A €550,000 investment in a seaside café-bistro inside the Constanța Casino, the Art Nouveau landmark that, one year after reopening, is reclaiming one of its historic roles: a public café space overlooking the Black Sea.

For generations, the Constanța Casino has been one of the city’s defining landmarks. After more than a decade of closure and a restoration project worth over €40 million, the Art Nouveau monument reopened its doors in May 2025. One year later, ahead of the 2026 summer season, City Grill Group has opened a café-bistro inside the building, with panoramic sea views and a total capacity of up to 350 guests.

The soft opening took place just before the May 1st mini-holiday, during which more than 5,000 people visited the Casino.

Throughout the three-day holiday weekend, the café operated at full capacity despite the unusually low temperatures marking the start of the seaside season. Both the terrace and indoor seating areas remained constantly occupied, while the high flow of visitors was managed without operational disruptions, an important stress test conducted only days after opening.

The investment in the venue amounted to €550,000. The bistro operates on the ground floor and basement level of the historic building, across a total indoor surface of 550 sqm, complemented by a 324 sqm outdoor terrace with direct views of the Black Sea. The team consists of 50 employees, with seating for 200 guests on the terrace and 150 indoors. Opening hours are 08:00–24:00.

“The Casino is a building you visit, but also one you wish to stay longer in. City Grill Cazino Bistro adds exactly the missing piece: a place where you can sit with friends or family, enjoy a coffee or a glass of wine, and simply look out at the sea. That is what it means to complement a cultural experience with genuine hospitality,” says Daniel Mischie, CEO of City Grill Group.

A place connecting generations: nostalgia for some, discovery for others

City Grill Cazino is located inside a building whose history speaks simultaneously to several generations. For those who remember the Casino before its closure, the reopening offers a concrete reason to reconnect with a place tied to personal memories. For those who grew up seeing it as a ruin, this is the first opportunity to experience it as part of everyday city life rather than as a tourist stop. And for younger visitors, for whom the Casino is finally an open and accessible building, the City Grill Cazino bistro becomes a natural part of the venue’s cultural experience, alongside the exhibitions hosted in the Hall of Mirrors and the Casino’s events program.

The bistro’s menu combines French pastry specialties, including croissants, apricot and caramel cruffins, and mascarpone-raspberry papillon pastries with signature desserts, alongside a brunch selection featuring eggs Benedict, avo toast and truffle scrambled eggs. The menu also includes sandwiches with prosciutto, mortadella or spicy salami, as well as a starters section with foie gras, vitello tonnato, beef tartare and a fish board featuring pike roe, smoked sturgeon and brined fish.

The drinks menu includes a series of signature cocktails inspired by the venue itself: Dansul Nereidelor, Tomis Gin Tonic and Fereastra Scoica, alongside a selection of sparkling wines and labels from the Dobrogea region, including Rasova, Caii de la Letea and Domeniile Mitroi.

In order to protect the historic building, no thermal cooking takes place on-site, a condition established during the tender process that ultimately shaped the concept itself: a café-bistro designed to match both the rhythm of Casino visits and the flow of the seaside promenade.

Constanța, part of a €6.5 million investment program focused on iconic destinations

The investment in City Grill Cazino is part of a broader €6.5 million investment plan allocated by City Grill Group for 2026, targeting destinations with strong historical and cultural identities. In addition to the seaside venue, the group is currently developing the Cerbul Carpatin restaurant in Brașov and modernizing the Gambrinus and Monte Carlo venues located in Cișmigiu Park, Bucharest.

“We continue to grow through places that already carry a strong story, identity and emotional relevance, where the culinary experience we create can become memorable. The spaces we are investing in this year- the Casino, Cerbul Carpatin, Gambrinus and Monte Carlo — alongside our established venues such as Pescarus, Caru’ cu Bere, Hanu’ lui Manuc and Hanu’ Berarilor, are all places that demand rigor and go far beyond the status of a simple restaurant. This is the direction we are pursuing in a year when customers are becoming more selective and increasingly intentional about the experiences they choose,” adds Daniel Mischie.

With this opening, City Grill Group further consolidates its position as the leading private operator of landmark heritage buildings activated through hospitality projects, including Caru’ cu Bere, Hanu’ lui Manuc and now the Constanța Casino. The group is an Official Supplier to the Romanian Royal House, employs more than 1,100 people and closed 2025 with consolidated revenues of €90 million, targeting €100 million in 2026.

*This is a press release.