The Hungarian cuisine is definitely not made for summer, neither for vegetarians. Never have I been so glad to be an omnivore than when I looked at my friends dishes. It already started with the choice, there were almost no options available. The few on the menu repeated themselves in every restaurant. It is a lot better for meat eaters, while heavy food at least there is a choice. In the end I did my best to taste as many and as different dishes possible on this weekend. It was interesting to learn that all drinks are listed in deciliter on the menu. So if you want to have a regular glass of wine you will have to order So here we go with my review on Hungarian dishes around the Lake Balaton. Yours, Pollybert
Echo Restaurant: The view is unbeatable, you look directly down on the lake and Balatonfüred in the distance. The mosquitoes are killing you though, so bring your own protection. My friend had a grilled goat cheese salad that appeared to be tasty while I had a pork roast with potatoes, vegetables and beer sauce. Actually the carrot turnip combination was the best part of the dish. The pork was a bit dry and the sauce probably came from a box. At least my Gin&Tonic with cucumber was helped to wash it all down.
salad with grilled goat cheese @Lake Balaton
roast pork with potatoes and beer sauce @Lake Balaton
lemonade and Gin&Tonic @Lake Balaton
Kecskeköröm Csárda: a short walk from the Abbey and recommended in an old guide-book from Sylvia lies this restaurant. The garden is beautiful and in the summer heat the loggias are really comfortable. Sylvia had as usual a lemonade and this one she much prefered to the one from last night. I ordered the house rosé wine, which was smooth. The vegetarian dish here was fried Camembert cheese which already looked dry and unappealing to me (but nevermind, Sylvia finished it all). I went for a specialty, catfish goulash with home-made dumplings with cheese.Very much the comfort food which would be perfect on a cold winter night. But I also did my best on this hot summer day. Taste was excellent, I can really recommend this combination.
lemonade and rosé wine @Kecskeköröm Csárda
fried Camembert cheese @Kecskeköröm Csárda
catfish goulash with cheese dumplings @Kecskeköröm Csárda
Vitorlás restaurant: fantastic location right next to the Balaton. Even though masses of tourist were moving behind us it still felt relaxed with a nice atmosphere. The vegetarian option here included a risotto that was quickly chosen while I ate another catfish. This time grilled with more of said risotto. The risotto had just an Italian name but nothing else to do with its namesake. The fish was juicy and tender. The herb crust was missing the herbs.
risotto @Vitorlás restaurant
catfish with herb crust and risotto @Vitorlás restaurant
Balatoni restaurant: I loved the lunch on Sunday. It was a very simple dish, a pork cutlet with Letscho. Absolutely perfect in its simplicity. The egg barley or tarhonya as it is called in Hungarian was the perfect side dish. Maybe also not the best choice for a hot summer day, but I think it was my standard glass of rosé wine that made me sleepy on the way back to Budapest. Sylvia ate here the typical curd cheese noodles which were a totally bland to judge from the amount of seasoning that she used. So I think I just got lucky here.
“gypsy” pork with tarhonya (egg barley) @
curd cheese noodles with cabbage salad @
