There’s a saying that goes: Start the day with a smile and finish it with a glass of wine. But what type of wine should that be? We visited Flaska Borbár, one of the very few restaurants that pour nothing but natural wine into your glass and, while indulging in premium foods, found out why the hands-on owner couple brought the concept to life.
When we set foot in the restaurant and took a good look around, we came upon several details that proved to us: where we are is a love project. The interior design is modern with a classic twist, the wine bottle chandeliers are handmade, and the vertical garden, featuring 144 living plants, was constructed by the pair’s family members.
The young couple, Szilvia Méh and Ádám Almási finds it very important to represent Hungarian natural winemakers because as they say, their products reflect the real characteristics of Hungarian wine the most. The reason for this is that they are made without the use of additives (according to Ádám, 831 additives can be legally used in Hungary), sulphites and other colour or flavour manipulating substances.
We took a seat next to the window to admire the nice view of the calm street covered with a mat of fallen leaves. While doing so, two glasses of lemonade was served to our table: one made from homemade lavender and the other from elderberry syrup, lots of lemon, orange, and lime slices, sweetened with grind came sugar. After taking a look at the monthly changing seasonal menu composed of locally-sourced ingredients, a soup called duck tea with a veggie island caught our attention first. The richness of its flavours was visible to the eye. The colour of the soup was golden, hence the creative comparison to tea. Vegetables were layered in a nice way in the middle of the soup, making it visually pleasing.
Considering the main course, we tasted a likewise artistic-looking meal, mangalitza tenderloin minions with grilled baby vegetables (corn, beetroot, carrot, tomato and broccoli) on a bed of sunroot-paprika purée. The plate looked amazing, the baby veggies were tasty and crisp and the flavours were strong but well-balanced.
Sidenote: the restaurant tries to use as little spices (salt, pepper) as possible and attempts to enhance the flavours in other ways, for instance by adding a hint of broken pistachio, pea stems and sprouts, like in the case of our main course.
Dessert time!
We love a good dessert and no one could send us on our way before we’d dig our fork or spoon into something sweet. Already charming by name, a creamy and airy chocolate mousse with crisp coconut pastry and a salty caramel sauce landed to our table. The different components came together very well both texture and flavour wise, and left us with the feeling of culinary contentment. Because as the saying goes, “Cooking can feel like a meditation practice” but eating feels pretty good, too. Especially with a glass of nicely harmonizing wine.
Find out more about Flaska Borbár online, check out their special hot chocolate and coffee offers, and don’t forget to book a table before you go!
1094 Budapest, Tompa utca 17/b
flaskaborbar.hu
Fotók: Egy jó kép rólad (Kriszti Németh)