Trattoria Pomo D’oro: A Golden Apple in Budapest

Thanks to its downtown location, it makes a great spot for business lunches as well as for those needing a break from a long day of sightseeing. Just be warned, it is hard to choose just one item from the menu and you will come out comfortably full. The menu has a long list of homemade pastas, fresh salads, hearty meat dishes, pizzas and plenty of seafood dishes as well. And if that wasn’t enough, there are several desserts and a specials menu to add to the difficult decision-making process. Judging by our experience however, whatever you settle on will be a good choice.

My dining partner and I visited the restaurant for a late lunch and were happy to see that it was still quite full – a good sign. The aromas coming from the tables we passed on our way to be seated were another good sign and had us quite hungry in anticipation. While the restaurant is not particularly small, it is organized in such a way as to give a sense of a small, intimate space. Exposed brick walls and plenty of Italian decorations give a hint of a family run restaurant, without detracting from the feeling of a quality establishment.

As we got to work studying the menu, a friendly waiter came for our drink order and seeing we were not yet decided, suggested the house lemonade. This proved to be a refreshing change from mineral water, and although the wine list has an impressive collection of Italian and Hungarian wines, we decided to save that experience for a dinner occasion.

We chose our starters, a flaky pastry filled with cheese and pine nuts in leek cream and an arugula salad with cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese. As one of my favorite salads, I was happy to find plenty of crisp arugula with just the right amount of tomatoes and cheese.

My dining companion, never one to miss out on an opportunity for fresh seafood, chose the black spaghetti with seafood for his main course. I was tempted by the homemade pastas as well and chose tortelloni filled with spinach and ricotta in a walnut cream sauce. The seafood plate was loaded with mussels and other delicacies, and another friendly waiter solved the issue of our small table running out of space by adding a narrow table next to it. My pasta was just the right amount, satisfying with the rich flavors. The walnut cream sauce added an excellent flavor to the fluffy spinach filling.

Browsing the dessert menu, it was clear we could not pass on something sweet. The waiter drew my attention to the specials menu, as it is currently „Truffles Days” at the restaurant, capitalizing on the truffles season and Hungary’s apparently rich supply of them. The waiter explained that there is a special white truffle that grows in the southern region near the Mecsek Mountains and that this is a „real Hungaricum.” The featured dessert was a Tenerina dessert, something close to an American brownie, but loaded with even more chocolate and fluffier. It came to us warm and simply divine. Any chocolate lover should not miss the opportunity to enjoy this special dessert. Needless to say, we happily cleaned the plate. My companion’s cheesecake was also reported to be fluffy and delightful.

Ending our meal in a similar way to how we began it, we tasted the homemade limoncello, an Italian liqueur made of lemon zest, sugar and alcohol. Served ice cold, it was a refreshing way to clear the palette, leaving us with a fresh and satisfying taste of Italy.

Starters
Flaky pastry stuffed with cheese and pine nuts in leek cream
Arugula salad with cherry tomatoes and parmesan

Mains
Homemade black spaghetti with calamari, fresh mussels and seafood
Homemade torteloni filled with spinach and ricotta in walnut cream sauce

Dessert
Tenerina Dessert – creamy sponge cake with dark chocolate, truffle slices and the scent of grappa
Cheesecake Trattoria style with raspberry sauce
Homemade limoncello

Trattoria Pomo D’oro
1051 Budapest, Arany János u. 9.
+36.1.302.6473