Tucked away on the quiet back streets near Piaza Aviatorilor, Arcade has one of the most welcoming outdoor terraces in Bucharest. Comfortable teak-wood patio furniture adorns the courtyard with stylish umbrellas covering the tables; certainly wide and durable enough to allow for a dry meal if it were to rain. By 9pm, not a table was empty on the terrace.
Arcade has a certain Mediterranean flair, with generous portions being the norm. Executive Chef Carmen Iordanescu pays particular detail to appearance and detail, creating a work of beautiful art in her dishes. For appetizers, we started with the fresh Tuscany Salad, an assortment of fresh greens, tomatoes, onion confit, and croutons. The garlic-balsamic dressing was key and a surefire condiment to keep the vampires away. Next were the somon ceviche and avocado-stuffed mushrooms. Though fungi aren’t my favorite, I politely sampled them without gagging. For someone who likes mushrooms, however, I imagine this would be a delectable dish. The third appetizer was the bread-crumbled eggplant with buffalo mozzarella and pesto. This one was divine. The eggplant was cooked to perfection, and the rich basil sauce was a perfect completion to the dish. Our fourth and final appetizer was the eggplant rolls stuffed with feta on tomato tartare. This was also marvelous, with the cheese so creamy, it melted in your mouth.
The list of dinner entrees available at Arcade covers seafood, pasta, beef, chicken, pork and lamb. From these entrees, we tested the royal salmon and 1001 spices pork osso buco. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Salmon was more than just a grilled piece of steak. Instead, small pieces of salmon were encrusted with filo dough, and topped with sun-dried tomatoes. The tender, sweet pork filet practically fell off its bone and the accompanying mashed potatoes were just like I like them: salty, thick, and creamy.
For dessert, there’s no better choice than the chocolate soufflé and spiced whipped cream. Chocolate is always a front-runner in my book, but as far as I’m concerned, this particular "heaven in a ramekin" was the most decadent, delicious dessert I’ve ever taste--in my life! I wasn’t interested in sampling the other desserts after this jewel of a find (or even share my soufflé, for that matter). So, being the generous person that I am, I gave my husband the honors of indulging in the toffee--vanilla ice cream topped with almonds and hot caramel--and fantasy--a rose (yes, the flower)-flavored ice cream. He approved of both, as the dishes were licked clean.
I don’t even want to know how many calories we consumed throughout the evening, but one thing’s for sure—it’s a good thing my diet starts tommorow!
Arcade, located at Strada Prof. Ion Cantacuzino, 8, is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Reservations are highly recommended. Call 260-2960 or 0726-799-799.