Another reason why clients were forced to leave restaurants was the obligation to order food once with the drinks. Apart from the fact that very few people could afford to eat in restaurants or to stuff anytime (the rule had to be applied during the break between lunch and dinner when you just wanted to chat with a friend over a glass of wine), restaurants, except for the luxurious ones which were extremely expensive, had nothing to offer. If the bill of fares was limited and unchanged (pork steak, beef steak, forcemeat balls and Oltenian sausages), in the 80s the food shortage dominated the public houses. "Days without meat" appeared, replaced by frozen oceanic fish. Instead of the ordinary fried potatoes trimming (which was included in the price) you had to get used to Vietnamese shrimps fried in the unbearable soy bean oil.

As if it were not enough, curtains were removed from the restaurants windows. All had a double purpose: daylight pervaded the restaurants on the one hand, thus reducing electricity consumption, but, on the other, one could see and identify those who wasted their time in restaurants instead of working.

If we take into account that the last order was at 9 p.m. (the last client had to leave at 10 p.m. or otherwise the chief was fined), we can understand why restaurants became sad and often empty places?(129)

Fish balls were compulsory. If you ate in a restaurant, it was compulsory to eat two fish balls too. Or you couldn't drink a beer without eating anything. We went to a restaurant and ordered a beer and we were told: "Only if you eat". I said: "Fine". What can you offer us? Coffee. I had to take a coffee and a beer. (S.R.-B., D.R.-B., 138)

Restaurants were places thought to offer special food. One late autumn at 'Cioplea' restaurant in Predeal we asked: "What can you offer us?" "'Predeal' schnitzel, the house specialty". "Well, perfect, two helpings with fried potatoes." The potatoes were fried, but the schnitzel was extremely round. In fact, it was salami. (S.R.-B., D.R.-B., 138)

"Vraja Marii" ("Sea Magic") self-service restaurant at Bucur Obor offered a wide range of specialties, from ragout to fish balls, in fact only heads and bones! The finest food could be found in luxurious restaurants where you were not allowed to enter. They were reserved for people of Security! You could also have access to the basement of Intercontinental, to Self. Food was better there but it was 35 lei whereas at "Vraja Marii" it cost 10-15 lei. (V.C., 150)