earlier this year, a new restaurant opened in bucharest’s old center:Â lacrimi si sfinti. it means tears and saints and it’s a direct reference to a book by famous romanian philosopher emil cioran. the restaurant aims to serve an updated version of romanian traditional cuisine.
the interior design is a wonderful surprise of neo-romanian style. a sweet combination of upcycled vintage countryside items and modern pieces, everything linked together with a whimsical lego reproduction of traditional romanian motifs. if you are interested in finding out more interesting details regarding the decor, click here.
corvin nicolae cristian‘s body of work is well-known and widely appreciated. the lego work was assembled by collaborator ionel branzoi: 16,000 pieces brought from denmark especially for this project.
the menu printed on manual paper is full of very interesting dishes of all shapes and sizes. but go there for surprising your taste buds, not for regular romanian fare. they use lime to sour the ciorba, lard to fry the potatoes and serve poached beef tongue with orange.
the decor warns you upon arrival: expect the unexpected and enjoy the experience!
photo credits: designist.ro, lacrimi si sfinti
6 comments
laura says:
Jan 11, 2013
Arata minunat! De mult imi doresc sa iau o gustare acolo!
little aesthete says:
Jan 11, 2013
a wonderful place with romanian cuisine with a french twist 🙂
Oana Avornicesei\ says:
Jan 21, 2013
On a personal note – I was happily surprised and nostalgic to discover some details, like the apples in the window frames, the meatgrinder, the tin mugs, the red pot lids on the walls 🙂 They make me reminisce about my parents’ former flat, where I used to live as a kid, and some of the houses of my relatives living in the countryside, which I have never actually really liked as a child, as they were different from what I was used to being the comfort of my everyday life. But now I recover bits and pieces of my past due to them – memories and the attendant swirl of sensations, feelings, tastes, smells…
From the viewer’s point of view, and if I get the ‘traditional’ part of the concept right, I kind of miss even the slightest suggestion, however veiled or reinvented or ‘Cioran-esque’, to the latter part of the place’s name i.e. ‘ … si sfinti’. It looks like a place where the folks thought of everything but forgot the reference to whatever sort of ‘above’ or ‘beyond’ – which I think is very precise and powerful with the traditional Romanians.
Oh, and the FOOD looks absolutely exquisite!! Where is this place, exactly?
little aesthete says:
Jan 22, 2013
the decor is exquisite, the food is romanian cuisine with a french twist. it’s somewhere in centrul vechi 🙂
Daniel says:
Jul 7, 2014
Is it really that nice as it looks in the pics ?
little aesthete says:
Jul 7, 2014
it looks as great as it looks! the occasional trouble is w/ the service and w/ the french romanian fusion dishes 🙂