Cluj doesn’t have many exclusive vegetarian restaurants, but if you are like most people, you don’t go to the restaurant alone. And, if you are like most vegetarians, you probably go to the restaurant with someone who wants meat.
We have found restaurants that offer a variety of delicious choices for both vegetarians and their omnivorous or carnivorous friends.
Restaurants
Marty’s
Marty’s at Iulius Mall has a variety of vegetarian dishes, many of which are healthy choices. So many that we cannot remember them all. You will find vegetarian options among the soups and salads, and even a page dedicated to plant-based meals. And we tried a few, they were all delicious. For non-vegetarians, there are other healthy choices in keto, pasta, chicken, miel (lamb), and even burgers and pizza. (Not all burgers or pizza are healthy, but they are staples among expats and engineers).
It may be hard to find vegan deserts, but you can choose plenty of smoothies and drinks for after dinner. And lacto-ovo vegetarians will find a variety of delicious cakes. (If you are not on a diet, you might want to try the Oreo cheesecakes or tiramisu).
The waiters understood English when we went there.
My Thai
My Thai is a common name for Thai restaurants, but we found no evidence that this is a chain. In any case, we tried four vegetarian dishes here, and each was delicious. If you flip through the menu you will find the main vegetarian choices on one page, and your non-vegan friends will find plenty of chicken, pork, or catfish.
Royal Class Hotel
Royal Classic offers a standard Romanian menu and includes enough vegetarian options that are not too spicy. The waiters speak English and it is a nice place to stay and eat. If you happen to be staying there, the food is as nice as the rooms. And if you are not a strict vegan but a lacto-ovo vegetarian (or an omnivore), we recommend the papanasi.
Fast Food
Bussola
Bussola has a lot of very healthy salads and soups that are ready-made at the counter. You can find them in the malls. If you like lightly steamed broccoli (or for pescatarians salmon) then Bussola is worth trying.
Noodle Pack
Vegetarian spring rolls and tofu on rice or noodles. Not health food, but the restaurants tend to be clean and the atmosphere is pleasant.
There are also kebab places, salad places, and dedicated vegetarian fast food options in town and in the malls, and many fast food places will have at least one vegetarian option. If you go to a traditional Romanian place, you can look at the menu de post, which should be free of cheese and eggs.
Order in
VegEatUp
This seems to be a vegan restaurant that is delivery only, and it doesn’t have as many options for meat eaters. But if you are ordering in, your meat-eating friends can order from somewhere else, right?
They specialize in comfort food, both the pizzas and burgers are delicious, and their fries are also good.
Street food
Palanets
Palanets are translated as artisanal pies. But, they are nothing like an apple pie. It is a soft bread, like normal bread you might spread butter on, filled with vegetables, fruit jam, or cheese. And sometimes, even meat. Most of the places that sell Palanets have an English translation of the ingredients which include ciuperci (mushrooms), cartofi (potatoes), brînza cu stăfida (cheese and raisins) and vișine (black cherry), and for your non-vegetarian friends, palanetul savuros (which has cheese and bacon). Palanețul Savuros is the name of one of the chains where you can get good plananets. You can also sometimes get them at a sit-down restaurant. We haven’t had bad palanets in Cluj, not yet anyway.
Covrigi
A Covrig could be translated to mean bagel or pretzel. They are normally soft. The classic flavors are mac (poppy seed), semințe (sunflower seed), and Susan (sesame seed). For those less health-inclined there are also those filled with jam, chocolate, or covered with the traditional “Bavarian” high salt content.
Delisima and Gigis are two chains with Covrigi, but you can find them in many bakeries and from other independent sellers.