The name is simple, it roughly translates to “To Pies”. The concept is simple, they serve traditional Moldovan pies in savory and sweet. The menu, it’s not so simple, as plăcinte is kind of a broad word, descriptive of multiple shapes and textures of filled pastries. We spied the bright sign as we were walking past the Hospital on our way to explore Bucharest in the cool of the early morning, but it was not yet open.

 

Our explorations took us through the winding streets and small, hidden parks of Bucharest’s Old Town, and eventually back out to a modern, bustling street where we saw the La Placinte sign once again. Just short of starving, we rushed into the freshly open restaurant and were met with the apology that the grill was not fired up yet, so they only had their pie selection available, and those would still take a few minutes. Simply happy to be sitting, we made our orders of one Plăcintă Domnească (tall, salty-cheese pie), one Învârtită cu cartofi și telemea de oaie (rolled pie full of potatoes and sheep-cheese -- don’t translate it, you will get the wrong idea), and one Plăcintă cu vișine (a flat pie of tart cherries). Yes, that’s three pies of remarkably different shape and construction. We were very hungry you see. After doing the currency conversion, that meal cost us roughly $15 in total, and fed us full-to-bursting with take-home for mid-afternoon snacks.

 

If this is your first experience of plăcinte coming from America, it will be completely mind-blowing, as there is nothing quite like these in the states. If, however, you have gotten used to the richer flavors of European raw-milk cheeses and flours that don’t lose their taste through processing, transport, and preservation, these plăcinte are only good. The big benefit to paying the slightly higher price of a sit-down meal rather than purchasing similar pastries from any one of thousands of bakery stands throughout the city is that La Placinte’s pies are sized for sharing, and the climate-controlled dining room is bright, beautiful, and a pleasant way to beat the heat of a summer afternoon. I phrase it this way, because service happens at a pace to let you enjoy your meal and converse with your lunch companions. Like most places we have dined throughout Europe, the servers neither check on you every five minutes, nor strike up lively conversations while apologizing that the food is not instant. That being said, our servers were polite and warm. The menu was bilingual in English, so we’d have had no issues even if my better-half wasn’t still fluent in his native Romanian.