Excellent authentic Eastern European restaurant! Perfect for family gatherings and large meals together as well as quiet date! This has to be one of my favorite Romanian restaurants in OC! Family owned and operated with exceptional staff and service! I can't wait to bring the family back together again for dinner or quick Mititei or some Sarmale! Mhmmm hmmmm chefs kiss! The smells coming from the kitchen will have you eating and sipping wine all night long! The best part the food! I ordered the beef stroganoff chopped filet mignon with mushrooms cooked in a sauce of sour cream, tomato and white wine! We also ordered a side stuffed cabbage rolls/Sarmale in varza, ground pork in pickled cabbage leaves and served with cornmeal and sour cream! The sparkling water in the bottle was even from the Carpathian Mountains! This place is phenomenal! Thank you Dunarea for your hospitality until next time! Multumesc mult! read more

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Delicious Romanian food! Its so rare to find Romanian food, and Dunarea did not disappoint. I got the lamb pastrami, marinated deliciously and usually comes with cornmeal, but i chose fries. The husband got the dobrogeana and was pleasantly surprised. He liked it more than he thought, and it was perfectly cooked chicken with pork sausage all in a delicious broth. We also enjoyed some nice rose and cab, both Romanian of course. Ended the course with profilteroles! Super excited (: Large indoor seating area. Can easily accomate large parties but can also be intimate enough for a date. Service is super friendly and on top of it. When we came there was a large party, but the server (i think owner) was really polite and apologetic and often checked in on us. Highly recommend! read more

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The service here is truly amazing! They treated me like family and the food was just wonderful! Truly authentic Romanian food. I ordered Dobrogeană and man was it delicious!! The cheese on top of the perfectly cooked egg was so good! The chicken was tender and the pork and cabanos sausage was perfectly spiced. The sauce was fresh and just brought everything together! DELICIOUS!! The sarmale is everything it should be with the delicious meat wrapped in sour cabbage mmmmm!! Don't forget to order Papanași, the donut was fresh out of the oven with moist cake and the donut hole on top popped with deliciousness! The ambiance in the restaurant had low comfort lighting and the seating was comfortable. I can't wait to go back and enjoy more authentic Romanian food cooked with love! read more

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We visited Dunarea after a Disneyland visit, craving some Central European food, and, to cut the suspense, we were not disappointed. Parking is easily found in the plaza. The restaurant is large and airy, and the chairs and tables are consistent with many restaurants in Central Europe. The staff member who served us (I think it was the owner) was very friendly. We opted for the pork schnitzel (Dunarea schnitzel), the stuffed cabbage rolls, the stuffed grape leaves, and the pickled salad. The cabbage rolls and grape leaves were fresh and well-balanced. The pickled salad provided a nice acidity that paired well with the other dishes. The schnitzel was very similar to homemade schnitzel in Central Europe; relatively thin pork cutlets, coated in breadcrumbs and pan-fried. Overall, a very pleasant experience and good homestyle food. read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Dunarea Schnitzel/Snitel de Pork - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

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Ambiance: Resturant/ Romanian Cuisine Service: Super Attentive The staff were very welcoming and attentive. They always made sure the food was brought out, gave recommendations to our liking, and explained the cuisine since we were unfamiliar to it. Food: Delicious! The food was so good! I would recommend their appetizer platter. I loved their mustard veggie appetizer, it's kind of like an Eastern European savory cold slaw. I would also highly recommend the beef soup, chicken schnitzel, and mitite. I think this is one of the most unique eateries in SoCal as we don't come across Romanian food. Parking: Lot The resturant is in a shopping center with ample parking read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Appetizer Cold Cut Plate - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

This is specifically for Thanksgiving Day 2025. I wondered what it would be like to celebrate Thanksgiving at a Romanian restaurant. It was perfect. The food was mostly Romanian. They offered turkey and stuffing but we didn't really eat it. We had salata de vinete, beouf, icre, fasole. Hot food was mici and bar a calita. Fruit and cakes too. I would definitely go back!! read more

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The food was delicious, the presentation was superb, Alana was an amazing hostess! The whole ambiance so authentic. Truly made Mărțișor so special. We had ciorbă de burtă , mămăligă, mititei, cabanoși și Schnitzel. Definitely coming back. read more

Amazing Skinless sausages(Mititei)! Great service. --- Filler text because idiotic yelp forces us to have min 85 chars ----- read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Skinless Sausages/Mititei - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

I really liked this restaurant and the food served. However, we got severe food poisoning from eating dinner here and were struggling for 2 days and couldn't do anything. 4 hours after eating dinner here, we started having excruciating stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea all night with no sleep! We were going on vacation the next day and this restaurant completely ruined our vacation! I wanted to support small businesses and write a nice review but this food poisoning was so disruptive to our lives that I just cannot support this restaurant. read more

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It was our first time here recently. We were greeted and seated comfortably right away. We were here early after opening. The server was polite and helpful and gracious. The appetizers were excellent and served family style for our group. We each ordered a variety of dishes that were each excellent and generous. Our server kept bringing bottles of tasty mineral water that we all enjoyed. It was a delightful evening Birthday celebration. We will definitely return in the near future. read more

Very clean and the service was good. Very folksy. Food was OK but not great. Mashed potatoes were instant, beef dish was good but too salty. They served terrible soft chewy low quality bread. They should forget about the bread! read more

Very authentic! I went here with my Romanian friend and it was quite cozy. The ambiance was peaceful, elegant and the food was sooooo yummy. The service was amazing too! Our waiter was charming and helpful. read more

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Came here 01/05/2024. There was no wait on a Friday night for a party of 4. Dunarea is run by a Romanian family and serves Romanian/Eastern European food. Food: We tried the cold cut platter, meatball soup, dobrogeana, beef stroganoff, parisian chicken schnitzel, and dunarea pork schnitzel. Free bread rolls were good, but not served warm. Cold cut platter was very good with variety and feta cheese. Meatball soup was a big portion for the price and had a tomato base. Dobrogeana the chicken was dry, I would try something else. Beef stroganoff was a bit salty and the meat wasn't too tender. The schnitzels were both really good. Service: Excellent service by the bossman/owner. He made us feel comfortable trying Romanian food for the first time and explained different components of the dishes. Bread is generally not served with butter in Romania. Overall would try again and good value for the prices. read more

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The food was fantastic! I am half Romanian and I took my non-Romanian friend with me who loved the food! This food is better than some I've had IN Romania! The paprika chicken is delicious and the papanași is to die for! Would definitely recommend those two. The mămăligă is also a classic to get if you've never had it before. Romania food is absolutely delicious and the service is beyond fantastic. The owners are Romanian and I was able to speak in Romanian to them. The restaurant has beautiful, traditional decor and a warm ambiance. Overall 10/10 to this restaurant!! I will definitely be coming back read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Chicken Paprika, Skinless Sausages/Mititei, Cornmeal with Feta Cheese and Sour Cream/Mamaliguta cu Branza si Smantana - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

Imi place Dunarea!! O sa mai vin acolo cu familia mea!! Mancarea a fost delicioasa si atmosfera foarte buna!

The Service and Food was delicious. This was the first time my family and I tried Romanian food and we really enjoyed it. We can't wait to come back. read more

My 1st time trying Romanian food and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to do so! We called in to put a reservation for a Wednesday evening, but it wasn't technically necessary since there were only 3-ish other parties aside from us. Plenty of seating inside as well as outside. The restaurant is situated in a small plaza with a couple other businesses. No issues finding parking. We were seated immediately. The restaurant has some traditional Romanian/Eastern European decorations. Tables are set up a bit like a banquet, nice table cloths, fabric napkins, and cute small wine glasses even for water. A TV was playing a Romanian channel with a variety show going on, comedy, music, performances, etc. Very nice! At first I thought there wasn't restrooms, but they're behind the curtains! Makes it really classy and a neat way to hide them. Unfortunately since they just opened for dinner service and they were still preparing, we couldn't order the cabbage rolls. We got the: 1) Boeuf Salad: -Potato salad with chicken and mixed veggies -Not a strong chicken flavor, very garlicky with boiled egg yolk mixed in. 2) Eggplant Salad/Vinete: -Eggplant spread with onions -Also very garlicky and came with cherry tomatoes -Both salads tasted great spread on the warm dinner rolls 3) Dobrogeana: -Chicken, pork, and cabanos sausages in tomato and garlic sauce with cornmeal, shredded feta cheese and an over easy egg -Liked that the edges of the egg was a bit scorched and everything really went well with each other. -Meat was flavorful from the sauce and moist and the cornmeal added a nice, slightly sweet balance with the saltiness of the sauce and meat. -A decent amount of cheese too. -Pretty big dish that is easy to share. 4) Stuffed Bell Pepper/Ardei umplut: -Bell pepper stuffed with ground pork and cooked in tomato sauce. -Huge stuffed pepper. Meat was very moist and absorbed the flavor of the pepper and the tomato sauce. -I'm not the hugest fan of bell pepper since it's a bit bitter, but I was able to overlook it with the mix of saltiness from the sauce/soup and the meat. -Also a very filling meal. 5) Papanasi: -Warm cottage cheese dough served with sour cream and strawberry jam -LOVED IT. -Super good. It's like a large warm cream puff with a little ice cream? At the top. Went really well with the jam and the sweet cream on top. -I would get this again for sure. 6) Turkish Coffee: -Super strong coffee, but it wasn't mega bitter or gross either. -Definitely woke us up. We also ordered one of their European beers and it came in a neat, barrel shaped mug. Workers came to check up on us multiple times and we had the dinner rolls refilled for us. Nice warm, welcoming atmosphere. Great for dinner dates or with family. I'd definitely want to come again to try more of their food! read more

Amazing food and fantastic service! The waiter or owner (?) Came by to take our order, but we were a little indecisive. We asked for recommendations and the waiter just took our menus and said not to worry, he got us covered. We got romanian beer and he brought up a big spread of a little bit of everything! Absolutely delicious from the free bread, dish, and especially the beer. Restaurant was nicely decorated with cultural Romanian clothing and images, and had a nice dinner vibe. Will definitely come back again. read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Eggplant dip, pickled tomatoes, sausages, beef kabob, lamb, and stuffed cabbages with sides of polenta and fries - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

What an amazing way to celebrate my 40th birthday .. The food was delicious great customer service and the ambiance made me feel right at home ... Thank you to the staff for making it all happen . read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

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Amazing food ,a lot of european flavors . Service very freandly and efficient . Nice ambiance with music. You should try the soups and snitzel and also deserts read more

Excellent service and delicious food! The ambiance inside is really elegant. I had my children with me, so we got things they would enjoy, but my husband loves the sarmale. We always come here when we visit the area. read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Pork schnitzel and mash potatoes - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

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If you haven't tried Romanian food before, you MUST try it at Dunarea. I've been trying a lot of different European cuisines lately, and happened to find Dunarea when searching for restaurants to try in OC. My first time eating Romanian food, I of course had to do my homework beforehand to see what dishes are most popular. I ordered boeuf salad, eggplant salad, cornmeal w/ feta cheese & sour cream, stuffed bell pepper, stuffed cabbage rolls, & skinless sausages. I LOVED all of the dishes I ordered! I wasn't sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised with the flavor of the food! My favorites had to be the stuffed bell pepper, stuffed cabbage rolls, and skinless sausages. When I tell you they were BURSTING WITH FLAVOR, that isn't an exaggeration. The hostess that helped me was so kind when packing up my to-go order. I'd imagine the service when dining in is even better. I'll definitely be bringing my friends to try this place. I can't gate-keep such delicious food! 100% MUST TRY! read more

We brought my family including cousins to this restaurant and had a blast! We loved the food, and the waiter was wonderful. We ordered family-style and it was a great idea because we all had a chance to try everything. read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Food was impressive! - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

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Great food, everything home made! Had an appetizer sample platter and a grill sampler. Everything was delicious. Marius, our server was knowledgeable and welcoming. He made great wine pairing suggestions. Can't wait to go back! read more

We love the food and especially the service at Dunarea! It's a family favorite from grandpa to grandson. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. My one and only complaint is that I can never spell Dunarea right on the first pass... read more

Am avut o experiență excelentă la Dunărea Restaurant! Mâncarea este autentică și delicioasă ciorba de burtă și sarmalele au fost perfecte, ca acasă. Atmosfera este plăcută, iar personalul foarte amabil și atent. Recomand cu căldură celor care vor să guste din bucătăria românească într-un loc primitor! read more

Service was extremely slow .Food was not good either. I wouldn't say they are using barbecue To my taste meat was fried instead. read more

You won't find many Romanian restaurants in Orange County. Maybe this is the only one. The restaurant caters to a local Eastern European community with entertainment showing on the tv to take one home. But anyone will feel welcomed here. There are a lot of classic Eastern European dishes here. Many dishes will be familiar to anyone who's dined at a traditional European restaurant but some items are not readily available elsewhere. The lamb pastrami is a real treat. read more

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I don't understand the owner of this restaurant. Some people have the fire to succeed and seize the opportunity. Others make excuses. I have a group where we visit a restaurant from a different country every month. We've been doing this for 4 years every single month. I love choosing small businesses, mom and pops. We've had some excellent meals made by hardworking people who are very proud of their food and so grateful for our business. This guy, at Dunarea, is another breed. I called a month in advance to discuss the reservation. I explained our group of 25-30 people. I said we don't need our food served all at once because we understand that's impossible. This guy made every excuse in the book. First he said he could only offer a menu of 4 items because it would be too much to cook different things for everyone. We've been to restaurants where there was literally only one cook who made 30 different dishes. I'm thinking of the Sri Lankan place, the Turkish place and so many more, Then he said that he would have to add appetizers because he didn't want someone to order just an entree. I said no problem we spend a lot of money. But he still hmmd and hawed. He then said they were understaffed. Then I asked about how we can split checks. Now I understand that this is a problem for some restaurants but more and more restaurants have absolutely no problems doing this. He said they charge $1.50 for every charge and he would lose money. Okay, I said what about 6 checks for 30 people. He said no they would lose money ($9). Then he said it would be a problem for everyone to split checks. I said no, we can do it everyone is very good at it. Then he said that the waiters are too busy. Really? Too busy to make 20% from 30 people? Then he said their restaurant was small. The website says it can accommodate 75 people. I finally said fine, you don't want my business. That's fine. But I've been sitting here thinking about all the restaurant owners who have been so gracious and so grateful for our business and this guy just pisses me off. We're going to an Egyptian restaurant tomorrow evening for our July event and the owner was so happy and so excited and so appreciative. He asked me to come by the night before so I could see the place and make sure I was okay with it and he'd make any changes I suggested. He literally said "your wish is my command". We're going to spend a lot of money and tip big! Any "ethnic" restaurants out there that want our business? I'm looking for August and September. Tough luck Romania. read more

The food is delicious and the service is great. Both times I have dined there with friends and the restaurant made a plater of different main courses for us to share. The outside appearance is very humble, but the inside is very nice, with white tablecloths and tasteful decoration. I highly recommend you try this restaurant. It is worth the drive from anywhere in southern California. read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Platter of main courses. - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

Came to this place to try out Romanian food and really it's nothing to rant about. We got the sampler tray of all the main entrees. Grilled sausages, cabbage rolls and grilled goat meat along with polenta, pickled veggies and fires. Pretty bad for the amount of price they charged. The only good thing is that the service is beyond excellent! read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Egg plants spread! - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

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Food was wonderful and the restaurant is an overall great dining experience! Traditional Romanian cuisine just like your bunica used to make. Can't wait to come here again and would recommend this place to anyone. read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Papanasi - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

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Love, Love, LOVE this place! The staff treats us as regulars, even though we don't get here nearly as much as we would like to because we live an hour away. The food is absolutely delicious! If you've never tried Romanian food, you should. You can customize an appetizer platter if you want. Get all the spreads and the cabanos and the cașcaval pane; it's all tastebud heaven! Ciorbă (Romanian soup) is amazingly delicious and a must. I go with ciorba de văcuță (cow). All of the traditional foods are fantastic! It's a cute place, cozy environment, great staff, great food. Couldn't ask for more! We come as much as we can! read more

First time here, an acquaintance of mine recommended I'm so glad I came You pay for what you get, it was a little pricy but every bite a different flavor. No regrets and I'll definitely come back The customer service was great, forgot to ask his name but thank you, he was great. read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

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"It's not enough to have talent, you also have to be Hungarian" -- Robert Capa For Administrative Assistant's Day, and his birthday, we took our sharp Admin Aide out to Dunarea as he is Hungarian and he wanted to try this Hungarian/Romanian restaurant. Located in one of those nondescript strip centers where the best food usually resides, Dunarea did not disappoint. Excellent selection of Eastern European favorites along with an interesting wine list (alas it was lunch so I had diet pepsi) housed in a surprisingly large restaurant with bar and small musician area. Everyone else had schnitzels, I had sausages and fries, all of it was very good. Perfect comfort food with warm service. They even gave Colton a birthday dessert too :-) Highly recommended! Authentic food and great service! read more

Exceptional restaurant! I drove all the way from West Hollywood, and boy was it a treat! The severs are very friendly and great. The food was super good, I had Boeuf Salad, Eggplant Salad, Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, fish egg dip Mititei and Papanasi. Everything was amazing , my favorite were the Skinless Sausages/mititei, they were cooked to perfection, juicy and well seasoned. These alone were worth the drive! The cabbage rolls were my second favorite with so much flavor. Everything dish had an amazing flavor, you could tell the chef put a lot of love in the cooking process. The Romanian wine was fantastic. Papanasi desert is a European old school donut with cherries and cheese, omg good, a must try! The atmosphere is casual and relaxing. Great atmosphere with delicious food. I also had the pleasure of meeting the owners and they are super friendly and very accommodating. I'll definitely be back. To the owners Multumesc! read more

Dunarea Restaurant - Boeuf Salad , Eggplant Salad/Vinete & fish dip- icre. Delicious! - Modern European Near Me - Anaheim, California

Excellent Romanian food! Amazing service! We will definitely be visiting this place again! read more

Thank you to head chef & owner Dan & all of his staff at Dunarea Restaurant for making our intimate wedding reception so easy, beautiful, & delicious. They served us so much delicious Romanian food that reminded me of my home country & it was even a hit with the Armenians at our combined Romanian/Armenian wedding. He has recommendations for designers as well as entertainment & music for any event you would like to host. He has done this for over 25 years & it shows. So stress-free & we had so much fun with all of our 90 guests. Thank you Dan, Nicoleta, & their kitchen/wait staff. Authentic Eastern European Romanian cuisine & service!! read more

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If you're interested in trying a different cuisine, check out Dunarea, a Romanian restaurant. Some of the dishes that we ordered were: -Eggplant salad: This is an eggplant spread with onions. Overall, it was really good! I definitely recommend ordering this. However, I was disappointed in the cold bread rolls. Maybe in Romanian culture they eat their dip with cold rolls, but it would have been nice if they were warmed up. -Skinless sausages/mititei: This dish comes with 3 sausages and a side of french fries. You're supposed to dip the sausages in mustard, a combination that I wasn't used to. The sausages were a little too salty for my taste. Fries were good tho! -Lamb pastrami: This dish comes with marinated lamb and cornmeal. The lamb was good, but I wasn't a huge fan of the cornmeal. 4 stars because the service was excellent and the wait staff were warm and friendly. read more

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What a fantastic experience! Our Ethnic Dining Club seeks local restaurants to try a wide array of cultural foods. Our server, Marius, led us through the evening, brought out beautiful platters for sharing, explained each item and added details about how Romanians eat (including adding sour cream to the soup). We enjoyed the appetizers, soup, entrees, and desserts...but Marius was the real star. It was a true Ethnic Dining experience. read more

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