Moldovan Cuisine

Moldovan cuisine is hearty, rustic country cooking shaped by fertile soils and a shared heritage with neighbouring Romania, rich in vegetables, dairy, cornmeal and meat, and inseparable from the nation's celebrated wine. The staple is mămăligă, a firm cornmeal polenta traditionally served with salty brânză cheese, sour cream and a meat stew. Beloved too are plăcinte, savoury pastries filled with cheese, potato or cabbage, sarmale, cabbage or vine leaves stuffed with rice and meat, hearty soups and grilled meats, all best enjoyed with a glass of the country's excellent, underrated wine.

What you actually see

• Mămăligă - the cornmeal staple with cheese and sour cream.
• Plăcinte - the savoury filled pastries.
• Sarmale - the stuffed cabbage or vine leaves.
• The wine - the excellent local wines that accompany every meal.

When to go

Year-round; traditional restaurants and rural guesthouses serve the hearty classics, often with live folk music and generous hospitality, while autumn brings the grape harvest and the lively National Wine Day. A meal in a village home reveals the warmth and generosity central to Moldovan culture.

Honest expectations

Moldovan food is hearty, filling and rustic, sharing much with Romanian cooking and centred on cornmeal, dairy, meat and pastry rather than variety or spice, so it is comfort food rather than fine dining. The genuine stars are the country's superb, underrated wines, which accompany every meal. Generous, homely and paired with excellent wine and warm hospitality, though, Moldovan dining is a satisfying and authentic pleasure.

Nearby

Chișinău, the wine cellars and the country villages are the places to eat.