Trending weekend in Bucharest, March 28-29: fresh fish at Unirii, The Lord of the Rings by candlelight and Damian Drăghici at Sala Palatului
The last weekend in March comes with low temperatures and precipitation, but also with an event agenda that can naturally walk you between very different spaces, from classic concert halls and galleries, to clubs and small bars. You just have to choose the direction and what suits you best from the list below.
You can drink specialty coffee at Sotto Coffee&Bites (Piata CA Rosetti 4), a cafe that opened last year, but which we are only now discovering. However, it seems that it is one of the places that did not go unnoticed in 2025, recently marking a collaboration with Andreea Esca, for example. They also have all kinds of good things that go great with the drinks here, like the pastries from HUG Artisan Bakery, in addition to coffee.
In terms of new places in the city, it is worth mentioning Chernomorka (Piata Unirii 1), opened at the end of February, in a space that until recently did not say much from a gastronomic point of view – Unirea Shopping Center.
The concept is straightforward and unfussy: fish and seafood cooked simply, with an emphasis on freshness. The showcase acts as a focal point – you choose what's available that day, from mullet and mullet to sturgeon or rapane, and for lunch there's always fish soup. The restaurant is part of a chain that comes from Ukraine and keeps some specific landmarks. They also have discounts every day of fish delivery, fishing in Croatia.
event
On Saturday evening, at Sala Palatului, Damian Drăghici's anniversary concert marks 20 years of the “Brothers” project. It's the kind of big event, with a mixed audience, where the repertoire is already known, and the focus is on the meeting between the stage and the hall. Tickets start at 90 lei, making it affordable for the size of the production.
In a completely different register, but also on Saturday, at the Wolff Platform, comes Gernot, one of the names associated with the Modeselektor and Moderat projects. The set is part of the DeDans series, curated by Cosmin TRG, and proposes a long night, from 10:00 p.m. until morning. Tickets are 50 lei at the box office and 60 lei at the entrance.
Also in the live music area, but in a much smaller setting, the Trei Bețivi bar hosts a concert by The Amsterdams without a fixed ticket: admission is on a pay-what-you-want basis. It's one of those concerts where the distance between the band and the audience disappears almost completely.
For those who prefer jazz, the weekend has two highlights at JazzBook. The David Luca Quintet brings an international formula, formed around the Maastricht Conservatory, with access for 90 lei. In parallel, a concert with Robert Patai proposes reinterpreted standards, in the same price range. They are club concerts, without additional decoration, where the music remains in the foreground.
If you prefer something more organized, but still musical, The Dalles Hall hosts a Candlelight series concert dedicated to the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings. A string quartet reinterprets the scores of Howard Shore, in a format of about an hour. Tickets cost 265 lei, which puts it in the area of premium weekend events.
In the same period, but over two days, March 28 and 29, Expirat Halele Carol continues the Burning Bridges series, now in its third edition. The line-up is built around the local alternative scene – punk, hardcore, metal, indie – with tickets for 40 lei per day or 75 for both evenings. It is one of the few events that gathers several niches from the Romanian underground in one place.
On Sunday at Quantic, the direction changes again: Lord of the Lost and Ad Infinitum come with a concert that mixes metal, industrial and gothic influences. Tickets vary between 99 and 150 lei, depending on the stage.
Also on Sunday evening, but in a much more relaxed setting, The Fool schedules a stand-up show with Serghei, built around political humor and everyday observation. Access is by ticket, and seats are limited, according to the club's classic model. I talked with Serghei about political humor, he being one of the few comedians from us who still practice it, in the interview here.
During both weekend days, things move at a different pace. At Palatul Universul, the Mezzanine Market occupies the space of Beans&Dots between 10:00 and 18:00, with local producers of objects, jewelry and design. It's not a spectacular fair, but it's steady and predictable – which is sometimes just what you need.
And on Saturday evening, at Art Safari New Museum, the first guided tour of the new edition takes place. Access costs 200 lei and includes visiting the exhibitions and socializing after the tour. It's one of the few events that try to turn a visit to the museum into an evening out, not just a day trip.
The weekend does not lack more niche events, such as the masterclass held by Juliette Schrameck at UNATC IL Caragiale, as part of the French Film Festival – free, but with a reservation. French producer, Juliette Schrameck founded the company Lumen in 2024, in association with Atelier de Production (Thomas and Mathieu Verhaeghe). Recent projects include Eat the Night by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes 2024, as well as Orphan by László Nemes and Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier, awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes 2025. Previously, she was associated with Agat Films – Ex Nihilo and headed mk2 films between 2010 and 2020, where she contributed to the co-production and international circulation of numerous major auteur films such as The Worst Person In The World, Cold War, Ash Is Purest White, Mountains May Depart.
Theater & film
For those interested in the theater area, here are two proposals that go in very different directions.
At the Bucharest Art Theatre, “The Nonexistent Knight”, by Italo Calvino, appears in an adaptation that does not attempt literary fidelity, but rather a stage rewriting. The text is treated freely, with inserts of commedia dell'arte and contemporary elements, and the show works on the idea of playing with convention – actors, characters and the author himself are put on the same plane. It is not a “classic” theater, neither in rhythm nor in tone, and the award obtained at the Bucharest Fringe – Independent Theater Marathon says more about its positioning: independent, experimental, with a focus on form and group energy. Tickets are 75 lei, and the age recommendation starts from 12 years old.
In a much larger register, the Excelsior Theater Bucharest is programming “Opera de trei parale” by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, directed by Răzvan Mazilu. The show is built as a large production, almost three hours long, with an extensive cast and a consistent musical component. Brecht's text remains recognizable, but the staging avoids didacticism and goes more for visual dynamics and rhythm. It's the kind of show that relies on the balance between entertainment and social commentary, without insisting too much on one of the directions. The duration (2h50 with intermission) and the 16+ recommendation clearly places it in the area of an assumed, not casual, night out.
In cinemas, the end of March comes with a few premieres that don't seem to have much in common, so you have plenty to choose from.
The documentary “Caliu: Nothing else, what else can I do?” follows Gheorghe Anghel Caliu at a time when the past and the present no longer overlap comfortably. The film avoids the festive portrait and goes to a more direct area: the relationship with the family, the return to the village, but also the tension between international recognition and the reality at home. The appearance of Johnny Depp is not only a marketing element, but marks a meeting between two worlds that normally do not intersect.
“Arco” proposes a story for a younger audience, built around a simple but sufficiently elastic idea: a child from the year 3000 accidentally arrives in the near future, where he is helped to return home.
In the area of horror, “They Will Kill You” follows an already tested formula: a night in an isolated space, a hidden cult and a protagonist who must survive until morning. The production unleashes waves of blood, plus action-packed horror and dark humor, in which a young woman played by Zazie Beetz must survive a night in the Virgil Hotel.
Finally, The Magic Faraway Tree, adapted from Enid Blyton, brings to the fore a classic children's story, repackaged for today's audience. Starring Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield as the parents, the film follows a family who discover a fantastical space hidden in a seemingly mundane rural setting. After moving to an isolated rural area in England, their children stumble upon a giant magical tree inhabited by eccentric characters such as Moonface and Dame Washalot. As they soar to fantasy lands above the clouds, this modern family finds the ultimate refuge and a chance to reconnect and appreciate each other for who they really are.
