Moldova Restaurant Builds a Following and Eyes August Debut

As the area's first Moldovan restaurant gets ready to open, its Facebook page is full of chatter from more than 1,900 users — local and otherwise — wondering when the Newton eatery will start serving.

Signage went up at 344 Watertown St. earlier this week. If the logo looks familiar, as it did to a reader who sent in a link to this design critique blog, that's because it is. "The brand we are using [is] a National Tourism brand that has been developed with the help of the U.S. Agency [for] International Development," Moldova Restaurant owner Artur Andronic said. "We have been granted rights to use this brand to advertise the restaurant and represent our country."

The restaurant's debut will likely be in August, though "I tend to avoid estimating an opening day," Andronic said in an email. He had originally hoped to open early this summer.

When it does open, the aptly named eatery will offer authentic dishes from Andronic's homeland, including placinte, a pie filled with cheese, potatoes, cabbage, and more; sarmale, stuffed cabbage or grape leaves; a maize-flour porridge called mamaliga, typically served with a strong, salty, sheep's milk cheese called branza; traditional desserts; and coffee.