Chabad's mehadrin kosher restaurant at Yeshua Tova: parve breakfast 08:30–13:30, meat and fish 13:30–21:30. Supervised by Rabbi Naftali Deutsch.
The Rabbinate office publishes a consolidated list of supermarket products in Hebrew and Romanian: bread, dairy, miscellaneous products and sweets. No meat or wine.
According to the Rabbinate, Romania currently has no supervised bakery. Pat Yisrael bread comes from the Chabad shop, challah from the Shabbat catering, or you bake at home.
Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea makes three Power of Will wines from the 2024 vintage under Star-K supervision, pareve and kosher for Passover.
Bereshit's Shabbat catering, with challah and Kiddush wine, is ordered through the website by Wednesday at 22:00.
Kosher food in Romania: the short answer
You can keep kosher in Romania, but it takes planning. Almost all the kosher infrastructure is in Bucharest, around the Chabad House at the Yeshua Tova synagogue: a mehadrin restaurant, a shop with delivery, Shabbat catering and Shabbat meals by registration. Outside the capital, the only place we could confirm as active today is Cluj-Napoca.
The second tool is the Rabbinate's product list. According to Chabad, almost no product in Romania carries a kosher seal, so this list is what makes an ordinary supermarket shop possible.
In plain words: in Bucharest you eat at Bereshit, order meat, wine and Israeli products from the Chabad shop, and buy the rest at the supermarket using the Rabbinate's list.
The community itself, its synagogues and the Jewish school are covered in The Jewish community in Romania. Here we focus only on food.
Everything at a glance
| Place | City | Type | Supervision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bereshit restaurant | Bucharest | Restaurant: parve breakfast, meat and fish lunch and dinner | Rabbi Naftali Deutsch (Chabad), Pat Yisrael and Chalav Yisrael | Tache Ionescu 9, 2nd floor. Monday to Thursday |
| Chabad shop and order website | Bucharest | Groceries, frozen meat, wine, Israeli products | Chabad | Free delivery above an amount shown on the site. Delivery areas: ask |
| Shabbat catering | Bucharest | Ready Shabbat food, challah, Kiddush wine | Rabbi Naftali Deutsch | Order by Wednesday 22:00 |
| Shabbat meals at Bereshit | Bucharest | Friday night meal and Saturday buffet at 13:00 | Chabad | Registration and payment in advance |
| Chabad Cluj-Napoca | Cluj-Napoca | Shabbat meals | Not stated on the website | Alexandru Borza 33, book via the website |
| Community canteen | Cluj-Napoca | Lunches, Monday to Friday | Not stated on the website: ask | Horea 21-23, order a day ahead |
| The Rabbinate's kosher list | All of Romania | Supermarket products | Chief Rabbi Rafael Shaffer | Updated June 2026. No meat or wine |
| Power of Will wines | Segarcea winery, Dolj County | Red wine, 2024 vintage | Star-K, pareve and kosher for Passover | Only with the Star-K symbol and a lot number |
Bucharest: Chabad's Bereshit restaurant
What it is. Chabad's mehadrin kosher restaurant, on the second floor of the Yeshua Tova synagogue at Tache Ionescu Street 9 in the city centre, supervised by Rabbi Naftali Deutsch, with Pat Yisrael and Chalav Yisrael.
When. According to Chabad, Monday to Thursday: parve breakfasts from 08:30 to 13:30, then meat and fish until 21:30. Friday and Sunday are not listed. The menu runs from oven-baked chicken and schnitzel to shawarma, salmon and children's dishes. There is no dairy service.
How to book. Use the table reservation form on the Bereshit website, or the WhatsApp number on Chabad's visitors' page.
The shop, delivery and catering
The shop. Chabad sells kosher products from Romania, Europe and Israel. According to Chabad, this includes mehadrin Pat Yisrael bread and long-life Chalav Yisrael milk.
The online shop. kosher-bucharest.com delivers frozen chicken and beef, Kiddush and table wines, pasta, canned goods, sweets, spices and Shabbat and Havdalah candles. Delivery is free above an amount shown on the site. Delivery areas are not published, so ask whether they reach your address.
Shabbat catering. According to Chabad: fish and salads, main courses, warm challah and Kiddush wines. Order online by Wednesday at 22:00. The site does not say whether catering is delivered or collected, so check.
Shabbat meals in Bucharest and Cluj
Bucharest. Bereshit holds a Friday night meal and a Saturday buffet at 13:00, after prayers at Yeshua Tova, by registration and advance payment only. Cancelling by Thursday at 11:00 carries a fee; after that there is no refund. Dates are open to the end of December 2026, and prices are on the registration page.
Cluj-Napoca. The Chabad House at Alexandru Borza Street 33 takes Shabbat meal reservations on its website, with dates to the end of 2026. Ask them about the meal and the supervision.
The Rabbinate's kosher list: how to use it
The Rabbinate office of the Federation, headed by Chief Rabbi Rafael Shaffer, publishes a "consolidated kosher list" in Hebrew and Romanian, last updated in June 2026. It has four sections: bread and substitutes, dairy products, miscellaneous products (things you can buy from any producer, such as honey, sugar, plain pasta, salt, and plain coffee and tea), and sweets, some only with a kosher symbol on the pack.
Rules worth knowing:
- No supervised dairy in Romania. Regular milk is allowed but is not Chalav Yisrael. Soy, almond, rice and coconut drinks are kosher even for those who keep Chalav Yisrael.
- Machine coffee. Many machines use a problematic whitener, so take only black coffee.
- Cheese. Only with a kosher source of rennet on the label, or from producers the Rabbinate checked, under its conditions.
- Ketchup. Some approvals depend on the code on the cap.
- Vegetables. Cauliflower, broccoli and some berries are flagged for insects.
The list does not cover meat, poultry or wine: buy these only with defined supervision. It does include products from chains such as Mega Image, Kaufland and Carrefour, so most of the weekly shop can be done at an ordinary supermarket. Chabad also links to a PDF list, but it dates from 2018; use the Rabbinate's list.
Keeping kosher in Romania is a matter of routine, not luck: one good restaurant, a shop with delivery and a Rabbinate list that covers most of the supermarket.
Bread and challah: no supervised bakery
According to the Rabbinate, Romania currently has no supervised bakery. Your options: Pat Yisrael bread from the Chabad shop (according to Chabad), challah from Bereshit's Shabbat catering, or industrial breads the Rabbinate approves when all ingredients are acceptable. Supermarket and neighbourhood bakery bread is not recommended, because the same oven also bakes pastries with meat or cheese.
Many families simply bake challah at home on Friday. Sugar, sunflower oil and salt appear on the list as needing no supervision. For flour, check the list or ask the Rabbinate.
Kosher wine: including Romanian wine
The Rabbinate's list says wine, grape juice and cognac must be supervised. The simple route is the wines at the Chabad shop.
There is also a supervised Romanian wine. According to a Star-K certificate dated 19 March 2026, the Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea winery in Dolj County makes three kosher 2024 wines under the Power of Will brand: a Cabernet Sauvignon blend, a Marselan and a Touriga Nacional, all pareve and kosher for Passover. The bottle needs the Star-K symbol on the label and capsule and a lot number on the label. Without the symbol, it is not considered kosher.
Meat and poultry
As far as we could find, Romania has no kosher butcher open to the public. The kosher meat and chicken available regularly are frozen, from the Chabad shop: whole chicken, drumsticks, breast and beef cuts. Plan for a large freezer and an order every few weeks.
Outside Bucharest: Cluj, and what we could not verify
Cluj-Napoca. The Jewish community runs a "ritual canteen" (cantina rituală) at Horea Street 21-23, with a weekly Monday to Friday menu on its website. Since September 2026, orders must be placed at least a day ahead. The website does not say who supervises it, so ask first.
Other cities. In Iași, Timișoara, Oradea, Brașov, Constanța and Sighet we found no current source for a kosher restaurant or kitchen operating today. That does not mean there is none. Call the local community before you travel, and bring packed food.
Passover in Romania
In April 2026 a community seder was held in Bucharest, in the packed hall of the Jewish Community Center (JCC), after the service at the Choral Temple. According to the Federation's newspaper, community seders were also held in Bacău, Ploiești and Satu Mare.
The Rabbinate publishes a list of Passover-approved products most years (in 2024 and 2025, in the days and weeks before the holiday). Its lists say to buy dairy and butter before Passover, and meat only kosher. The Segarcea wines are approved for Passover with Star-K's Passover symbol. For matzah and special products, ask Chabad and the community a few weeks ahead.
Flights and hotels
On the flight. El Al, Wizz Air and TAROM fly between Israel and Bucharest (see the flights guide). We could not verify their kosher meal policies for this route from their own websites. Ask when you book, and on low-cost flights bring packed food.
At the hotel. We found no Bucharest hotel we could verify has a supervised kitchen today. Chabad lists 13 hotels within a 20-minute walk of the Chabad House: stay nearby for Shabbat and eat at Bereshit's meals.
A kosher family in north Bucharest and Balotești
Bereshit is in the city centre. According to the map on our website, the drive from Balotești to central Bucharest takes about 25 minutes, which is not an option on Shabbat for those who keep it. So the routine is a weekly supermarket shop with the list, delivery from the Chabad shop, and cooking for Shabbat at home. For life in the area, see the Balotești guide. When you choose a home, think about space for a large freezer and a kitchen that makes it easy to separate meat and dairy.
Checklist: the first month for a kosher family
- Before the flight. Message Chabad on WhatsApp and ask whether deliveries reach your address.
- Before the flight. Ask the airline whether you can order a kosher meal, and by when.
- Week one. Save the Rabbinate's kosher list on your phone.
- Week one. Order Shabbat catering (by Wednesday 22:00) or register for a meal at Bereshit.
- Week two. First online order: chicken, meat, Kiddush wine, candles.
- Week two. Buy an extra freezer if you need the space.
- Week three. Practise a supermarket shop with the list: bread, milk, cheese, sweets.
- Before the next holiday. Diarise when to order holiday products, and plan Passover weeks ahead.
Frequently asked questions
Can you keep mehadrin kosher in Bucharest?
Yes, with planning. Bereshit has Pat Yisrael and Chalav Yisrael under Rabbi Naftali Deutsch, and the Chabad shop sells Pat Yisrael bread and long-life Chalav Yisrael milk. Regular supermarket milk is not Chalav Yisrael, according to the Rabbinate.
Is the restaurant open at the weekend?
According to Chabad, Bereshit is open Monday to Thursday. On Shabbat you eat at the Shabbat meals, booked and paid in advance.
Where do you buy kosher meat?
At the Chabad shop, mostly frozen. We found no kosher butcher open to the public in Romania, and the Rabbinate's list does not cover meat.
Is there Romanian kosher wine?
Yes. Three 2024 Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea wines under Star-K, pareve and kosher for Passover. Look for the symbol on label and capsule.
Is there kosher food outside Bucharest?
In Cluj-Napoca: Chabad Shabbat meals and a community canteen that takes orders in advance. Elsewhere we could not verify an active place, so call the local community first.
The bottom line
Keeping kosher in Romania is a matter of routine, not luck: one good restaurant, a shop with delivery, a Rabbinate list that covers most of the supermarket, and now a supervised Romanian wine. What is missing is a bakery, a butcher and a choice of restaurants, and a freezer, your own oven and ordering ahead solve most of that.
If you are considering a move to Bucharest, book a 30-minute call with me. We will go through the neighbourhoods, the distance from the Chabad House, and what to check in the house before you decide. For the bigger picture, see the guide to relocating to Romania, and for everyday costs, the cost of living in Bucharest.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources: Rabbinate office, kosher in Romania · Rabbinate office, consolidated kosher list · Rabbinate office, products approved for Passover 2025 · Rabbinate office, Passover search · Chabad Romania, information for visitors (Hebrew) · Chabad Romania, Bereshit restaurant · Bereshit, home page · Bereshit, the shop · Bereshit, Shabbat meal registration · Chabad Cluj-Napoca · Chabad Cluj-Napoca, Shabbat meals · Jewish Community of Cluj · Cluj community, canteen menu 19-23.10.2026 · Star-K, kosher certificate for Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea, 19.3.2026 · Realitatea Evreiască, April 2026
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a halachic ruling. Take kashrut questions to a rabbi. Opening hours, prices, product lists and delivery terms change, so check them directly with each place before you rely on them. Correct as of 22 October 2026.
More in this section: The Jewish community in Romania
The complete guide: relocating to Romania
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This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
