Trending weekend in Bucharest, November 29-30: Christmas fairs and the first Moldovan film festival, Night of the Ghosts, Subcarpathians and Bobonet
The end of November brings with it a long weekend and a city that seems to be torn between two impulses: one that wants to get into the Winter Holiday season already and another that is clinging to the last days of autumn. The good news is that the city has everything for both camps.
You can drink the specialty coffee at “the decent giant in Piața Iancului”, as Oana Titică tells the coffee roaster in the Nomonym cafe (Ilarie Chendi 1).
“In a small space with an industrial interior design, at Nomonym Coffee Roastery you feel at home. At least that's how it looks from one of the benches flanked by pampas grass where I wait for my order of filter coffee, hot chocolate and lemon cake. Every customer who enters is 'home'.” The barista knows his name, knows his order, knows that, as the case may be, he couldn't wait for the new Ethiopian varieties or simply couldn't wait to run out of the office. Although you might think that it is a neighborhood cafe, which gathers around the cups those who work or live in the area, many come specifically to Nomonym from other neighborhoods – either to stock up for their own cafes, or to simply enjoy a drink prepared from freshly roasted coffee in front of their eyes”, writes Oana Titică in the review on b365.ro.
Dragoș Mihăilă discovered the third Georgian restaurant in Bucharest, Tibiliso (Sevastopol 8) and recommends it: “The place looks wonderful, also because of the building it is in. With a huge terrace and two spacious floors, Tbiliso should be studied and set an example. You can see the hand of the interior designer, you can see the hand of the experienced investor from Odessa and the monumental effort put into the redevelopment. And it seems that things come out more beautiful when you don't risk you wake up with an Iskander rocket in the kitchen. Most of the customers are from Ukraine and Moldova. You can hear the clinking of glasses from upstairs, and you can hear a lot of walnuts, aubergines, pomegranates and spices that give flavor to every plate it's normal. The even better part is that vegetarians also have a choice, at their leisure”, writes Dragoș Mihăilă in the review on b365.ro.
On the occasion of December 1st, which falls on Monday, Grădina Olari becomes the site of a three-day Romanian celebration, with traditional food and a relaxed atmosphere. Visitors will be able to enjoy bean soup with smoked meat and tarragon (19 lei) or mitites with mustard and fried potatoes (40 lei), and for a good mood the organizers offer boiled brandy from the house. The event takes place on Strada Olari 8.
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On Saturday night, Control Club opens the weekend on a local note: Kangding Ray returns to Bucharest with his technical rigor transformed into sound material, something that seems as carefully calculated as it is instinctive. His sets usually work like architectures where the rhythm is the skeleton and the textures are the moving walls. Before him, Khidja will bring that mix of modulated and kaleidoscopic sounds that they have been building for years. Tickets start at 40 lei at the box office and reach 50 lei at the entrance.
Also on Saturday, at Sala Radio, Cory Henry comes before the audience with a show that seems built around a simple idea: music doesn't have to be complicated to be deep. Henry moves effortlessly through jazz, funk, gospel or soul, but retains above all a clarity that only stage experience gives. The concert also marks the period after the album Churchawarded with a Grammy last year. Ticket prices start from 200 lei.
Also on Saturday, those who measure their weekends in big concerts can go to the Roman Arenas, where Zdob and Zdub are celebrating 30 years of activity. It's the kind of anniversary where you don't need too many introductions. Presale tickets are 157.51 lei.
On Sunday, the dose of intensity changes a little. At Expirat, SPP announces a concert in a different formula, with rearrangements that send the known songs into an acoustic area not yet mapped by the band. Tickets start from 80 lei.
All Expiratul continues its evening with Night of the Ghosts, the St. Andrew's party with free entry, where music is just one of the pretexts to keep restless spirits away – the rest is solved with the garlic offered at the entrance.
For a calmer Sunday evening, Quantic brings Mari Froes to its stage, in her first concert in Romania. The artist from Brazil comes with a sound construction in which traditional influences are tamed with a rare delicacy, without losing the pulse of the music that made her famous online. Tickets are 150 lei.
For a loud and memorable Sunday, the Roman Arenas host the traditional annual meeting of Subcarpathian fans, on the occasion of the band's birthday as part of the “Subcarpathian Celebration”. The independent group, founded by Bean MC over 15 years ago and formed by friends united by a passion for music and folklore, has over time released material such as Ethnological (2010), Underground Folklore (2012) or The Volta Valley (2023), and their performances remain an opportunity to celebrate traditions, also reflected in shows such as Give him Foale or even on this annual holiday. Children under 10 can enter for free, accompanied by an adult with a ticket, and prices for the rest of the public start from 119 lei General earlybird access and reach 250 lei for the Golden Circle at the entrance.
On the other side of the city, Nightlosers stop on Sunday at Terasa Florilor, where their blues transformed through Transylvanian-Balkan filters remains a sure ingredient for a relaxed evening. Ticket price: 70 lei online and 80 lei at the entrance.
For those with a sense of humor, Mihai Bobonete comes to Sala Palatului on Sunday with his new show Metamorphosis – a comic summary of the personal transitions he has gone through in recent years. Tickets start from 94 lei.
The city is also preparing for winter itself: Caro IceLand officially opens its ice rink on November 29. The program in fixed sessions remains the same as last year, with access for 40 lei per entry and rental options for skates or equipment, a suitable place for those who prefer more active weekends.
And for those who are already preparing for the holidays, J'ai Bistrot inaugurates the Kristmas Market on Sunday evening, with a party in the garden, lights and mulled wine. All with free entry, the event marks the beginning of a period in which Bucharest will once again try to be the city that warms the cold evenings not only with decorations, but also with reasons to get out of the house.
Several Christmas markets are also opening in the city this weekend. West Side Christmas Market is the fair organized by the District 6 City Hall through a public-private partnership with Untold. As every year, the event takes place in Drumul Taberei Park. The official opening took place on Friday, November 28, and here you will find live music, fireworks, food cooked in the open air and the magical Christmas atmosphere we are used to this fair, but also the typical crowds.
And Bucharest City Hall is organizing this year, through CREART, three Christmas fairs: in Constitution Square, in University Square and on the esplanade of the National Opera. The first two open on November 29. And here, the people of Bucharest will discover products from craftsmen, artisans, local creators and local producers from all corners of the country. There are 120 Christmas houses waiting to be explored. At the same time, the little ones are expected to come to meet Santa Claus or to have fun in the Venetian carousel or at the theater performances at the fair. The organizers have prepared for the visitors an impressive 30-meter Christmas tree and a panoramic wheel.
Theater & film
At the Excelsior Theatre, “Our City” returns on Sunday with a performance that examines the very condition of the community and the passage of time. The text, signed by Thornton Wilder – a classic of American dramaturgy – follows daily life in a small town, surprising through the natural rhythm of destinies: children who grow up, loves that appear, marriages, losses and, inevitably, death. Under the direction of Alexandru Dabija and with original music by Ada Milea, the show chooses to talk about belonging, fragility and everyday presence, but it does so with fine humor and a silent melancholy, beyond grandiose settings. With a duration of two hours (with two intermissions) and recommended for the public over 14 years old, the performance on Sunday, November 30, at Sala Ion Lucian, can be an opportunity for theatrical introspection, but also for contemplation of the time that passes in our cities from nowhere.
The price of a ticket is 50-65 lei.
Between November 28-30, Bucharest becomes the host of the first cross-border festival dedicated to cinema from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, KinoHora Film Festival. At Happy Cinema Colosseum and Happy Cinema Vitantis, audiences will be able to see films that cross borders and cultures, from recent stories from Moldova, such as Moldavian stories (2024) or The man without the lifeline (2023), up to classic and contemporary Romanian titles, such as The street of extinguished lanterns (1991) or Carbon (2022).
The program includes both feature films and blocks of animated shorts, and each day brings screenings and meetings with filmmakers, giving viewers a broad picture of the cross-border cinematic landscape. Tickets are available online at the Happy Cinema Colosseum and Happy Cinema Vitantis websites.
This weekend also brings to the big screens two premieres aimed at different audiences, but both with the potential to attract the attention of viewers through well-constructed stories and spectacular animation or effects. “Zootopia 2″ continues the adventure of Judy Hopps, now a big-city cop, who, after a disappointing first day, teams up with crooked vixen Nick Wilde to thwart Dawn Bellwether's plans to divide the community.
For those who prefer the anime universe, “Gekijô-ban Jujutsu Kaisen: Shibuya Jihen Tokubetsu Henshû-ban × Shimetsu Kaiyû Senkô Jôei” brings tension and magic to a Shibuya paralyzed by a mysterious veil that traps civilians and sets off a series of dangerous events for ten colonies in Japan. Both films run with subtitles and are opportunities for the audience in Bucharest to explore captivating universes, each in its own way.
