Where to eat in Moldova

A museum-restaurant in Chișinău, with dishes made to old recipes and live traditional music every evening. An introduction to the cooking and the history of the place.

A restaurant laid out like a Moldovan peasant house, with ethnographic touches and national dishes: borș, mămăligă, plăcinte and local wine.

A restaurant with Gagauz and Bulgarian cooking from the south, in a welcoming courtyard. Home-style dishes such as lamb pilaf and mămăligă.

A much-loved local chain, with the house speciality — plăcinte — and a broad range of traditional dishes at affordable prices.

A restaurant and terrace in Chișinău, with European and international cooking alongside traditional dishes, in an elegant setting.

A café and bar on the walkway along the central street in Rezina, right in the promenade area of the town on the Dniester. Long hours, identical all week, from ten in the morning to midnight — it works as well for the morning coffee as for a drink late in the evening, which in a town of this size means a great deal. Terrace, bookings accepted, breakfast served, space for groups and families with children. Free parking of its own and on the street. Prices in the mid range. Dogs are not admitted.

On strada Vinzavodscaia, in Comrat — the address says it all: the street of the wine factory. It is a winery, not a classic restaurant, and the visit is organised around the wines produced in southern Gagauzia, one of the country's important wine areas. It receives visitors from midday to eleven at night, on every day of the week, with no day off. Free parking in the courtyard and on the street. Children are welcome, and dogs are admitted — rare for a winery. The entrance is not adapted for wheelchairs.

El Cafe is a café on strada Bogdan Petriceicu-Hașdeu, in the centre of Cahul, a few steps from the town's main institutions. The hours, from ten in the morning to eleven at night every day, keep it open well past the time most cafés in the south close. Breakfast is served, bookings are accepted and groups are taken. The parking, the entrance and the seating are adapted for wheelchair access. Pets are not admitted.

Epoca de Piatră operates inside Vinăria Brănești, in the village of Brănești in the Orhei district, a short distance from the Orheiul Vechi complex. The cooking is declared Romanian, and the context — a winery — makes the venue a destination in itself, not a chance stop. You get there by car, and booking makes sense, especially for groups. The hours are limited: from Wednesday to Sunday only, between eleven in the morning and eight in the evening. It has a terrace, takes children, parking is free and wheelchair adapted, and prices sit in the mid range.

On strada Babinschi, in Bălți, the country's second city and the road hub of the north. The particularity that counts for any traveller: it is open twenty-four hours a day, on every day of the week. That turns it into a safety stop on the long roads towards Soroca or the northern border, at hours when there is hardly anywhere left to eat in the city. A dining room with no terrace, but with space for groups and families with children, and bookings accepted. Prices in the mid range, free street parking. Dogs are not admitted.

A pizzeria and a café in equal measure on strada Mihai Eminescu in Cahul, with a double identity rare in the provinces: in the morning it works as a coffee and breakfast spot, in the evening as a proper pizzeria. Continuous hours from 8:30 to midnight, seven days a week. It has a terrace, accepts bookings and works well with groups and families with children, with vegetarian options on the menu. It is one of the few venues in town that are fully accessible: wheelchair-adapted parking, entrance and places. Prices in the mid range, free parking.

Beermaster Pub occupies a space on strada Mihail Sadoveanu, in Bălți, in an area with several venues next to one another. It is a bar, not a family restaurant: it opens at midday, runs until one at night every day and is not designed for children. It does, however, take groups and accept bookings — the classic pub format for long evenings. It has a terrace and free parking, in the courtyard or on the street. Prices sit in the mid range. The space is not adapted for wheelchair access.