Disclaimer
All Restaurants in this guide are the personal preferences of Pascal, who is a Swiss/German living in Cluj. The list is not complete and not a guarantee for anything. Have fun ;)
Iulius Mall - multiple options / Marty
In the Iulius Mall right next to our event hotel are multiple options for food. There is a big foodcourt with the standard fast food chains for a fast meal, but its nothing special. On the other side od the mall is a restaurant called Marty. Marty restaurants are in multiple locations in Cluj and offer in general a good variety of meals. Nothing I would pick for a fancy dinner but a good option for a lunch between activities. A standard go to restaurant for hungry people.
VIA
Via is in my opinion one of the best and most consistent restaurants in Cluj. It's good for small groups 4-6 people, larger groups need definitely a reservation. If you are looking for something fancy, VIA is your choice to go. The restaurant is very close to the city center, but the entrance can be a bit hard to find if you don't know what you are looking for.
Restaurant Rod
Similar as Via in quality but a bit less fancy in the presentation. Rod is a restaurant in the Zorilor part of Cluj (up the hill) which can serve a lot of people and bigger groups without problem. Still do a reservation if you want to go there. My recommendation on their menu are the Chilli glazed Ribs, by far the best on the menu.
Romanian Restaurants
Suprisingly I don't have many classical Romanian restaurants on my list, our option for the Icebreaker is Roata. There are multiple different Roata locations all with more or less the same type of food. Meat mostly grilled, in all variations.
Hungarian Restaurants
For Hungarian restaurants I can give two good options. Rhedey Cafe in the center of the city and Bistro 1568. Even if the names don't sound like good restaurants, both of them are good options, especially if you like garlic ;)
Spicy / Oriental options
Hot spicy food is not very common in Romania, in Cluj there are two good options for Indian restaurants. Gandhi and Indigo. Gandhi is in the center of Cluj, Indigo is located on the student party street which you might have seen in the City Puzzle. In my opinion, Gandhi is also the better option, but Indigo also serves a good menu.
One more oriental restaurant to mention is Marhaba, a Lebanese restaurant. If you want something different, that's the way to go.
Steak ? Muura Steakhouse
Right in the center of the city, Muura is your best goto option if you want a Steak. Nothing more to say ;)
Different Meat? other option - Moldovan
If you like meat there is one thing which shouldn't be missing on this list, but it's not a real restaurant. Moldovan is a butcher shop and by far the best option to buy meat for a BBQ, but you can also get it done in one of their many locations directly and eat it there. My recommendation is "ceafa" which is a pig neck. Be aware that the people working at Moldovan usually don't speak good English or no English at all.
Vegetarian and Vegan - Samsara Foodhouse
I would never go there personally :D Cluj also offers a good option for Vegan Food with Samsara. I can't really give that much personal insight into this restaurant but I had a work colleague who was flying from Zurich to Cluj just to eat there. Check it out yourself and share your info with the other vegans and vegetarian people.