Well, hello there! My name is Oana and most of my biz includes specialty coffee. If I lost you after this term, excuse my smugness but go research a bit and then come back. I promise you it’s not gonna be wasted time if you wanna LEARN new stuff and drink only la creme de la creme.

I moved to Amsterdam 5 years ago and ever since I turned my life around coffee. Not a metaphor nor literary exaggeration. So much that in my first years since moving abroad, I was taking one week off for exploring new places opened in Bucharest (pronounced as Bucureshti, written București), because FOMO, learning about this new love of mine and because I wanted to be on top of everything new. Nowadays I can hardly keep up.

Ask any of the passionates and they will tell you Eastern Europe is booming with this expensive hobby.

Side note: Bucharest has started to pick up and be a popular destination for dutch tourists (cheap food, might’ve heard of cheap girls too …yuck! And lots of clubbing). Hearing dutch whenever I go to my fav places is priceless! <3

So I am gonna start with the grand players in the market and the places I ALWAYS check whenever I land home.

ORIGO 

There is nothing for me, nor the rest of the old customers like ORIGO. It was the first place I ever went to in order to drink very good and expensive coffee, had no idea what it is about. Many years later, it was also the place where out of curiosity I found out what a Gesha coffee is. Yep, le nectar of the coffees. This is the place that you can find me in Bucharest the most often, either alone, with an old friend or a new friend (met via IG, met there, truly doesn’t matter). Good coffee, priceless conversations, same same service (at the table, water, knowledgeable baristas, English speaking staff and customers).

TIP: Beautiful latte art but also amazing looking cocktails served after 8:00 pm.

I won’t talk about roasteries, beans nor technical info but about how I feel or felt going there. I love this place for its high standards, consistency and our history since in here I did most of my taste buds education and heart opening sessions with my friends.

STEAM Coffee Shop

This perfect blue ACME cup place has also a high place in my coffee memories. They started with coffee from Origo and lots of hipsters vibes. Needless to say they become very fast very popular, so now they have two locations in Bucharest.If the weather allows take your coffee to go and take a stroll in the nearby park, to see a bit  of Bucharest youngsters out with their bikes. Yes, in Bucharest we are more used bike-ing in parks rather than in the city. Sad story of cities with no bike infrastructure. But coffee and green leafs, a new city maybe, is there something better?

M60

Well this place screams Amsterdam like no other. Many expats or freelancers are spending their days in here, sipping on great coffee, eating some (brunch, burgers etc) in this spacious urban living room.  Flat white, matcha latte or chocolate everything are good to go in here. Go for it, have no regrets! Usually my motto when in holiday is: I see, I want, I take.

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NOTE: They also have more locations in Bucharest but the one in Piata Amzei is your place.

Artichoke Social House

For this one I am sending you in such a beautiful area of Bucharest, one of the principal avenues called Calea Victoriei. The place itself is hidden at the end of a long corridor, with arches, and getting there is the charming part. If you decide to visit Bucharest when everyone is out of the city, like during Easter holidays, you are in for a treat. Going back and forth on empty Calea Victoriei, admiring the architecture will leave you with a taste of why this city is unique. So back to Artichoke, good coffee, eclectic atmosphere, big menu that includes food and interesting beers. Oh and many plants and one cute interior staircase.

PS: Most of the times I went there, I noticed that baristas were not Romanian. Hm, cute no?

Two Minutes

This place is mostly for the coffee lover in you rather the tourist since it’s not in your way nor it’s big so you can hang out. I always stop by their location in my way home, from the airport. It took a while to convince my parents (they come pick me up) it’s important we stop each time at this coffee place and I drink a very good cappuccino in my first hour from landing. It’s a MUST! I don’t drink coffee for the sake of coffeine, since it’s totally not working that way for me, but for the sake of my happiness. Taste buds are pretty happy in here.

The place is very small and has a tiny outdoor sitting as well, so I guess half an hour pit stop is more than enough. While there you can always strike a conversation with the baristas or the owner, avid passionate about coffee and it will go smoothly, they friendly. Anyway, the place is so small that it’s almost awkward not to exchange a few words.

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Uber is cheap in Bucharest. In most of these places cards are ok but have some cash with you (RON). Usually one coffee can cost around 15 Ron aka 3 Euro. Tap water is a thing, comes with your coffee, if not ask for it. Enjoy these specialty coffee places in Bucharest!

Find me here for my personal IG and here for my c0ffee talks. Oana, over and out.