We all know the story of Aladdin and his magic lamp, but only a lucky few get the chance in life to truly understand how the poor Arabian felt when he discovered the mangy, rusty lamp hid a genie, with three wishes to grant. Well, it seems I got to be one of the lucky few recently.
Olimpia’s like an urban legend in Budapest. So, I headed there to myth-bust it. The tiny restaurant, tucked away in a dark, silent street near Heroes’ Square, most likely used to function as a fast-food gyros place a long time ago, or at least that’s what the Greek decor left-overs gave away. However, after the waiter took my coat and walked us to our table with a polite smile, I had a feeling the place was going to have something of the magic lamp about it; it looks rough on the outside, but you need to wait for the magic to happen.
The design is a tad eclectic – bookshelves and old-school drawers next to Greek design on the walls, with bumpy wooden tables. The hippest element is probably the huge blackboard hanging on the wall with the daily fresh ingredients and a little blurb reading “Don’t ever forget Bernard Pacaud!”. For a discerning gastro-critic, the message is easy to decode, but not for a simple human food-lover like me. So, FYI, Bernard Pacaud is one of the most renowned chefs devoted to fresh ingredients and honest, quality food. The sentence is there to remind the unbelieving that it’s possible indeed to build a successful restaurant in Alpár utca with polite service, a friendly vibe and an “honest kitchen”, as they like to call it.
And now, a little bit more about the genie and my wishes. Genies, actually. Walking around like a host at a dinner party with a friendly smile for everyone, giving you hints on wine pairing, Csaba Csongrádi won me over instantly while pouring Scheller Aranyveltelini, 2003 into my glass. The kitchen genie’s called Lajos Takács. The pinch of creativity Chef Takács uses, no more, no less than needed, is the secret ingredient – though not on the blackboard – that makes the whole Olimpia experience such an adventure.
And my three wishes? Nine, actually. In Olimpia, there’s no á la carte; you can order three, four, five or six courses, and the only hint you get is the list of ingredients on the board. Oh, expect extra, surprise dishes, too (that’s how my six-course meal turned into a nine-course one). Starting with a mussel salad, our feast included duck liver paté with a slice of tuna, mango foam and Arabic paprika, Jeruselam artichoke cream soup with lemon olive oil, prawn and salmon with broccoli jelly, an exciting chicken selection, veal with fennel and artichoke foam, a super-moist brownie with cottage cheese and ‘schizo’ vegetable ice cream… and more.
One last thing, please don’t just read about this, go and rub your own lamps, meet your own genies and enjoy your wishes. All at Olimpia.
Be sure to book your table days before!
Olimpia
1076 Budapest, Alpár utca 5.
Tel.: +36.1.321.2805
www.alparutca.hu