City Grill Group, the largest Romanian-owned restaurant group, closed 2025 with consolidated revenues of €90 million. Existing operations (brands active in 2024 as well) generated €75 million last year, marking a 10% increase compared to 2024. This figure also includes the contribution of brands recently integrated into the group, Marty Restaurants and Aubergine.

Although the economic context of 2026 remains cautious, City Grill Group enters the year with a strategy focused on operational consolidation and expansion through destinations with strong identity, targeting €100 million in revenue. From the Constanța Casino to Cerbul Carpatin in Brașov, the group invests in buildings with a story, attracting audiences seeking experiences that are difficult to replicate elsewhere. In 2026, City Grill Group continues both its greenfield development in new locations and its interest in brownfield projects involving the acquisition and modernization of brands or venues with existing infrastructure. At the same time, the group remains open to partnerships with entrepreneurs aiming to scale more efficiently by leveraging City Grill Group’s operational expertise.

The 2026 strategy is built on the understanding that audiences no longer look for “just a place to eat well,” but for places worth visiting, returning to, and bringing friends to. The social pressures of recent years have raised the stakes for spaces where people meet naturally, between home and work, forming routines, belonging, and relationships.

“Our vision is to create remarkable experiences in distinctive spaces, which is why we invest in destinations with strong identity. The Constanța Casino, Cerbul Carpatin in Brașov, Monte Carlo in Cișmigiu, and Gambrinus are among the latest projects we are developing in 2026. At the same time, Pescăruș, Hanu’ Berarilor, Hanu’ lui Manuc, and Caru’ cu Bere are already successful destinations that have stood the test of time, crises, and social change, responding to the public’s need for socialization and connection. City Grill Group builds social and gastronomic experiences in places that attract and sustain recurring gatherings, not just occasional visits. The €100 million target for 2026 is the result of this strategic direction,” said Daniel Mischie, CEO of City Grill Group.

Growth Built Over the Years

City Grill Group’s trajectory reflects the consistent implementation of this strategy. In 2023, revenues reached RON 280 million (approximately €56.5 million), increasing to RON 339 million (approximately €68 million) in 2024, and surpassing €90 million consolidated in 2025.

This growth is not the result of a single strong year, but of a business model built on three parallel directions: continuous modernization of existing locations and updating the gastronomic experience in line with evolving customer expectations; expansion through partners and venues with strong identity; and customer loyalty driven by the Out4Food app, which now accounts for 28% of group revenues.

Over the coming years, City Grill Group’s development will follow two core strategic directions anchored in the behavior of generations who spend time in the city. On one hand, the portfolio of brands targeting younger audiences such as City Grill, Buongiorno. Italian, Marty’s, and Pescăruș will be complemented by new brands with a young-generation DNA. On the other hand, the segment of restaurants with a traditional aura and menus inspired by Romanian cuisine including Hanu’ Berarilor, Hanu’ lui Manuc, and Caru’ cu Bere will benefit from new investments in historic locations.

“We have two clear strategic directions. The first is the segment we call Young, with dynamic or contemporary brands. These are restaurants built around the expectations of younger generations, for whom design, atmosphere, and social experience matter as much as the food. City Grill, Buongiorno, Marty’s, and Pescăruș follow this logic, and we will continue building new brands in this direction. The second is the traditional or classic segment locations with heritage and identity that shape both the menu and the atmosphere. Both directions work because they respond to the same need: authentic experience, whether contemporary or rooted in nostalgia”, adds Daniel Mischie.

In 2025, the group invested €3 million in infrastructure and experience upgrades, including the expansion and renovation of Hanu’ lui Manuc (€550,000), the reconceptualization of Pescăruș restaurant (€1.5 million), the refurbishment of two Marty’s locations, and the opening of a new Gloria Jean’s café franchise at Băneasa Shopping City.

For 2026, the allocated investment budget stands at €6.5 million, focused on portfolio expansion and the continuous modernization of existing venues to support social and gastronomic experiences that turn occasional customers into recurring guests.

Destinations with Identity: From Bucharest to Nationwide

For two decades, City Grill was primarily a Bucharest-based group. In 2025, it began its geographical expansion, further consolidated in 2026. The expansion logic differs from the classic HoReCa scaling model: the group does not seek high-traffic locations, but symbolically significant ones, transforming them into spaces where audiences arrive with already-formed expectations and where the gastronomic experience becomes part of a broader context.

The most recent step in this direction is winning the tender to operate a café-bistro within the Constanța Casino, a century-old building reopened to the public in May 2025, which has already attracted over 220,000 visitors. The allocated space, approximately 550 sqm indoors plus a 324 sqm seaside terrace, will be developed in line with the monument’s architecture and the standards applied by City Grill in similar heritage locations.

The same approach guides other projects under development. Cerbul Carpatin restaurant in Brașov, a historical monument located in Council Square, enters renovation this year and will become a new gastronomic destination, reinterpreting local cuisine in a contemporary key.

In Bucharest, the Gambrinus building and the former Monte Carlo restaurant in Cișmigiu Park will follow a similar path, transforming into destination restaurants oriented toward the young urban public.

Growth Drivers: Digital Loyalty, Culinary Innovation, Complete Experience

Beyond geographic expansion, the path toward €100 million revenue relies on three internal growth engines.

The first is the Out4Food loyalty app, with 380,000 active users. Currently, 28% of group revenues are generated through the platform, and the average check is 20% higher among app users compared to other customers.

The second is culinary innovation, coordinated since November 2025 by Dragoș Bercea, the group’s new Corporate Executive Chef, named “Best Events Chef 2025.” Under his leadership, each brand’s menu is built around its own identity, combining traditional dishes with modern reinterpretations.

The third engine is atmosphere which, according to the group’s internal research, has become as important a selection criterion as taste or price. Today’s social context drives people to seek places that facilitate reconnection. The “Mixtură de Lăutărie” program like traditional Romanian music reinterpreted and live-mixed by a DJ exemplifies the creative direction in which City Grill invests: experiences that transform a meal into a moment of connection.

In 2025, the average check across group restaurants reached RON 290, increasing compared to the previous year. The highest averages were recorded at Pescăruș, Hanu’ lui Manuc, Hanu’ Berarilor Oprea Soare, and Caru’ cu Bere, popular destinations for larger groups, appreciated for balancing tradition and modern experiences.

*This is a press release.