Nightlife in Cluj

The bar landscape in Cluj runs from polished cocktail lounges to terrace bars where the beer is cold and the crowd spills onto the pavement until well after midnight. Joben Bistro near the center has become something of a landmark, a steampunk-styled space that sounds gimmicky but works, while places like Bees Knees attract a slightly older crowd looking for properly made drinks rather than volume. The terrace culture is serious here in warmer months. Long stretches of outdoor seating along Strada Napoca and the surrounding streets fill up early evening and stay full. Craft beer has made serious inroads over the last decade. Taprooms and bottle-shop-style bars scattered through the center would hold their own in any major European city. For whatever reason, Cluj tends to attract bar owners who care about what they are serving.

Cluj handles the post-bar food situation reasonably well. The Turkish-owned kebab and shawarma spots near the center keep going until the clubs close. They are not destination dining. They are exactly what you want at 3am and they are everywhere. A few pizza-by-the-slice operations run late near the student quarter. There are 24-hour convenience stores for the less ambitious. The more interesting option, if you time it right, is that some of the terrace bars in the center serve food until midnight or later. A later dinner rather than post-club food is often a better plan. Romanian fast food chains fill some gaps too, though the international shawarma spots tend to stay open longest.