Just like fish and chips, curry is very popular in the UK. In fact, they have adopted curry as a “national dish”, with more than 9,000 Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants, according to its National Curry Week website. So it’s not surprising at all that curry has begun to conquer the local gastronomic scene, too.
Budapest, like many other capital cities, offers a good variety of local and international cuisine. When it comes to Asian food, Chinese and Japanese cuisine seem to predominate. According to TripAdvisor, there are only 35 Indian restaurants across the city. Compare that to the city of Vienna with 37, or to London with 943 Indian restaurants. (5 times more population but 44 times more Indian restaurants.)
Curry House, in Budapest, is an Indian restaurant located on Horánszky utca 1 in District VIII. This House of Indian Cuisines opened on 5 October back in 2013 with owner Zulkarnain Saer Khan.
Curry House is a sophisticated restaurant decorated with a colour scheme of black, red, bronze and gold. The restaurant has high ceilings throughout, giving a great sense of space. Its large glass windows all along the side make the place bright and welcoming. On one end of the restaurant, there is a large colourful hand-painted mural, of an Indian lady playing a sitar with an expression of peace and tranquillity. At the other end, there is a spacious area with a hexagonal Bajot table matched with Indian patchwork cushions. There are also various paintings, decorations and patterns on the restaurant walls, including a statue of Ganesh which adds to the generally friendly ambiance.
The menu of Curry House offers a wide selection of starters, specialities, tandoori kebabs, curries, naan breads, rice, international dishes, desserts and drinks. All the naan bread in Curry House is made the traditional way with a Tandoori Oven. It’s a cylindrical clay or metal oven, which Saer specially ordered from London.
The atmosphere in Curry House is relaxed and quite laid back. In such a charming and relaxing environment, it’s easy to succumb and while away time absorbing it. Curry House Budapest has a delicious mango lassi; it’s a creamy sweet drink made of yogurt, water and mango pulp. This helps quench the fiery taste of some dishes. There are also other flavours available such as strawberry and banana. Butter chicken is a classic Indian dish which you cannot miss out on in an Indian restaurant. The sauce is creamy and rich; leaving a deliciously mild sweet aftertaste in the mouth, making you want more. For dessert, try the Gulab Jamun; a fried milk flour sugar dough soaked in sugar syrup. The dough is juicy and soft, complementing the all-so-sweet sugar syrup.
If you have not tried curry before, then Curry House is your place to be! With so many different types of curry dishes to choose from, you will definitely find one that you’ll like.
