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.
Also on this listCrème de la CrèmePegas Terrace & Restaurant
Try Capricioasa pizza, cream of mushroom in a bread bowl, Moldovan pasta
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 Craft beers and Ukrainian meat platters
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.
SOHO Evolution Night Club on Constantin Negruzzi Boulevard in Chisinau runs themed DJ party nights on Friday and Saturday and books one-off concerts.
