13 February 2026

London to Istanbul – Epic Rail Journey : Day 6

By admin

Day 6 of the trip and the first day that we wouldn’t spend any of it on a train. The original itinerary suggested by Tailor Made Rail had listed a single night in both Bucharest and Sofia, but we decided that as these were our first visits to both cities we would add an extra night in each. So we had a rail free day, and a whole day to explore. And drink.

We started the day with some sight-seeing. Yes, actual, proper sight-seeing! Mrs MA had read about a bookshop in the city that was supposedly one of the most beautiful in Europe so we headed there, a pleasant 20 minute stroll in the early morning sunshine. Cărturești Carusel is certainly very impressive, but still doesn’t beat Livraria Lello in Porto.

Cărturești Carusel, Strada Lipscani 55, 030033 București, Romania

After a browse and a refreshment break in the top floor café we headed around the corner to look at Biserica Mănăstirii “Stavropoleos”, an Orthodox Monastery that dates back to 1724. Situated in the heart of the old town it is very impressive, albeit some bits were rebuilt after an earthquake at the start of the 20th Century.

Biserica Mănăstirii “Stavropoleos”, Strada Stavropoleos 4, 030167 București, Romania

A few yards down the street was our first bar of the day, Caru’ cu bere, a wood panelled restaurant that claimed to be a brewpub. This may well have been true in the past but there is certainly no evidence of it now beyond a “house beer” on the menu. Despite much searching I have not been able to find any information as to who brews this beer, or where. That aside it is worth visiting this restaurant to look at the interior and to sample the good local cuisine.

Caru’ cu bere, Strada Stavropoleos 5, 030081 București, Romania

The day, and the heat, were catching up with us so we headed back to the hotel for a siesta before hitting the bars in earnest. We left the hotel for the 20 minute stroll to our first planned bar of the night but at around the half way point we had the option of continuing along the main road and turning left, or heading down a parallel side road. We took the side road option and as we got to the end, with the destination in sight, something caught the corner of my eye. I stepped back and saw an A4 piece of paper in a window saying “Ironic Taproom.” I did a quick check on Untappd and there was, indeed, an Ironic Brewery in Romania. So in we went. We entered a large single room reminiscent of a school canteen, but, more importantly, a bar with 26 taps! Around a quarter were their own beers augmented with several other Romanian breweries. Then I discovered what is possibly the best pricing I have encountered anywhere – the displayed price was for 100ml, and you then chose whether you wanted a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 500ml pour. Take note Camden…! We worked our way through a dozen of the beers on offer, a definite bonus!

Ironic Taproom, Strada Domnița Anastasia 4, 075100 București, Romania

Leaving here we crossed the road to what had been our original destination, NoRoom Taproom Craft Beer Bar. This is a corner unit and very small with space inside for maybe half a dozen people and a few tables on the pavement outside. 10 taps and some packaged beers in a fridge. We had been tipped off not to miss the toilet “experience,” and, as it happened, I was ready for the loo so went inside to find it. Nothing obvious, so I asked. At this point the girl serving took me outside and then led me down the street stopping at an unmarked metal door. She opened it and told me to follow the corridor. The corridor started OK, but it went on, and on, lit by candles, down some stairs and passed a large empty room, and on, down some some stairs, and on, before arriving at a very clean toilet! The walk took the best part of a minute! Definitely an “experience.”

NoRoom Taproom Craft Beer Bar, Strada Ion Brezoianu 9, 030167 București, Romania

From here we opted not to take the quickest route to the next bar, instead we had a longer walk so that we could take a look at the Parliament Building. Eventually we made it back to the old town where the next stop was Tap Craft Beer, a two roomed bar with additional outside seating, that offered 20 taps and c100 packaged beers. They had a lot of international beers in the fridges but we stuck to the draft and enjoyed 8 Romanian beers.

Tap Craft Beer, Strada Gabroveni 4, 030167 București, Romania

It was only a few doors down to the next stop, and one that I had heard good things about, Beer O’Clock. Another large single room bar with al fresco seating that increased capacity. They only had 8 beers on tap as well as a selection of packaged beers, and the service was quite gruff, not a patch on what we encountered everywhere else. My impression is that a few years ago this was THE place to go if you wanted to find craft beer, but it has stood still whilst lots of new places have appeared. We can all think of bars like that in towns and cities everywhere. I’m sure at one point it was amazing, but tonight it was just a couple of quick beers and move on.

Beer O’Clock, Strada Gabroveni 4, 030088 București, Romania

The day was beginning to catch up with us so we were grateful that our final planned stop of the day was only a couple of minutes away, Beer Station Lipscani. A large corner bar with seating on several levels as well as much more outside. They had 12 taps, plus packaged, but we had picked a bad night as a lot of the taps were empty. That didn’t stop me finding 5 final ticks before we made the walk back to the hotel. I considered another trip out to Ground Zero but I had reached capacity and it was time to sleep!