Indigo Budapest

Indigo in Budapest is an Indian restaurant offering really a massive variety of Indian dishes with a very nice flair and a cool location. They state on the website that “Indigo Indian restaurant opened in december 2005 with a vision of providing authentic indian flavours in a relaxing atmosphere” which is partly true, the flavours are great and authentic, though the atmosphere is a bit busy and somehow typical Hungarian so for me it was not really a relaxing experience. However the food, and they offer a lot, was great and the portions rich so there is nothing to complain about. Located in Jókai utca it is not far off the pulse of the city actually it is still considered as the city centre.

As mentioned the food is really great and the portions are enough to get full. I tried the typical Chicken Tikka Masala which was well spiced and had a really great taste and also the traditional Hungarian Dreher beer was good. It took me actually a long time to decide what I eat because the menu is ridiculously long with tons of dishes for every meat and fish type you can imagine. Chicken, pork, beef, fish, vegetarian in all kinds of variantswhich makes it not easy to chose something especially if it is full of Indian expressions such as Tandoori, Tikka or Paneer which maybe not everybody understands or knows what it is.

I think that the service was not the greatest, at least it took a while to get each and every drink so that you almost could order your next beer while you get one in case you want to have one more, maybe it was because we were sitting upstairs but there did not seem to be a dedicated waiter for this area. Also when asking for the ingrediants of a certain dish the waiter could not really explain us what it was and tell us what it is made of which for me is not really professional. So from this standpoint restaurant Indigo in Budapest is not the perfect place to go. However if you know the Indian kitchen a bit or have no problems chosing a dish that you might not know and just try I do recommend to visit Indigo.

Overall I was satisfied with the overall experience in restaurant Indigo with some remarks that you can accept. The prices for food are a bit expensive so that you are not leaving the place without paying around 2000 HUF for a main course without drinks. Although the food was very good I am still a fan of the Indian restaurant Hathi in Budapest in the 13th district which for me is the best Indian food you can get in the city. It is a bit far outside and not really nice to sit there for an evening though. But if you fancy some Indian food in the city centre do not hesitate to go to Indigo.

Restaurant Indigo Information:
Address: 1066 Budapest, Jókai u. 13.
Tel: +361 428-2187
Or visit the official Indigo website

Restaurant Jardinette Budapest

First time that I have been to restaurant Jardinette in Budapest was at a wedding I was invited to but obviously the menu was different from what the restaurant usually offers. However the chef was probably the same and as the food was very good I decided to visit restaurant Jardinette again.

Located in the beautiful Buda hills close to a cemetary Jardinette is in a really nice, calm area of Budapest. A large house with an attached garden functions as the restaurant. The interior is a bit boring to be honest but the garden is nice with a lot of trees and an area for kids to play. That makes jardinette very nice especially in summer.

Coming to the menu of restaurant Jardinette in Budapest which is fairly international but here and there you can find a typical Hungarian dish such as goose liver or cat fish paprikas. I decided to take the “Cream of aubergine with zucchini and toasted turkish bread” as a starter followed by a classic “250 g. beef tenderloin steak with rough pepper, served with cognac sauce, parsley mashed potatoes and glazed vegetables”. The aubergine cream was fantastic and tasted much better than what you usually get in Hungary. The beef itself was also great even though I like it more if it is seperated from the sauce, this one was covered with and swimming in sauce but the quality of the meat was excellent. One of the best steaks I have had in Hungary. The other dishes we had at the table unfortunately haven’t been too good, the cat fish paprikas was not hot enough when it came to the table and the trout was not really tastey. The only reason to not go there more often is that it is a bit pricey for Hungarian means.

Overall I was satsified with the visit in restaurant Jardinette in Budapest even though the ambience is not too exciting inside so if I go there again it would be in summer when you can sit outside in the garden. But if you want to have a nice dinner than I can recommend to go to Jardinette.

Restaurant Jardinette Budapest Information:
Address: 1112 Budapest, Németvölgyi út 136.
Phone: +36 1 248 1652
Or visit the official website

Steak at Jardinette

Gesztenyés Kert Budakeszi

Actually restaurant Gesztenyés Kert is not located in Budapest directly but in Budakeszi which is approximately 15 kilometers from the city center but as I did it recently with restaurant Kistücsök at Lake Balaton I want to recommend good restaurants I have visited and that does not have to be in Budapest only. So the Gesztenyés Kert is a small restaurant which gets a lot of attention because of the nearby Vadaspark (Wild park) which is just like a zoo but with wild animals such as wolves, deer and so on. By the way kids love it. Nevertheless, the attention is justified because the food, drinks and the service in Gesztenyes Kert are really good and a visit there is a good choice even if you are not going to see the Vadaspark but you happen to be nearby.

In Gesztenyés Kert you can find international dishes on the menu such as Cesar Salad, lamb Italian style or a simple steak but also Hungarian cuisine is offered such as Goulash (Pörkölt) or the traditional Somlói Galuska for dessert. The majority of the food though is something that can be called international. The quality and taste of the food is really fantastic so there is nothing to complain about and even though it appears to be a bit expensive the prices are absolutely justified. Also the arrangement and decoration of the food is what you can find in restaurants all over Europe.

Gesztenyés Kert also offers so called “tasting manues” which are 3, 4 or 5 course menues with a bit of everything, as an example the 5 course menu offers “Duck Fingers on Rocket Salad”, “Red Lentil Soup”, “Garlic Shrimps Ravioli”, “Lamb Italian Style” and as a dessert the mentioned “Somlói Galuska” all together for 6.900 HUF which is around 25€. I think that is a good offer and you will for sure not go home hungry.

Concerning the facilities of Gesztenyés Kert in Budakeszi they have a very nice outside area where you are sitting under Chestnut trees (That is where the name comes from Gesztenye means Chestnut) with plenty of tables, some even  under umbrellas and a small but good area for children to play. Inside the restaurant Gesztenyés Kert is really nice decorated and cosy so that there is nothing to stop you from a nice dinner.

Gesztenyés Kert Information:
Address: Fő utca 1, 2092 Budakeszi
Tel.: +36 23 450 737
Or visit the official website

Gesztenyés Kert Garden

Hard Rock Cafe Opens

Yes, the world famous Hard Rock Cafe will open up in Budapest on Vorosmarty Square in the city center. As you can see on the image on the left side it is stated officially on the Hard Rock Cafe website that the Hard Rock Cafe Budapest, Hungary is coming soon next to some other new openeing.

Hard Rock Cafe is popular all over the world for their rock music, stylish cafes, the collectables which you can find in the cafes as well as of course the food and drinks. Fantastic Burgers, Ribs, salads and other American style dishes are served to rock fans all over the world since years while enjoying rock music either live or from the Hard Rock TV music channel. I really like their burgers which are super tasty and the variety is large so that you can choose from original quarter pounders down to blue cheese burgers with bbw sauce, fried onions to guacamole and whatever. Hard Rock Cafes also have great cocktails which makes it attractive not only for beer drinking rockers but also their girls and people who rather enjoy a Mojito than a pint of beer.

Usually Hard Rock Cafe has a stage for local live music acts which every now and than gives a good opportunity to party like a rock star while having a great dinner or just few beers.

As soon as I have more information about the opening I will let you know and also write a full review when I first have been there to have a look, taste and few drinks. Than you will of course get some more pictures, detailed menu list and as usual my personal opinion. Until than you have to see the below picture.

Hard Rock Cafe Budapest Information:
Address: Vörösmarty tér
Phone: N/A
No website available yet!

If you have any information about the official start, the website or contact to the franchisee please let me know.

Hard Rock Cafe Budapest

Restaurant Kistücsök Lake Balaton

Kistücsök restaurant is in Balatonszemes at Lake Balton so far away from Budapest but this restaurant deserves a review because it is a great place to eat and if you happen to be around that I absolutely recommend you to stop by for a lunch or dinner. If you like a good dinner with high international standards after a day or weekend on Lake Balaton Kistücsök gives you the best choice to do so. I am down at Lake Balaton almost every year and this is by far the best food I have eaten around. To tell you upfront, Kistücsök is not the cheapest restaurant for sure but the food and location make it worth it.

Location and the restaurant Kistücsök

Kistücsök restaurant at Lake Balaton is located on the main road of Balatonszemes which used to be the only road around Balaton before the highway M7 was built, so now it is fairly quiet there since Balatonszemes is not one of the bigger cities around the lake. The house Kistücsök is situated in is surrounded by a high wall just like you would expect it from a house where people live in and once you walk into the property a well kept garden with trees opens up and many tables to enjoy the sun outside. This is the main part of the restaurant as Balaton is mostly crowded in summer and during the warm times of the year people simply prefer to sit outside, however Kistücsök has a large inside area as well.

Food and drinks in restaurant Kistücsök

When it comes to the food in Kistücsökyou can expect very fresh and season products on your plate as well as a good but not too large selection of dishes you can select. From duck, veal, beef over pasta, salads and vegetarian dishes you can get absolutely fantastic soups and starters as well as superb desserts. Speaking about the soups, I have tried I think 3 different soups over the time and all of them are really high class including the traditional Hungarian Goulash Soup.

But not only the quality and also quantity is right but also the way it is served, in a rather decorative way than just potatoes left, vegetables right and the meat on top. Have a look at the pictures below to get an impression on what to expect. Whet it comes to drinks you get of course a large selection of good wines especially from the Balaton wine region and if you prefer a non alcoholic drink I recommend you to take the homemade lemonade. Its fantastic.

Overall a visit in Kistücsök restaurant at Lake Balaton pricewise is above average and with a 4 person family you will come close to 100€ including drinks but I can tell you that it is worth it.

Kistücsök Information

Address: Bajcsy Zs. u. 25., Balatonszemes
Tel.: 00 36 84 360 133
Or visit the official website for more information

Kistücsök Photos

Kistücsök Garden

A dessert at Kistücsök

Wang Mester Chinese Restaurant

I have heard a lot about Wang Mester Kinai Konyha (Wang Master Chinese Kitchen) before I first time went there, friends told me it is the best Chinese restaurant you can find in Budapest. Upfront: It turned to out to be. Wang Mester has actually to locations and I tried the one in 9th district somewhere in the middle of a living area, so no hotspot for restaurants, no potential customers passing by accidentially only people who are going to that particularly restaurant. I musty admit that chinese restaurants do not have a extraordinary good reputation in Budapest due to the many small “Chinese Fast Food” restaurants that offer a full meal including soup for 2-3 Euro which simply cannot be proper food. So it is not too easy to find a good chinese restaurant but here you go (next to Momotaro and Hong Kong).

First impression on Wang Mester to be honest was not too positive as the facilities are really basic decorated, kind of a place where you rather don’t want to sit down for longer than your dinner takes but I don’t doom a restaurant just because the owner has no taste for his restaurant, its about the food.

From the food part Wang Mester in Budapest understands a lot. The food tastes superb and the portions are adjusted to hungry Hungarian stomaches, no chance you leave hungry. The menu is actually comparable to the bible at least when it comes to the length. Devided into starters, soups, vegetarian, poultry, beef, pork, seafood, desserts, side dishes and so on in each section you find at least 20 different dishes (at least for the main courses) which makes it really hard to chose from. Some complain about it because they have too much choice, some love it because they can’t decided if there are only few meals on the menu.
As I mentioned the portion are more than enough but also the taste of the food is outstanding and the prices are really fair. Taking size, price, taste into account it makes Wang Mester with the above 2 mentioned one of the top 3 restaurants in Budapest if the interieur would be a bit more cared about. One more thing to complain about is the service which, and that I heard from many people, almost with every order forget or mixes up at least 1 dish. So if you go there I urge you to double check the order and make sure everything is correct.

Wang Mester Information:

Wang Mester Konyhaja:
Address: Telepy u. 24., Budapest
Phone: 0036 1 455-7021
Opening Hours: 12.00 – 23.00

Wang Mester Étterem:
Address: Gizella utca 46/A., Budapest
Phone: 0036 1 251-2959
Opening Hours: 11.00 – 23.00

For further information visit the Wang Mester Website.

Wang Mester Konyhaja

Pastrami Budapest

About Pastrami

At first I thought that Pastrami in Budapest would be a copy cat of the successful Italian restaurant Vapiano in Budapest as the pictures looked very similar. With its central, very open kitchen and a lot of little bits and bobs stading and handing around, the menu written up in large above the kitchen it just felt like Vapiano, going to the counter where the chef takes you order, cooks a fresh pasta and off you go to your seat. But enough of that comparison because restaurant Pastrami turned out to be a regular but fantastic restaurant including waiters, a proper menu and without self service but all in a very modern and good atmosphere.

Mixed Starter (half eaten)

Food in Pastrami

The menu reads like a very good international menu with all sorts of starters, soups, salads and as main courses you can order nearly anything from fish over poultry, beef, pork as well as lamb and vegetarian. As an example on my table there has been a mixed starter plate which contained lebanese eggplant cream, olives, serrano ham and buffalo mozzerella which shows already how international the dishes are. As a main course there were Beef Enchilada , trout and a veal dish which all together have been very good and tasty. Also dessert wise Pastrami offers a lot and the blueberry crumble is simply fantastic though it could have been a bit more crumble on top.
What Restaurant Pastrami in Budapest also seems to be famous for are the sandwiches which really look amazing, with rich amount of toppings and right size. Not like many other bistros or bars who offer a slice of ham in a bun but really stuffed with all good. So you can see that the food is really good and worth a visit, though to be honest it is a bit pricey.

Service in Pastrami

Next to the fantstic food the atmosphere and the staff is really nice and friendly as well as children are more than welcome in Pastrami who have an own large playing area. Finally not a restaurant which fills up every single spot of the location with chairs and tables. The style is kind of industrial with a super high ceiling, pipes and electricity is openly visible and large panoramic windows. The decorations is into the detail with loads of little things, books, wine shelves, bycicles and much more stuff to watch. Also the waiters and chefs are friendly and helpful, you can even go up to the counter watch what is being cooked and have a chat with the guys preparing you food.

So overall I must say Pastrami in Budapest is really worth a try and if you want to go out for a good dinner you definitely choose a good place. It is scatching on “My Top 5″ list of restaurants in Budapest very strong but to finally land there I have to go there at least a second time. Give it a try you will not regret it and have a look at the images below. Or have you been to Restaurant Pastrami in Budapest already? Than leave a comment below.

Pastrami Information

Address: 1036 Budapest, Lajos utca 93-99.
Opening hours: from 8 AM to 11 PM every day
Phone: +36 1 430 17 31
Or visit the Pastrami website (very good and attractive on by the way)

Restaurant Pastrami Kitchen

Mangalica Ham at Restaurant Pastrami

Restaurant Pastrami Budapest Outside

Budai Gourmet Festival

The Budai Gourmet Festival in Budapest (Millenaris Park) is organized by Sziget.hu, the company organizing the Sziget Festival, Balaton Sound and the Volt Festival in Sopron as well. So it is ensured that this festival is professionally organized maybe even a bit too professional in my opinion. For the relativly high entrance fee of 2.900 HUF you are equipped with a wine glass and a payment card (based on NFC -Near Field Communication technology) in order to make your payments at the stands. This payment method seems to be very popular nowadays among festivals in Budapest, this was the case at the Pálinka Festival already, and the card will be valid for the Balaton Sound, Sziget Festival as well as the Volt Festival as well. OK, enough talk about the organizational issues, let’s jump into what the Budai Gourmet Festival has to offer in terms of Gourmet.

Basically the festival is built up on 3 types of stands: Wine and Pálinka producers, gourmet stores and resturants in Budapest.

Wine and Pálinka

The wine and Pálinka part to be honest is more or less the same as what you get at the dedicated Budapest Wine Festival and the Pálinka Festival so you have well known brands such as Rázangyal Pálinka, Bock Wine, Duzsi Tamás from Szekszárd and so on. So compared to the Wine / Pálinka Festival you will not get any benefit though it is always good to have good wine and pálinka on such a fetival an the Hungarian wine is quite good. Anyways you will get the typical tasting of different producers just in case you are interested in products like this.

Budapest Gourmet Stores

This part of the Budai Gourmet Festival was actually the most interesting since it is not too easy to find gourmet stores in Budapest apart from the well known such as Culinaris or the ones I wrote about already like for example Villa Bagatelle. But as I found out there is far more to discover in terms of gourmet stores in Budapest and other shops dealing just with good food, spices and traditions from around the world. There is for example a cooking school called ChefParade which gives courses in cooking exotic dishes from Thailand, Mexico or mainly for foreigners Hungary. Also I discovered a Spanish shop, which unfortunately does not have any website to link to, which sells Spanish sausage, ham, wine and much more. So you don’t always need to run to restaurant Pata Negra in Budapest to get your Tapas. So all these gourmet stores were present on the Budai Gourmet Festival and showed their products and gave bits and pieces to taste.

Restaurants

As you know I am writing quite much about restaurants in Budapest so this part was not too exciting for me, nevertheless there were some restaurants which I have not heard off and some which I have heard off a lot but never made it to go there such as Nobu, the newly opened restaurant in Hotel Kempinski. The restaurants offered a small range of really impressive creations that you could try for fairly high prices but that is normal for a festival like that so I tried only a few things and definitely I have some more restaurants on my “To Go” list for the coming weeks and months. One highlight was for sure the Café Dérnyé which I wrote a review about some time ago and all I wrote was about having a good breakfast, which is still true due to the fabolous bread they have, but I will for sure revisit the restaurant for a good dinner.

That’s it for the culinary part of the festival. Additionally I have to say that the flair and atmosphere on the festival was extremely nice, I felt like on a small holiday for the few hours I have been there. Due to this atmosphere with live music, the good weather and much more it made the festival also extremly children friendly so it is a good place to go as a family as well. Overall I can just recommend the Budai Gourmet Festival in Budapest to taste things from around the world, discover the gourmet corner of Budapest and try Hungarian products in one go.

Budai Gourmet Festival Information

For more information you should visit the website and for impressions I recommend to have a look in the galleries on their Facebook page. In both channels you will be kept informed about the next festival.

Pörkölt Recipe

Ingredients for your Pörkölt

• Beef meat
• Onions
• Paprika powder, pepper, salt
• Some water

How to do your Pörkölt

In a large pot or in the Cauldron above the open fire you need to fry the finely chopped onions. Add the meat and stir it around, once fried add the paprika powder and the salt and add a bit of water, than basically you just need to let it boil until the meat is tender. One tipp, when you add the paprika powder, leave it on top for few minutes and do not stir it in immediately. If the powder gets fried it will not add the nice red color to your Pörkölt, if you leave it on the meat for a while the juice will turn nice and red, than stir it around.
Pörkölt is usually served with potatoes but you can eat it with pasta or even rice as well. Very well next to it goes the so called “Savanyúság” which are pickeled vegetables like cucumber, cabbage or spicy peppers. Enjoy your meal.

Lángos

Lángos is probably one of the traditional Hungarian food that you immediately connect with Hungary, just like the Goulash Soup or Paprika. There is no festival or event without a booth serving you fresh fried Lángos in all its different ways. Lángos is a deep fried dough topped with different things such as tejföl (Sour Cream), cheese and garlic sauce. Sounds all a bit wierd but in the end its a kind of bread with sauce on top. I have eaten many of those Lángos all over Hungary, on festivals or on Lake Balaton but I never thought about how it is made so just for this article I was reading different receipes and in the end it sounds fairly simple even though I wouldn’t like to make it at home because my kitchen will be a mess. Anyways, Lángos belongs to Hungary just like the Parliament or Pálinka.

Lángos receipe

What you need for your Lángos

• 400g flour
• 1200g potatoes
• 20g yeast
• 30g sugar
• 200ml milk
• salt and oil for frying

How to make your Lángos

Peel the potatoes, boil them in salted water until they are soft and mash them while they are hot. After that you mix in a seperate bowl the yeast, a little sugar, the milk warmed up a bit and a bit of the flour until the mixture is smooth, leave it to rise. To this mixture you add the mashed potatoes and the rest of the flourand add so much water that the dough is easy to knead by hand. Leave the entire dough covered in a warm place to rise more. Than you roll out the dough in approximately hand sized circles half a centimeter thick. By pulling them with your hands to approximately double the size they will get thinner. That you leave for another 10 minutes to rise and deep fry it in the end until golden brown.

Now you top it with whatever you like, the best in my opinion is with garlic, tejföl and cheese on top. But many places offer more fancy ways even with chocolate, ewe cheese and onions or even with cabbage so whatever you like can go on top. Enjoy.