And one last bonus post while I am vacationing. Once I am back to my daily grind, I’ll find more time to work on my next TR.


I have been thinking about taking my parents out for a “proper” dinner for some time now. Originally I was thinking a restaurant up in the Slovak mountains (Gašperov Mlyn, to be recommended) but recently, The Michelin Guide has extended the scope of its Hungarian publication from Budapest to the whole country, and one of my all-time favorite restaurants, one Anyukám Mondta (“Mom said so”) in a small town of Encs, received a Bib Gourmand distinction.
And about the same time, and perhaps for that reason, the restaurant started offering a 5 course tasting menu “Blind date with a chef”.

This was much easier to work into the plans as it is an easy drive from my parents home. So this year, I asked for the birthday dinner to be there.

I do not have any pictures to show the setting this time, but the restaurant is tucked in in a small alley behind the local post office, next to a butchers shop and a confectionery. The interior is nice however, quite recent, made out in a farmhouse style.
The restaurant serves modern Italian-Hungarian fusion, you can go as simple as cheap as a nice pizza, or have a multi-course menu as we did. Still with very good prices.

Let the pictures do the talking for a bit now:


First amuse bouche, a small piece of bread with a cut of ham, a bit of pesto and a bit of tomato paste. Excellent way to showcase the italian fresh tastes to come.

Second amuse, a small bowl of brioche, with duck pate. Nice, sweet, less Italian, but favorite of the group.

First proper course, grilled heart of mutton on a bed of panzanela. My personal favorite.

Second course was a bit disappointing, well executed but comparatively bland. Raviolo filled with ricotta, with tomato sauce and some special kind of parmigiano.

Catfish fillet on a parsley purree. Very good.

Second main, lamb on a bean salad with picked radishes. Somewhat disappointing, for some reason the lamb was over salty and chewy. A good idea in the dish, but the execution was not as good as it needed to be.

And lastly a simple desert of a chocolate cake. No petits fours tonight.


Wine pairing was had by most (except the designated driver) and they paired well. Only one red, with the dessert. Most of the rest was white, with one rose and one orange wine. Some were restaurant branded, from Hungarian producers and I really liked those. There were some Italian and one New Zealand wine, all around, decent showing, but not as good as in Strelec, which is absolutely fine for a restaurant with this distinction and especially price point.

Which is low. Yes, this is a Hungarian countryside random towns local restaurant. But still, the dinner is about 75 eur per person with the wine pairing, go with just water and you are under 50. For this amount and quality of food, it’s the best deal I’ve had in a looong time.

Is it worth upgrading to a Star? No, I don’t think so. I’m sure they could if they wanted, but the restaurant would have to change too much, and would lose, I think, the bread and butter of their business - people from the wider area who want a good dinner in a nice environment that wouldn’t break the bank. A Bib Gourmand is where the restaurant is now, and where I think they can comfortably stay for years to come.