🍺 Beer, craft and Oltenian wine
Pubs, craft beer & wine bars in Craiova
Craiova drinks in three registers: the big beer garden, the newer craft taprooms, and a short list of wine places that pour Segarcea by the glass. Nearly all of them sit within ten minutes of Piața Mihai Viteazul, which is the single most useful thing to know about a night out here.
23 places
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Closed · opens 11:30
Three different evenings
Everything below is filed under "pubs", but it is not all the same night out, and knowing which is which saves one.
The beer garden. The big, loud, dependable option. Curtea Berarilor and Old Court Biergarten are the ones that fill first on a warm Friday, and both work for a group that cannot agree on anything.
The craft taproom. Romania's craft scene arrived in Craiova later than in Cluj or Bucharest and is still small, which makes Craft the reference point rather than one option among many. Ask what is on the board — the rotation is the whole point.
The pub proper. Big Ben, Fado Irish Pub and Miki's Pub are the dark-wood, screen-in-the-corner version, and they are where the city watches Universitatea when the match is away.
Wine. This is where Craiova has an advantage it does not advertise. Epoca Steak House & Wine Bar is the serious one, and almost everywhere on this page will pour something from Segarcea, half an hour down the road. Asking for the local red is not a tourist move here; it is what the list is built on.
Where they are
Craiova concentrates its nightlife more tightly than most Romanian cities of its size. The pedestrianised stretch of Calea Unirii, the streets off Piața Mihai Viteazul and the Old Town lanes behind it hold nearly everything — you can change venue three times in an evening without taking a taxi.
That matters on a matchday. The ground is a twenty-five-minute walk west, so the standard evening is the centre before, the stadium, then the centre again. See matchday.
When to go
Terraces open from March and run to October, and May and September are the two months when sitting outside on Calea Unirii is the best thing the city offers. In July and August the terraces do not get going until after seven, because until then nobody wants to be outside — see the weather month by month.
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Tickets & tours
Skip-the-line tickets, tours and experiences bookable ahead — free cancellation on most.
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Where to stay in Craiova
Live prices and availability on a map centred on this exact spot — hotels, apartments and hostels, so you can judge the walk from here rather than guess from an address.
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Frequently asked
Where is the nightlife in Craiova?
Almost all of it is within ten minutes of Piața Mihai Viteazul: the pedestrianised stretch of Calea Unirii, the streets leading off the square, and the Old Town lanes behind. You can change venue three times in an evening on foot.
Is there craft beer in Craiova?
Yes, though the scene is smaller than in Cluj or Bucharest and arrived later. Craft is the reference taproom; several of the beer gardens also keep a rotating guest tap. Ask what is on rather than ordering from a printed list.
What local wine should I order?
Something from Segarcea, twenty-nine kilometres south. Southern Oltenia is warm enough to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Fetească Neagră properly, which is unusual for Romania — most of the country's good wine is white. It is the house red on nearly every serious list in the city.
Where do people go before a match at Ion Oblemenco?
The centre, not the ground. The stadium is about two kilometres west — twenty-five minutes on foot — and the roads around it are the slow part of any matchday journey. Eat and drink on Calea Unirii, then walk.
