Manuc's Inn, 220 Years: Culinary heritage and continuity under the cantacuzino family crest

City Grill Group, Romania's largest Romanian-owned restaurant chain, has allocated a €6.5 million investment budget for 2026, focused on destinations with strong identities. One of the cornerstones of this strategy is Manuc's Inn, a historic monument and Bucharest's longest-running restaurant, which celebrates 220 years since its first documented mention this year. Built between 1806 and 1808 by Armenian merchant and diplomat Emanuel Mârzaian (Manuc Bei), the inn on Strada Franceză has survived wars, earthquakes and nationalization, remaining today the only period inn in Southeastern Europe to operate continuously.

Investment and strategy: Heritage as a business asset In 2025, City Grill Group invested €550,000 in Hanu' lui Manuc as part of a total €3 million budget dedicated to upgrading the group's venues. The investment is part of a clearly defined strategic direction: the Traditional/Classic segment, which includes Hanu' lui Manuc, Hanu' Berarilor and Caru' cu Bere, consistently generates the highest average guest checks within the group, attracting both international tourists and Bucharest residents seeking a dining experience with a strong sense of identity. As such, the 220th anniversary becomes a positioning asset for the group, leveraged through a long-term campaign. Six chefs imagined through historical research The campaign, "220 Years of Culinary Tradition at Manuc", created by Claudiu Leonte, Homemade Studio and photographer Alex Gălmeanu, portrays six chefs imagined through historical research into the Inn's past. Each represents a different era and a signature recipe that helped define the venue's cuisine. Their dishes are being reintroduced to the menu throughout the anniversary year.

"When you have 220 years of history behind you, stories are never in short supply. Manuc's Inn has served diplomats, merchants, noblemen and travelers, cooked during times of war and peace, and survived eras that nobody could have planned for. Our task was to decide how to tell all of this in a way that remains relevant for the 2026 guest," says Ramona Popescu, Head of Marketing & Customer Experience at City Grill Group.

The campaign's key visual brings together all six chefs around the same table: figures from past eras appear in black and white, like archival photographs, while the present-day chef is portrayed in color. Each character also receives an individual playing-card-style visual featuring their portrait, story and signature recipe. Sile Cârciumaru, the chef from the Inn's early years in 1806, left behind a recipe for lamb stew soured with borscht. Mogoș Grecu, trained in Ottoman palaces, brought the aromas of the Orient into the Inn's kitchen toward the end of the 19th century, while Jean Moscu introduced the Escoffier system in 1920 after studying in Paris. Pompiliu Pamfil kept tradition alive through the years of the Second World War, rising from apprentice to chef de cuisine, while Maria Ion transformed the Inn into an island of gastronomic freedom during a period when cooks worked with whatever ingredients were available. The story reaches the present day with Iustin Manea, who has spent more than 12 years at Manuc and is the creator of the caramelized lamb shank, a dish that combines contemporary techniques with the venue's Balkan roots.