With an evening flight to Zurich, I didn't have much time to explore and try different restaurants. I wanted to have a good lunch since that would be the only real meal in Budapest. After talking to the hotel concierge and doing some research, I settled on a wine bar turned 1-star Michelin restaurant, Borkonyha.
With an extensive food and wine selection, I ended up going with the tasting menu and wine pairing. Kicking things off was a crisp white that was very Chablis-like.
They brought a trio of fresh baked bread and amazing homemade butter.
First course was a foie gras tartlet with melon balls. A fantastic pairing and presentation.
The next wine was from The Collective and unfiltered resulting in a more cloudy appearance. The wine had a bit more full bodied characteristic and was unlike any I'd had before.
It was paired with a creamy celery root puree and chip. Fantastic dish and pairing.
Next was a more full bodied white, reminiscent, yet different than a Montrachet.
Paired amazingly well with one of the best cod dishes I've had anywhere.
Moving to the heavier stuff, the 2012 St Andrea Nagy-Eged-Hegy. This wine was unlike anything I've tried before. It was rich and full bodied with elegant tannins, dark fruit, yet not over-ripe. It was a triangulation between Bordeaux, Rhone, Italy and California cabs. I ended up buying a couple bottles and a newly to be checked suitcase. I haven't found any distributors in the US, but if any of you find a distributor and tell me, I'll send you a very nice bottle of wine as a thank you!
Venison and squash purees with the St Andrea were amazing, just stunning food and wine pairing.
I wanted to learn more about Tokaji wines and my waiter decided I should try three types with increasing sugar contents.
You can see by the color how the higher sugar content wines were a deeper caramel color.
Paired with a chocolate and raspberry puree dessert, perfect pairing.
At this point I was beyond full and to help combat the situation, I tried Unicum Riserva for the first time. It's a digestif liqueur that had a slight anise flavor, but was well rounded, not too acidic and just helped settle everything. Wonderful!
Borkonyha beyond exceeded my expectations and is now one of my favorite restaurants in the world. The food was nearly perfect and the wines blew me away. Up until now I'd only known Hungary for dessert wines, but their other wines were right up there with top wines of the world!
Trip links:
- Onyx
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