pull up a chair – bistro fine, budapest

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Oscar image

For me, the dining in the evening when I travel is important like all the sights and adventures.  I do a very particular research online … and I always have all evenings pre-booked … a table for a nice Swedish lady. I don’t really bother too much about Tripadvisor … only the bad reviews. There is so many great websites to lean on, like In Your Pocket, The Culture Trip, Elite Traveler (fine dining), CNN Travel and Forbes plus local blogs.

Budapest is truly a city for us, foodies and it doesn’t empty the bank account. I thought that Budapest would have the same standard as Warsaw and I was right, even slightly better … even if I never had a bad meal in anywhere in Poland.

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Lately, I have been a bit feed up with tasting menus and that I have to listen to every explanation of all the 5, 7 or 11 dishes that is put in front of me. My Christmas in Prague 2 years ago put me off .. one of the top restaurants was just too much.

So I’m those days looking for restaurants that are creative, traditional with a modern twist … also a bit quirky and fun. I found them all in Budapest.

I recommend that you book a table to the restaurants in advance because it doesn’t matter if they are small and large, they have up to 3 sittings per evening. Never seen anything like it. Turning tables constantly. Really nice to see.

@aborfesztival.hu

My first evening was superb and gave my Budapest visit a great start.

Bistro Fine
Andrássy út 8 (next to Moments Hotels)
Budapest
phone: +36 1 611 7090
Reservation recommended
International, modern traditional
€€-€€€

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The direction Google gave me was a bit misleading … the truth is that I didn’t look at the map properly – and walked a bit too far. It was only 5 min walk from my hotel.

@bistrofine.hu

I was warmly welcomed by the restaurant manager and his staff, all lovely young men with great service minds and sense of humour. Was even able to choose my table, which wouldn’t be able 15 min later. Unfortunate it was far too dark at my table for Oscar to work  – so I have to turn to Google for images and all the food images is from the restaurant’s website. I was only able to find my main course on their website.

@bistrofine.hu

I later found out that the restaurant manager, Zsolt had been working in both Dublin and Copenhagen, so we had loads to talk about. He had been working with one of UK’s best chef Marco Pierre White at his Dublin restaurant, @MPW“ on Dawson Street. Once my favourite waterhole in Dublin when it was a colourful bistro with the name “Fitzers Cafe”.

@bistrofine.hu

@bistrofine.hu

Of course, I started off my evening with my favourite, Vodka & Tonic. I found out that Hungry don’t have their own vodka brand that surprised me a bit. I thought that every country with self-respect had a local vodka brand. Once again I learned something new. I know the have loads of good beers in Hungary and Palinka, which is like rocket fuel to me. Unicum is also some rocket fuel to made out of 30 different herbs.

@bistrofine.hu

My menu choices for the evening became: 

Salmon tartare, coriander, avocado, chilli oil, black mayonnaise
Veal à la “Kedvessy”, tarhonya terrine, porcini, goose liver
Plum Tarte tatin with honey and cinnamon ice cream

@bistrofine.hu

Great choices … my starter was a rough cut tartar with a little too much lettuce leafs on top – it was covering the beautiful tartare, but only for me to put to the side. Loads of flavours and very fresh … the black mayonnaise I didn’t like at all on its own, but together with the tartare is was superb. A very clever combination. I never asked about the black mayonnaise what it was made with, but I guess it were
squid or cuttlefish ink.

@bistrofine.hu

My main course – one of the best I ever had .. EVER!!! What a dish!!!! The veal was moist and so tender … the fresh goose liver was slightly grilled and those porcini mushrooms really tasted mushrooms. That dish will always stay with me. Look at the image above. The price was only 16.90€/£14.30/$18.00/170.00SEK.  I can get a burger for that at a restaurant here in Sweden.

@bistrofine.hu

I’m a “pudding” girl … most times I look at the dessert menu first before I look at the other dishes. I’m also a lover of a good Tarte Tatin – and plums too, so the choice was easy for me. A pity they don’t have an image of their tarte on the website, but I don’t think it would be this visual as this dessert, that I think is a local dessert by name Mákos guba, and it’s a Christmas dessert that they have turned into a dessert you can eat all the year around – wonder way I didn’t went for it. NEXT time!!!

It was also the first meeting I had with Hungarian wines, had a glass of white with my starter and a red with the main course – I had Hungarian wine every evening and they were all great wine. My last evening I had the BEST red I had for years, will come back to that.

@bristofine.com

Bistro Fine isn’t the hotel’s restaurant but they serve their breakfast. Moments Hotel is impressive inside I guess that the rooms are very lush … and plush. The building has been a theatre, hardware store, bank and nightclubs …  and now a designer hotel. Located on Budapest’s most prominent street, the artfully crafted palace – eclectically designed with neo-Renaissance influence – was commissioned by the successful tobacco, sugar, and grain merchant Henrik Schossberger.

@hotels.com

The restaurant also has a pavement patio … so when I come back one spring day .. that is where I will enjoy hopefully their Veal à la “Kedvessy”!

“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
 Anthony Bourdain

@bistrofine.hu