Iași: “Cuib”, a restaurant for a bright future

“Cuib”, a restaurant for a bright future

My friend and I get hungry from walking the streets of Iași, so we decide to find a vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurant. Searching on Google maps for a such place to eat, we stumble across “Cuib”, which is the closest to our current location, more precisely, the nicely arranged public space “Espanada Elisabeta” of which you can read about in my previous article.

Where is the restaurant located and when is open?

“Cuib” translated in English as “Nest” is located on Gavriil Musicescu street at number 14, at approximately 15 minutes away from the Railway station and 12 minutes away from the city enter. A nice clue that would tell the people that they have arrived in front of “Cuib” are the green bicycles hanging on the restaurant’s fence.

The opening hours are from Tuesday to Sunday between 12.00 PM and 20.00 PM and on Monday starting with 13.00 PM and finishing with 22.00 PM. I guess, because is winter, thus is chilly outside, the front terrace is closed, but I think that in the summer time, this place is filled with nice tables and a relaxing summer atmosphere is also floating in the air.

The sustainable and needed principles of Cuib: the most sustainable bistro from the city of Iași

What’s impressive, to be appreciated, admired and followed about the “Cuib” restaurant is their concept.

Among the ideas and ways of doing a fair, sustainable and thoughtful business I mention the following: water for everybody – they are offering free water to all of the clients and are not selling plastic bottled beverages of any kind, a slow but good cooking process, the usage of local and seasonal ingredients to support the local economy, the reduction of consumption, reusing, recycling, caring for the environment by avoiding the use of disposable products, supporting a fair trade – 95% of the products are locally produced and the list can go on. If you come here on a bike, than you get a 10% discount on bistro products.

“Cuib” has a holistic approach, all of the produce they offer meet ethical, fairness, ecology, utility and solidarity. Their sustainable concept contributes to a positive impact both regarding the nature and the community. The restaurant is voted as the most sustainable bistro from Iași and I totally agree with this opinion.

A relaxing atmosphere with lovely people

I enter the restaurant and notice at first the beautiful decoration with many green plants, colorful pillows and all of the other decorative objects which were probably made out of reusable materials. At the tables are sitting people, the majority of them working on their laptops while enjoying same drink or foods. The atmosphere is extremly cozy and welcoming and of course, the waitress are very nice and respectful.

I sit with my friend at a table, our attention being caught by the things on the walls and we are slowly starting to discover what this place is all about, its running principales.

Finally, a menu from which I can choose a variety of vegan foods

A waiter is handing us the menu and before we choose something to eat, we are served with water, free of any charge. Being vegan, I am so happy to be looking through a menu from which I finally can pick something else than fries and salad!Thanks, Cuib!

The dishes served on this restaurant are free of any kind of meat, being either vegetarian or vegan and the options are not a few, but rather lots with many interesting names and various ingredient combinations. Everything on the menu seems very attractive, but lately I’ve been wanting to try a vegan burger, so I order a menu with a burger which includes a serving of baked potato and a tomato sauce as well.

The drinks

For a drink, I get a „Ana are” ("Ana has"), a warm drink with natural apple juice and cinnamon. On the other hand, my friend orders a vegan sandwich with pumpkin, mushrooms and many other goodies. She also gets a „Ana are” but with a different flavour of apple and anise.

As we are waiting for our food to be prepared and served, we keep discussing about this restaurant, both of us being interested in how can we as individuals make sustainable choices that have a less harmful impact of the natural environment. “Cuib” is for sure showing a good example regarding this problem.

The delicious and apealing food that I am served with

Let’s say that we wait an approximately 15 minutes for our ordered food to be served and you can see in the photos how my vegan burger menu looks like. Very appetizing! The drinks are served quickly, before the food and are tasting amazing, “Ana has apples with cinnamon” feels like a freshly baked apple pie, it senses cozy and comfortable.

The vegan burger is delicious, full of flavor and nutritious ingredients. The baked potatoes with herbs are just as tasty. My friend is also delighted by the dish she got. I finish all the food up and I declare myself completely content and satisfied with the savory dish that I just ate and also with all of the serving and kindness of the employees.

How much the food costs at the Cuib 

For the vegan burger menu I pay an amount of 22 lei (meaning 4,50 euros), a price with 10% discount because in a certain time frame they are offering such reduction for foods and drinks. The drink “Ana are” costs 7 lei -1,45 euros, and the vegan cupcake which I get at the end adds with another 5 lei(1 euro).

With that being said, I consider that “Cuib” has reasonable and affordable prices for a such vegan and vegetarian restaurant. Generally, these restaurants are having higher prices because the green or vegan lifestyle is unfortunately still seen as a trend, a fad, an aspect that should entirely be changed due to the simple fact that is not true and “Cuib” is a tangible proof of that.

Cuib recommended or not?

If you are travelling to Iași, are an exchange or a normal student in the city or just working and living there, I highly recommend you to try out „Cuib”, expecially if you are not vegan or vegetarian or are new to this lifestyle and ethics. There is a major chance that you will like the foods and drinks and even more important you could start to resonate with their conceptsand ways of doing things, a fact that could also contribute to a healthier environment for you and for the others.

Photo gallery