Maramureș is not a place that stays out late. Village life runs on a different rhythm — early to rise, early to bed — and the bar culture that exists in most Romanian cities is largely absent here. What takes its place is the household table and the bottle of pălincă.
Pălincă is double-distilled plum brandy, made in almost every village from the fruit of the family's orchard, and drinking it is an act of hospitality as much as pleasure. You will be offered it at guesthouses, at farmsteads, sometimes by strangers who stop to talk. The good stuff — and most of it is good — burns clean and warm, and a single small glass after dinner is a better way to end an evening than anything a bar could provide.
Sighetu Marmației has cafes and a few bars, mostly around the central square, and they are perfectly decent places to sit with a coffee or a beer. Beyond Sighetu, the options thin out to village shops and petrol stations. Plan accordingly.