Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Tourist in Hometown

         Visiting the Romanian city of parks or planning a tour around the country and choosing Timișoara as the next stop?

A list of some of the must-be-visited spots in Timisoara, where freshly roasted coffee fills the air with it’s perfume in the chilly mornings and the green   leaves cover the gardens, home of unique dishes, during hot summer days. This is only the beginning of a journey; more lists are about to come, while new places promise to welcome us in the near future, at our next visit. 

 

first things first, there is coffee. always coffee. 

 

…and

when one thinks of it, first name that comes in mind is Ovride.

 

 

 

Quite young in Timisoara, Ovride Speciality Coffee , opened in the autumn of 2017, enlarges the local knowledge and the custom taste, offering aromatic experiences with every espresso and latte, or, more exotic, through Cold Brew, Aeropress, V60. In a decor ready to be photographed, one can also enjoy home-made muesli, waffles, banana bread and different cakes. Pictures of products and of the unique location can also be found on the instagram page

 

Past the dark-red door and enter the mirage of Narativ, the heaven of beans. 

 

With gates opened in 2019, Typica Speciality Coffee, placed on the narrow paved streets of the centre of the city, promises to tell different stories with every sip of coldbrew. Learn more about the path of their coffee and about the philosophy of the sustainable shop from the pictures that speak more than words.  

 

If in search for knowledge, why not participate at one of the events, organised with the desire of teaching the story of each coffee, the path one has to make, in order to warm up our souls.

 

 

“When I think of coffee, I think of fresh mornings, companionship, a book while it rains outside, a conversation with a best friend, comfortable silence shared with someone special and warm hugs. Coffee teaches us life lessons, like the importance of taking one sip at a time and pausing every now and then to reflect on life.”

Mitali Meela

   

   This picture says really a lot. Still, Garage Cafe has so much more to offer! Master of desserts (MUST: Gingerbread Cheesecake), one can also find healthy, alternative meals, from the beloved hummus plate to peanut butter toast and avocado salad with salmon and orange; of course, accompanied by a cup of roasted coffee.

   

“We walked on the beach, fed blue corn ships to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy and all the other free samples my mom brought home from work.
I guess I should explain the blue food.
See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. “

 

Rick Riordan

The freshness of seasonal smoothies meets the sweet comfort of flavoured coffee at the well-known Tucano, where the possibilities have no end and one can drink from tea, lavender and rose coffee to Crème Brûlée and Cannabis Coffee, always together with a book and a cheesecake.

 

            Not in a need for Kick Start?  

 

An urban, minimalistic atmosphere, with smiling, welcoming faces, the staff at the newly open Doppio are not only ready to prepare you one of the best speciality coffee in town, with a hint of chocolate in it; they will introduce you to the personal story of the used beans, making your visit a memorable stop.

 Not only the best Italian coffee in town,

Take Five also knows how to warm up the cold days with complex varieties of hot chocolate and how to cool with home-made ice teas, everything in a by wood defined atmosphere.

We need to discuss food, mainly pasta. No need to argue, there is always August Pasta Bar with delicious cocktails and a flexible menu, not shy from wild combinations between ingredients and textures. Freshly cooked, right in front of you.

Or the Quattro Formaggi and hamburgers from Urban Street Food, together with a glass of wine, down the mystic stairs, surrounded by bricked walls.

With one of the best in town, placed on the Bega River, Riviére captures memories from the sea-shore, with summer breeze and sun on the face…

…  with creative meals and delicious drinks on the table, listening to the boats as they reach their destination. 

The ageless passion for literature is being nourished at Librarul cu Papion. Located on the Emanuil Ungureanu street, in the city center, the bookstore also functions as coffee shop, moreover, as spot for activities dedicated to the young ones. The newly opened place presents itself as perfect for families, organising theatre plays, having rooms filled not only with books, but also with toys and offering during the Christmas time the possibility to meet Santa. 

 

Hidden from reality, in a home garden, Musiu waits with royal dishes created by using hand-grown products. A fix of basil, cherries from the garden, figs just picked decorate the cheese plates, the grilled melon (yes, you have heard well) and the best pasta with Halloumi, spinach and  pumpkin seeds (A MUST). And don’t forget to try the Carrot Cake for dessert and the fruit lemonades. On summer nights you can also catch a movie in an ambience defined by pictures of  cinematic universe and by local cats.

 

It changes with the season. 

Jack’s Bistro knows how to mirror the outside in every detail of the inside, while also bringing the magic of every season, from pure, glittery snow, to colourful leaves, in it’s original drinks and meals.

Our beloved library-cofee shop brings the needed diversity, in an enchanting space, near the dome from Piața Unirii. When the bells ring and the smell of freshly roasted coffee fils the air, children meet in a room specially designed for reading and exploring unknown universes, with evening organised for storytelling. 

 

Also the local Hub, La Două Bufnițe often organises discussions, debates on different cultural topics, meetings with authors and readings; a complete literate experience in a vintage, eye-catching decor. Just take the chance to fill your heart with all the beautiful covers, stroke the shelters and smell the pages from the antique side of the store.

 

Last but not least, something out of this world: Jecza Gallery, the private museum, filled with history, the eccentric home for exhibitions. 

 

 Defined as a „Contemporary Art Gallery” established in the 60’s, periodically offers the chance to visit, besides the spaces destined for complex, changing creations, the rooms of the majestic house. A interior of collections, memories captured forever in a fairytale labyrinth, a laborious stairway to a life dedicated to hard work and passion in every detail. 

 

“Veil after veil of thin dusky gauze is lifted, and by degrees the forms and colours of things are restored to them, and we watch the dawn remaking the world in its antique pattern.”

 

Oscar Wilde

      Still of The Scotland Yard Gastropub, definitely my recommendation for local drinks  tasting (in an english decor…). Choose between vișinată, caisată, Samaro (personal favourite) in unheard before mixtures.

 

 

… and of the Irish PUBlic House, a trip back in time, with a jukebox machine, daily menus, for beer escapades with the comrades.