Transylvania Sheds the Shadow of Dracula With Galleries, Cocktails, and Coffeeshops in Cluj-Napoca

Let’s Coffee is a small, minimalist space, with black walls brightened by white script and a bicycle on display. On a Saturday morning its wooden bar and bench are clustered with locals, most of whom, upon entry, say hello to proprietor Vasile Lupsac. Lupsac, wearing spectacles and a baseball cap, looks up from the La Marzocco Strada that churns out the café’s top-notch espresso, and greets them back. It’s an organic rhythm that continues all afternoon. Come evening, some of these guests will dine at VIA, which many consider the city’s finest restaurant, situated in an 18th-century house. More rustic than formal, it’s where salmon tartare paves the way for Thai beef risotto and a slab of carrot cake. Later, maybe, there will be a nightcap at Joben. The bistro’s meticulous steampunk décor—gears, metal tubes, booze bottles tucked inside a vintage television set—is enough of a reason to visit, but the smoked Old Fashioned truly encourages settling in. This is a day in Cluj-Napoca (often referred to Cluj), the unofficial capital of Transylvania and one of Eastern Europe’s most vibrant small cities—a reputation earned without the assistance of the fairy tales shrouding the region.

Few regions are as romanticized as central Romania’s Transylvania, with its scenic backdrop of Carpathian Mountains. Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel Dracula has falsely cemented the image of Transylvania as an ominous land rampant with vampires, crumbling turrets, and foreboding forests, and many visitors, in their haste to step into this storybook and get to the Dracula-famous Bran Castle, overlook less celebrated wonders that capture a true history more riveting than the myth. Descending deep into the centuries-old Turda Salt Mine, for instance, is transcendent. Spending time in Cluj—some 300 miles from the metropolises of Bucharest, Budapest, and Belgrade—where you can marvel at the Gothic and Baroque architecture in the compact city center and partake in the robust nightlife, also provides an intriguing, urban perspective on a legendary land.

“It's a city that constantly vibrates, evolves, and interacts with its inhabitants,” says Zoltán Jakab, co-owner of the Cluj restaurant 1568 Bistro. Home to the summer music festivals Untold and Electric Castle, as well as the Transilvania International Film Festival, Cluj is a cultural center as well as an academic hub comprised of 11 universities. The city’s decidedly youthful air is perhaps best experienced on Strada Piezisa, which is packed with boisterous bars that are largely student turf.

Transylvania’s vast history is a complex one, at turns dominated by such groups as the Romans, Bulgarians, and Austro-Hungarians. In the wake of the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, when the newly independent Hungary’s borders were defined, Transylvania, despite a significant Hungarian population, was ceded to Romania. Relations between the two countries can sometimes still be prickly. Respect for all those who co-exist in Cluj is at the heart of Jakab’s restaurant, which nods to the year that freedom of beliefs was declared and the Unitarian Church of Transylvania was founded. Housed in one of the city’s oldest buildings, 1568 Bistro’s aura of openness is reinforced through a beautifully designed restaurant featuring a hand-painted vaulted ceiling and a wall of blue-and-white plates that contemporize Transylvania’s traditional ceramics. With dishes like cheesy polenta and crème brûlée-stuffed, spit-roasted chimney cake, Jakab says he “wants to recreate Grandma’s kitchen and give it a twist, to bring it to the twenty-first century, reinvent it, and show people that from good, quality, local ingredients, world-class food can be made here in Transylvania.”

Diners also walk smack into a history lesson at Varzarie, a Communist relic from 1970 with stark white walls and a neon sign. On Sundays, it teems with the post-church crowd from the nearby ornate Orthodox cathedral. A mix of old-timers, including well-heeled ladies in fur coats, families, and some young artists, order the signature Varza a la Cluj, a hearty mess of cabbage, rice, and minced meat. Varzarie’s retro personality is utterly different from that of the polished Manger, where patrons choose from an ever-changing menu of stunningly presented plates—gnocchi with peas and Brie sauce, a trifecta of sous-vide pork medallions—and listen to the likes of Morcheeba while pouring over the well-curated wine list. Diners seek out Manger with as much relish as Samsara Foodhouse, a calming vegetarian restaurant that offers respite from the city’s carnivorous bent. Between these sunny yellow walls, it feels, if only for an hour, that there’s nothing fruit-honey juice, spicy chili, and raw chocolate-mint cake can’t fix. Up the quiet road, past elegant homes, is its sister hangout Samsara Teahouse, comprised of a series of trippy rooms with dangling jellyfish and splashes of fluorescence that conjure Alice in Wonderland.

For those who prefer stronger concoctions, there is an impressive, growing cocktail scene in Cluj. At Hemingway, for instance, owner Bogdan Catana’s eyes light up at the mere mention of Cuba. Burlap covered bar stools, images of skulls plastered on the ceiling, and brick and neon accents pay homage to the country he loves. Even on hectic weekend nights, when disappointed folks flee because they can’t find a seat, Catana is unflappable, whipping up Margaritas amped with Amaretto and maple, and doling out the shisha customers clamor for as much as the drinks.

A short stroll away is Charlie, an inviting restaurant and bar outfitted with memorabilia devoted to its namesake, Charlie Chaplin, and an illuminated back bar that is heavy on whiskey. Many of the city’s finest bartenders have done time at Charlie’s, making cocktails that combine ingredients like brandy, jam, and elderflower.

Casa TIFF especially comes to life during the film festival, but this year-round cultural center always entices because of its laid back feel and playful menu that marries food and drink with cinema, whether it’s Chile “Spaceballs” plunked into BBQ sauce or an uplifting apple-ginger-mint mocktail off the “Disney Cocktails” list. Chios Social Lounge, on the lake in Central Park, is a fashionable space decked out with greenery. DJ-fueled parties after chorizo-and-garlic sauce pizza are just as good as sitting at a table on the sprawling terrace with boats floating by come summertime. Here, Calin Ioaniciu runs the bar, which skews toward highballs and classics. Raised in the area, he is passionate about Cluj and compares its ascent to the days of pre-saturated Prague. “For me, Cluj means beautiful people,” he explains. “Two guys I admire describe Cluj as big enough to find everything you need, and small enough to be cozy, friendly, and make you feel that you’re part of a big family.”

This organic growth is also evident in Cluj’s strong coffee scene. anchored by YUME Coffee Roasters. Like Let’s Coffee’s Lupsac, baristas are working hard to ensure the next, thrilling chapter of Cluj is guided by craftsmanship and modernity. At Koffer, for example, Cortados are savored amidst shelves of books. Narcoffee is where purists gather around a long, wood table with their cold brews, and a seat at the bar of Roots revs mornings with long blacks alongside berry pancakes. At Espresso Studio, co-owner and artist Milena Surducan says the whitewashed brick lair is “as much a coffee shop as a meeting point for people interested in culture and art in general, who want to spend their free time in a creative way,” through a roster of artist-led workshops as well as visual, literary, and musical events. This relationship is strengthened by a partnership with the annual International Contemporary Ceramics Festival, CAOLIN. “We want our guests to be immersed from the moment they enter Espresso Studio,” says Surducan, noting how the light through the porcelain lamp shades beckons, and that all the cups were made by Espresso Studio co-founder Ioan Sumedre, Jr.

To get a taste of Cluj’s rising arts world, pay tribute to the past with visits to the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography and the National Museum of Transylvanian History, as well as the Art Museum inside Bánffy Palace—more for the glorious 18th-century setting than the contemporary exhibitions. For those, venture to Fabrica de Pensule, an old paintbrush factory where guides offer tours of the artworks that now line its airy rooms.

Likewise, near the train station is Centrul de Interes, co-founded by artist Florin Stefan, who exhibits his paintings throughout Europe. “Everything is accelerating at once in the city. A rich cultural life and artistic sense come along with its academic profile. Living here feels smart and colorful, to put it mildly,” he explains. Backed by various arts organizations, Centrul de Interes brings together a large community of studios, galleries, and residency spaces that nurture a budding generation of talent. It was founded “with and for the city, and with an international perspective in spirit,” Stefan says. “Cluj is a city of ongoing transformation, still ‘in transition’ so to speak, and this makes everyone’s life more meaningful. We are all part of its changing landscape and, luckily, we can still leave our own trace on its future.” No fables need to be conjured in the process.