Borkonyha

Updated: Aug 9, 2018

One of my favorite restaurants anywhere is Borkonyha in Budapest. It's a 1-star Michelin restaurant born out of a wine bar with incredibly tasty and modern food, did I mention incredible Hungarian wines?

We started with an amuse of beet root puree and ricotta cheese. It was simultaneously lite and very concentrated beet flavors.

The bread basket was baked in house with rye, squid ink infused, and some sort of berry breads. Fresh butter and salt flakes.

The first wine of the pairing with the menu was a Hungarian pinot noir. It was very Burgundian in style vs new world.

It paired incredibly with one of the freshest tuna preparations we've ever had.

MsFlamingo took it easy now that the motion sickness was starting to wear off and started with a fresh mache salad with a lite dressing and hazelnuts.

Next up for me was a green garlic soup that had a very concentrated garlic flavor.

Next up another Hungarian white wine that was a bit heavier, not quite Burgundian, nor Californian in style. It paired well with the pork belly course.

The pork belly was well rendered, tender and crispy. The puree and bok choy were perfect accompaniments.

MsFlamingo had the sea bass which was flaky and very fresh. As she put it, perfect for starting to eat "real food" after recovering from motion sickness.

Next up one of my favorite wines, the 2012 St Andrea Nagy-Eged-Hegy. It's hard to describe because it's a heavy wine, but not like a California cab, nor a Bordeaux, nor an Italian wine. It's unique and very tasty.

The main course was an Argentinian sirloin that was well prepared and tasty. It didn't blow me away, but was solid.

Our server remembered me from my prior visit and brought two other reds for me to try. Both were excellent!

A raspberry sorbet intermezzo cleared the palates.

MsFlamingo laughing at my wine flight, I think someone is starting to feel better!

For dessert of course had a Tokaji that had less residual sugar and was a late harvest style. It had good acidity and minerality pairing perfectly with dessert.