What is in season in Bucharest. and what to order when the market changes.
Spring
- Drob de miel (Easter lamb haggis): Drob de miel is the Romanian Easter table centrepiece, lamb offal mixed with greens and steamed in caul fat. Restaurants like Caru' cu bere serve it through Holy Week and the week after Orthodox Easter.
- Spring lamb roast: Easter lamb roasted over coals is the household Easter Monday tradition, with restaurants serving lamb chops and shoulder through April and May.
- Ciuperci de pădure (forest mushrooms): May to early June Carpathian morels and chanterelles arrive at Piața Obor and Piața Amzei, the brief wild-mushroom window before summer drought.
Summer
- Mici (May 1 onwards): May 1 Labour Day weekend is the Bucharest mici-eating tradition; brewery gardens, park grills and Obor terrace all fire mici from morning.
- Vinete (eggplant): July and August are the eggplant months: salată de vinete (smoky eggplant salad) appears as a standard mezze at every Romanian table.
- Pepene roșu (watermelon): Bărăgan plain watermelons reach Bucharest markets from late July, often eaten with brânză de oi (sheep cheese) as a savoury-sweet course.
Autumn
- Sarmale (cabbage harvest): September and October's cabbage harvest fills Piața Obor and Amzei with crates of cabbages destined for the household sour-fermented varza acră used in winter sarmale.
- Țuică (plum brandy distillation): October is plum-brandy distillation month; rural households send fresh țuică into Bucharest by early November, and the Old Town Hanu' inns serve the season's first.
- Wine harvest (Cotnari, Murfatlar, Recaș): September is the wine harvest across Romania's main vineyards; Cotnari, Murfatlar and Recaș release new-vintage bottles at Bucharest wine bars by late October.
Winter
- Pomana porcului (winter pig slaughter): December's traditional pig-slaughter feast (pomana porcului) brings fresh pork, smoked sausages and slănină to Bucharest's markets, the foundation of the Christmas table.
- Cozonac (Christmas braided bread): Cozonac, the Romanian sweet braided bread filled with walnuts, cocoa or Turkish delight, defines Christmas and Easter; bakeries from Luca to French Bakery sell whole loaves through December.
- Sarmale (Christmas table): December's sarmale with mămăligă is the Romanian Christmas centrepiece, sour-cabbage rolls stuffed with pork and rice, simmered for hours with smoked pork rib for depth.
- Salată de boeuf (Russian-style salad): Salată de boeuf, the Romanian-Russian beef and root-vegetable salad bound in mayonnaise, is the New Year's Eve table-centre standard alongside cozonac and sarmale.