Summer is over, people return from their holidays and spend more of their weekends in the city. For premium hotels in Bucharest, it’s the beginning of the autumn brunch season. We decided to go to the best known brunches in town and see what they have to offer. We started with the lobster brunch at the five-star hotel Intercontinental in Unirii Square, downtown Bucharest.

A brunch is probably one of the most relaxing ways to spend your Sunday, especially if you are a foodie like I am. I mean, what’s not to like? All you can eat buffet and lots of time to do it. The only downside is the guilt that comes afterwards and the kilometers you (probably) have to run to burn all those calories.

But the lobster brunch at the Intercontinental is worth the guilt. It’s a culinary journey created by Italian executive chef Alfonso Salvaggio. A journey that starts with tasty appetizers (I particularly liked the duck breast), delicious soups (the carrot and coconut milk soup was my favorite), and goes on with five main courses that suit all tastes. You can find chicken with gorgonzola sauce, beef, fish fillet and even the Romanian sarmalute. I personally liked the home-made pasta, some sort of ravioli filled with fish.

The main attraction is of course the lobster, which is also accompanied by oysters. I personally am not into these things, but Corina found them interesting. I, however, enjoyed the fresh tuna fillet that the cook was so kind to fry on the live cooking station in front of me. The mango and onion dressing added it extra flavor. Each Sunday, the brunch has a different live cooking station theme: pasta with seafood on September 21 and Marinated beef on September 28.

When we reached the deserts, we had quite a hard time choosing from all tantalizing options, one more appealing than the other. I would have tasted them all, but finally I settled for those that I found more special: the passion fruit panna cotta and the chocolate banana cake. Both were smooth like silk and savory.

But it’s more than just the food that makes the brunch at the Intercontinental a delightful experience. It’s also the relaxed atmosphere of the Corso Brasserie, the friendly attitude of the staff, who are always careful to fill up your glass or bring you anything you need, and most of all it’s the nice view of the Bucharest city center. You can see people and cars passing on the Magheru Boulevard, some bikers in the Piata Universitatii square, all without all the noise of the city.

You can go to brunch with your friends, but you can also bring along children. They have a dedicated playground, actors to entertain them and a special menu that will be served to them on the playground. Beside these, the children will benefit from creative cooking workshops organized by experienced chefs from the hotel.

The lobster brunch takes place every Sunday, from 12:00 to 16:00. The price is RON 195 (some EUR 44) per person, with kids under six getting free entry, and half price for children under 12 years.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Intercontinental, photos by Robert David)