M is a small cosy bistro in downtown Budapest overshadowed by the busy Liszt Ferenc square and Király utca, not to mention the establishments of Andrássy street. Located in the shadowy Kertész street on appr. 70 square meters and with a facade of 3 meters it’s completely undetectable and still visited by tourists. In spite of this it’s a quiet place run by food-enthusiast friends without any formal culinary education and visited by young students and artist as well as by French and Anglo-Saxonic tourists. With a capacity of around 35 people it’s often full but as opposed to Klassz on Andrássy street, here you can make a reservation. If you’re lucky you can experience one of their theme days like their Jewish weekend this fall.
The food is decent home-made style International and Hungarian made of perfectly fresh material. And this is one of the key aspects of M, the other one being the charming, friendly atmosphere created by the poor illumination and the handicraft wallpaper decoration covering the entire space. The prices are reasonable, even tourists on a budget will be satisfied with the bill.
They have a short wine selection of the lower-medium segment.
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Characteristics:
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Hungarian, International |
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Ambience:
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Family bistro |
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Peer group (style):
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Very unique. Not so smelly as a typical Hungarian bistro and the food is far better. |
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Peer group (quality):
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LeRoy |
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P/V:
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Good |
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Meal price (HUF):
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Food Score (0-10):
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6+ |
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Service Score:
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6+ |
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Overall score:
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6+ |
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Pros:
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Good food, Interior design, cosy atmosphere, small size |
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Cons:
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Too small |
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Outstanding:
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Who goes:
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Young media people, artist, tourists, undergraduates |
In spite of a snobbish name, Bábel is a modestly snobbish place. It’s interior reflects the current modern trend in Budapest gastronomy widely used in places like Donatella’s Kitchen, Tom George and many more.
I went there for a business lunch and stayed there until 18.30 without noticing that the usiness lunch place close at 16.00 for two hours until reopening as a chic trendy restaurant at 18.00. Part of the crew were very polite and attentive but still I’m afraid we were only allowed to stay because we were drinking non stop.
The food was delicious, although the fois gras mousse with baby beetroot salad (EUR 9.8) had such a small portion of mousse that is outrageous even by high-end gastronomy standards. But it was amazingly light and fresh, although not to be compared with Ráspi’s fois gras mousse (I’ll post about it soon).
The filet of trout with cauliflower and pearl barly risotto (EUR 9.6) was not just wonderfully good looking but also very tasty: thin slices of fish perfectly firm (or soft, from another angle) and very well spiced, although many may think it had too much spicy on it (I’m not one of them).
Their wine recommendation (Chateau Kajmád Cabernet Sauvignon 2006) wasn’t the best especially considering that we picked a far more sophisticated St. Andrea Ãldás Cuvée (2006) before. But it was alright, we finished off the whole Ãldás cuvée and then just ordered glasses of Cabernet wihch they opened in front of our eyes (a major achievement in Hungarian hospitality).
The restaurant is perfectly located ta the end of váci street just 100 meters from FÅ‘vámtér ’s touristic market.
More information: http://www.babeldelicate.hu/
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Characteristics:
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Hungarian, fusion |
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Ambience:
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Modern minimalist: dark trendy interior, clean forms |
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Peer group (style):
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Csalogány 26, Klassz |
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Peer group (quality):
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Almost as good as Csalogány 26 |
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P/V:
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Medium to very good (main courses during lunchtime) |
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Meal price (HUF):
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1Â 800 - 3 700 |
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Food Score (0-10):
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7+/8- |
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Service Score:
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6+ |
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Overall score:
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7+ |
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Pros:
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Food, cleanness of the place, location, friendly waiters |
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Cons:
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Atmosphere a bit artificially polite, especially the waitresses who seemed a bit confused |
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Outstanding:
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trout with cauliflower and pearl barly risotto |
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Who goes:
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Local office workers, trendy tourists |
