There’s hardly a better setting to be found for a restaurant – perched above a lake, overlooking a park and the towers of a medieval castle. Robinson Restaurant takes full advantage of its location, with almost every seat open to the view.
Even if it’s too chilly to sit out on the airy terrace, which it was during our visit in early May, you can enjoy a cozy meal next to the glass panels that fully expose the panorama. [In winter, there’s a fireplace to warm you as you look out on the snow.]
We sat in an intimate side room with exposed-brick walls, tastefully decorated with antiques – not haphazardly collected and set onto shelves, but carefully selected for the space, such as a working, ticking, clock and photos of the Budapest of long ago. Gazing out across the lake, we could see the towers of Vajdahunyadvár – a complex built at the turn of the last century to showcase Hungary’s most magnificent historic buildings.
I started with a glass of Pinot Grigio from the Nyakas vineyards of Ernő Malya, a fresh, slightly piquant white that was nice for an early spring evening. My companion enjoyed a glass of Hungária Dry champagne, adding a festive touch. The bubbly sparkled in the candlelight on the white silky table runners – a pleasant change to the typical white tablecloth.
We chose two of the asparagus offerings, May being asparagus season. My companion’s soup was creamy and mild, while my dish featured a combination of green and white asparagus, tied with a thin strip of carrot to appear as a vegetable bouquet. The hollandaise sauce was draped over the stems, and a lime wrapped in gauze was a useful garnish, adding a tang that oddly complemented the creamy hollandaise.
Both of us decided to have steak, a treat we normally reserve for trips to the US, but we are both pushovers for a pepper sauce, and Robinson offered two versions! My companion opted for grilled slices of tenderloin with a Bourbon pepper sauce, served with asparagus baked in Parma ham. A very generously proportioned steak arrived, medium rare, also generously accompanied by a classic creamy pepper sauce.
I opted for the Angus sirloin steak with St. Jacob’s mussels and a “velvety pink peppercorn sauce.” When the waiter told me that St. Jacob’s mussels were rather a kind of scallop, another of my favorite foods, I asked for them on the side so I that I could enjoy them separately from the steak in its rich sauce. The steak was again nicely medium rare. The “velvety” sauce lived up to its menu description, with plenty of cracked pink peppercorns for zing, and it seemed to have a bit of mustard in it, a pleasant departure from the classic. To accompany our steaks, we enjoyed an excellent Merlot by Szekszárd vintner Péter Vida, and a Chateau Kajmád Cabernet Sauvignon from the same region.
The sun had gone down, and the moon shone onto the lake where a few ducks still paddled. The castle towers glowed in the distance. Inside, we enjoyed the last of our wine and listened to the live music, a fairly subtle selection of classic tunes in a Latin acoustic guitar style. The wait staff, attentive to guests’ comfort, closed the last of the glass panels that were still open in the larger dining room.
We weren’t finished yet, however. My companion ordered one of our favorite Hungarian desserts, called madártej, or birds’ milk, but usually translated as “floating islands.” It is a thick vanilla cream soup with egg-white puffs (birds) floating on top. Robinson’s version had a yummy twist – caramel sauce drizzled over the soft egg puffs.
I decided to wait as long as was necessary (just 15 minutes) for the Brownie Robinson Style – a soft, cakelike brownie with the requisite crispy exterior, and warm chocolate oozing out of the middle. It was surrounded in a swirl of chocolate and vanilla sauce. I had trouble eating it all after the steak, but I couldn’t leave any behind…
Robinson restaurant, especially because of its unparalleled location, is already well-known and well-liked by Budapest natives and expats alike. It is an excellent place to impress visitors to the city, who always appreciate the opportunity to dine outdoors, or nearly outdoors, in such a quintessentially Budapestian setting.
Adri Bruckner
