Maramureș does not have much of a restaurant culture in the conventional sense. The food is in the villages, not in restaurants, and the best meals you will eat here are the ones cooked by the family you are staying with. Village guesthouses and eco-pensions serve whatever is in season from the garden, the orchard, and the farmyard — and the standard is often excellent.
The staples are mămăligă (polenta, the Carpathian bread substitute), ciorbă (sour soup, often made with smoked pork), smoked meats cured in the household smokehouse, fresh cheese, pickled vegetables from the cellar, and in season, mushrooms, berries, and wild greens from the surrounding hills. Meals begin with pălincă — plum brandy, double-distilled, strong — and the bottle stays on the table.
For travellers not staying in a village, Sighetu Marmației has a reasonable selection of restaurants, mostly along or near the main square. Elsewhere the options thin out quickly.