Europa Restaurant By Transilvania

We enjoyed the Sunday Brunch!!! Place is clean food was seasoned to perfection. Get here early so everything is hot! I’ve never had Romanian cuisine but I enjoyed everything the meats were awesome!!! Lamb, chicken, beef roll ups lol! My stomach is happy!

I don’t know anything about Romanian food, but the plates were fresh, seasoned appropriately, and pretty cohesive. This restaurant is home-​cooking. It won’t wow you with technique, but it’s humble and hearty and a novelty in S. Fla.
We shared 4 dishes:
1. Appetizer sampler: taramasalata, eggplant dip, vegetable spread. Taramasalata was rich and I could only manage a few spoonfuls. Eggplant dip had a great eggplant flavor: creamy and a little smokey, and was my favorite of the 3, and I would order it again. The veggie dip was bright with red pepper. The dips were accompanied by warm pita, chopped red onions, and ripe red tomatoes. Kudos to the restaurant for using tomatoes that were ripe the entire way through. I wondered if any or all of the dips came from World Market– I wouldn’t know the difference-​, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.
2. Fresh Cabbage Salad: Sliced thin, and lightly creamy with lots of fresh dill. It had been made earlier in the day, so the cabbage was nicely wilted.
3. Weiner Schnitzel with mashed potatoes: Portion was huge! Came to to the table very hot and crisp with a wedge of lemon. I didn’t try, but my companion said it was really good, especially when perked by lemon juice. I dipped my fork in the mountain of simple potatoes to the side. The three of us at the table could not reach consensus on whether they were from a mix, or if this is just a very mashed and bland middle European way of doin’ potatoes.
4. Cabbage Rolls with polenta: our favorite dish. Rolls were simmered in a mildly sweet tomato sauce and stuffed with veal and rice. They were flavorful and yet light. Simple ingredients that, when stewed together, melded into a cohesive dish, no one flavor dominating. The polenta on the side was pillow-​ey. Unexpected and good, and flavor-​wise very simple (no cheese) so as not to overwhelm the cabbage rolls.
Service: one very nice girl who seemed to apologize every time she came to the table. She didn’t speak much English so we had to gesture. She was pretty attentive and quick and we were grateful.
If you want ice in a drink, they will bring a separate pitcher with ice, and you use tongs to place each ice cube in your glass. (I personally hate ice and was amused to watch my companion struggle to grasp each cube to fill her glass.)
Space: Sparsely decorated, feels cavernous and a little echo-​ey. There is a nice bar in the back. They played earnest, beat-​pulsing house remix versions of the Macarena and the Gypsy Kings. There was a large party of Eastern Europeans next to us. I take this as a good sign when folks from the restaurant’s approximate provenance are there enjoying the food.
Not a first date place, but the food is solid, and it’s quirky. Prices are fair. For three people, no wine but sparkling water and hot tea, it was $ 51. We enjoyed it and will be back.

This is the Romanian restaurant that used to be called Transylvania, now a few blocks from its previous location. It is a large attractive restaurant, but this Friday evening we were the only customers. My impression is that the food had gone down hill, or has at least become Americanized. The Romanians in our party felt the food was good, but noted that it should have had much more garlic. This may explain the general lack of oomph in the dishes I tasted. None of this is to say that the food is bad. It is good food at prices that are not too crazy. The problem is that Romanian food can be wonderful, a mixture of middle eastern and middle European. This really isn’t that, probably because the owners realize that Americans don’t know what Romanian food is and might be scared off by the strong flavor of the real thing. Where oh where are the European Jews of my grandparents generation who are the natural audience for a real Romanian restaurant.
For those who are looking for middle European food that is really authentic, though not in Hollywood, and not Romanian either, I would recommend Uncle Lui’s, offering no compromises in its Hungarian cooking, atmosphere or accent. There is also a nice Armenian/​Russian restaurant on the Hollywood Boardwalk with great borscht. But these are another story.

The level of disappointment is indescribable. I would have rated this restaurant negative stars if I could have. The goulash was dry tough and tasted like it was served 3 days ago, along with the polenta they served as a side dish. The veal schnitzel was beer battered and also tough, and covered in a unfitting dill sauce. The rice it came with looked like it was made with gelatin and would have been better served as a dry risotto. The atmosphere was uncomfortable, hot, and had a disorganized staff that was unwelcoming. The only bright spot (as dim as it was) was our waitress who was nice, but new, and had no grasp of the menu what so ever. The 4.5 star rating on Unilocal is misleading, because there has to be new owners. STAY AWAY!!!

Great romanian food.
Last weekend we were dining there.
With the bouffet … great deal, great food.
Thanks.

Excellent, authentic Romanian food!
My girlfriend and I live in the Chicago area, but we were in the Lauterdale area for vacation. She is Romanian (born & raised), so she is a tough critic for Romanian food.
Needless to say, she was (and I was) very pleased with the food. Everything tasted as it should, and was obviously prepared by somebody who takes Romanian cuisine seriously.
Service was very friendly even before we let on that she was Romanian. The owner seated and waited on us himself, occasionally delegating the task to other servers. Naturally, as soon as we revealed that my GF was Romanian, the owner and all employees became even more friendly and chatty :-)
There was a small, live Romanian band there, but we were seated outside so we heard but didn’t watch. We talked to some of the band members when they stepped outside during their breaks.
It’s worth noting that they have other European (German, Bulgarian, Hungarian and possibly a few other) cuisine on their menu other than Romanian food. You’re only going to please a small part of the population in Hollywood, FL if you don’t offer a broader menu.
That said, a Bulgarian couple (incidentally also from Chicago) was seated at the next table. They were very pleased with their meal and experience.

First off we ask the waiter hows the Romanian skirt steak. He says he never tried it. ok what’s the dressing on the Bulgarian Salad he has to check. I’m not in the mood for Italian he says they do not like substitutions… I cannot get Oil and vinegar! I ask for the dressing they put on the Greek salad. It comes some non descript yellow dressing. We order the Skirt steak medium rare. Waiter says they only cook it medium. The salata de vinete (eggplant salad) was off the charts! The skirt steak was very thin and cooked medium well without a trace of pink. The Mititei was ok nothing to write home about!

Really great authentic food whether or not you are from ghat part of the world (I am). Have mititei and baba ganush salad! For wine — try murfatlar. It’s not napa but you are going to love it — extremely rich nose and a basket of fruit. Very different experience, authentic Eastern European wine, brought back lots of memories!

Delicious food, great service and atmosphere. Definitely all 5’s!!!

What was formerly known as Transylvania is now Europa. Same owners, same food, different locale.
First ill say that the food here is authentic Romanian. Being that i am part Romanian, i grew up eating traditional foods. This left me yearning for a place that would satisfy my palate for Romanian cuisine. I definitely found it here.
This is by far my fav place. Dont be fooled by the simple unattractive décor, the food is amazing. i love that the food is authentic and lacks American influences
So, if going to enjoy a taste of Romania, you must have 3 things. Ciorba de Burta, Icre and the Mititei with a side of mamaliga, You wont be disappointed.
iubesc acest loc! Translate: i love this place!

traditional east european restaurant -(romanian, russian, hungarian, bulgarian, mediterranean, turkis, ukrainean .
like the name said: europa restaurant by transilvania you will find here a mixture of the old east european local traditional cuisine.