I’ve been incredibly busy this week with my real job (as much as I’d like to blog full time, I have to bring home some kind of bacon – for now, at least). The awesome thing about my program is that I have the opportunity to eat at lots of restaurants around Brasov. I’d like to share one of my favorites today. It’s a great places to eat if you’re a local or a tourist.

Hockey Pub, or “Hockey” as some of the locals call it, is located just off Piata Sfatului – a few minutes walk from Biserica Neagra (Black Church).

Hockey Pub has a more local feel and has a menu that would seem familiar to most Americans. I almost always order some kind of soup here, usually tomato based. The first few times I went to Hockey Pub I had some red pepper cream tomato soup with some kind of alcohol (I think gin?). It was good but not as thick as I would have liked. This time I had the tomato soup au gratin and it was probably the best tomato soup I’ve ever had. Very, very filling. Definitely enough for a meal, but I didn’t know that when I ordered…so I also had the hot wings. Don’t let the name fool you, the hot is more of a smokey sweet flavor and you will need the wet wipes they leave at your table. The wings come with potato wedges. I wasn’t able to finish the soup or the wings even though they were delicious. Next time, I will have to make the difficult choice of ordering one or the other.

Claudiu ordered the quesadilla. It was not really what I would consider to be a traditional quesadilla. There was melted cheese involved, but also hummus and some other things. No spice or cilantro, although we expected that. The saddest discovery I’ve made about Romania is that there is no cilantro! They have coriander but no fresh cilantro. Time to find some seeds and grow my own 😦

The service here is fast and the wait staff is friendly. There is a new electronic system at each table where you can ring for your server and order or get your check without having to wait (you know, sit and try and make eye contact and then pretend to hold up a bill while you mouth, “Can we have the check?” and then wait some more before it actually comes). It expedited the end of the meal and we were able to leave as soon as we were done eating. Very, very nice.

I forgot to mention that Hockey Pub is also a great place to go and watch sports. Tons of high-def flat screen TVs. I think we’re going to try and watch the Romania/France soccer game there. There is no smoking in the restaurant, but there is a section outside if that’s your thing.

Overall, I really like this place. It’s a chill place to go eat with friends and it’s even nice to go by yourself. You can chat with the wait staff or just watch the game. For more information, you can visit their website: http://thehockeypub.ro/