Taverna di Dracula (Katie Wells)

If you are vacationing in Rome, Tivoli is an easy 40-minute train ride out of the city to a completely different world, geographically and architecturally. It was here, after exploring hiking trails with cascading waterfalls at Villa Gregoriana and living out my Lizzie McGuire dreams of running along the fountains in the Italian Renaissance Garden at Villa D’Este (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), that my family and I stumbled upon a rather unique restaurant, Taverna di Dracula.

After a long morning in warmer-than-usual November weather, we popped into the restaurant, hidden away in the tan, travertine stone village. To our surprise, we had the place to ourselves. The owner came out and greeted us like friends, and he even spoke English. As he handed out menus, he explained that he and his wife cook everything fresh and that some items might take a longer time since they were all homemade dishes. Some of the recipes had even been passed down for centuries. He shared his passion for the legend of Dracula and invited us to go down into “Dracula’s cave,” below the dining room, where we saw a coffin and a man stuck in the stone wall. Despite the spooky theme, the restaurant was charming and a great place to cool off. We could see the passion for Romanian culture and Dracula in the décor, including the drink coasters and lanterns.

Man in Stone in Dracula’s Cave (Katie Wells)

I ordered a chopped salad which was a medley of fresh veggies and hard-boiled egg. It was lovely, though I couldn’t help but sneak a few of my husband’s sarmale, or Romanian stuffed cabbage rolls. They were so delicious I wished he had more to share, and he probably wished a quarter of his lunch hadn’t been highjacked. We were told if we wanted dessert to order about halfway through our meal so we wouldn’t have to wait too long, so we ordered two papanasi, or Romanian sweet cheese donuts, in cherry and blueberry to share. Delightfully, they fit with the theme of Dracula’s tavern as the berries stained the white cheese a deep satiny red.

Papanasi, Romanian Donut (Katie Wells)

At the end of our meal, the owner came out with free shots of palinka, a traditional Romanian plum brandy (often dubbed as Romanian moonshine), that was so strong we joked maybe he was, in fact, Dracula, and we would be his next meal.

Since the restaurant was quiet that afternoon, we really got to chat with our host a lot. On the TV above us, he showed a slideshow of some beautiful nearby natural areas he recommended we visit. After we paid, thanked him and walked back into the daylight, a mystical calico cat sitting guard on a stump by the Tavern’s door bid us farewell.

Tavern Calico Cat (Katie Wells)

We had no idea we’d be in Italy eating Romanian food and touring Dracula’s cave, but it ended up being a delicious, fun and memorable part of our trip. I’ve learned that when traveling, it’s often the things you don’t expect that end up being favorite memories.