The ultimate guide to street food in Bucharest

When in Bucharest for the first time, one is taken aback by the high number of pretzel shops, street corner bakeries and all the wonderful options for procuring some food while on the street. Fast food nation? We're not sure, maybe not in what the world understands by fast food (which for many is the equivalent of McDonald's and its likes), but for sure there are plenty options of getting something to eat pretty fast in Bucharest. We've looked at all the street food options across the Romanian capital and concluded: with a reasonable daily budget, sometimes more on the cheaper side, one will not starve in Bucharest. Pretzel shops -or 'covrigi shops' The pretzel - in Romanian covrig, is probably one of the most common street foods in Romania. In many large intersections in Bucharest, there has to be at least a pretzel shop on one of the street corners. Pretzels are not just simply pretzels in Romania – recipes have been updated, and now you can have pretzels with fillings, and other products made of pretzel dough, and filled with different ingredients (sausages, cheers, apples, chocolate – well, not all of them mixed). Take the Covridog, for example, Covricheese, or Covriking, all brands and products invented by a company called Petru. Most of the shops selling pretzels are local brands, no-names, although here are a few 'chains' as well, such as Luca and Petru. The name for pretzel shops in Romania is covrigarie, or a more fancy name, simigerie. Whatever you choose, the majority of Romanian covrigarii have very good 'covrigi' With RON 10 – or some EUR 2 – you can buy several covrigi which could last you for a few hours until searching for more. Donut shops Gogoasa, or donut, another word one should get familiar with when searching for fast food when in town. The donut shops, or gogoserii, can be smelled from a far in many Bucharest intersections. There are several types of donuts sold in Bucharest, different shapes and sizes, with or without filling. As a lot of people buy them, they're usually fresh – the same goes for covrigi. A RON 10 bill would buy you a few donuts, again suitable to fill you up for a few hours while walking around the city. Bakeries & pastry shops – patiserii These are equally, if not even more popular than the pretzel shops and the donut shops. They sell all sort of pastries, from merdenele with cheese, to pastries with mushrooms, meat, apples, nuts etc. Again, these come rather cheap, so a RON 10 budget would buy you plenty of stuff. We really like the merdenele with cheese. (merdenele cu branza). Some of these shops also sell small pizzas by the square - we're not fans, some are good, others, not so much, but for the sake of variety, they should be also tried out. Fancier pastry shops While the three previous street food places are using the 'takeaway' recipe, meaning you buy the products through the small window, and then eat them while walking, fancier bakeries and pastry shops give the chance to sit down while enjoying food. It's not the only difference however: the recipes are ore complicated, some traditional French ones as well, and they also sell all sorts of bread specialties. Take Paul, which has a large network of shops, including one at Universitate, and many in shopping malls, or French Bakery. Prices tend to be higher in such places, and a RON 10 budget for example would only buy one item, and often more would be needed to really feel full.