retiredmartin

March 2025. Iași,

We conclude our lone night in Romania’s cultural capital,

not in the Palace of Culture itself (never made it),

but at Iasi’s extraordinarily upmarket Palas shopping mall, and a wander round the boutique stores.

The mall (a MUST if you visit) has flashy brewery-run dining pubs, but we’d crossed the road for the “Beer Workshop“, which seems to have some hefty links to the ubiquitous Kozel.

Duncan visited this place on his own flying visit in 2019, so I’ll nick his lovely pic of the sign and give him credit for the tip.

I never did find a really cosy old pub on this trip; that’s what you go to England or Germany for, folks.

Atelierul will suit folk looking for an upmarket version of Spoons;

plenty of seating, keen prices (£2 a 0.4l of your Romania lager),

UK bottled beers, a bit of well-known Locale craft in the Ursus IPA,

and a giant menu fronted by pizza.

But there the comparison ends. Really cheery table service, that “Home Pizza” (no.1) is actually £9, and that’s without a free pint of Doom Bar.

But it’s the best* pizza I’ve ever had, complex and chewy (NPSS 5). Mrs RM’s goulash is great, too.

It’s a bit soulless out front with a view of the palace, much livelier round the back where groups of lads and brewery tat and toilet humour rub shoulders.

I’ll see if BlueSky ban me (again) for that photo when I finally put this post on there.

*Though Dario’s of Knottingley once ran it close