Café Déryné is nearly a century old, but that doesn’t stop it oozing a youthful exuberance, which keeps its well-learned class firmly grounded in modern day Budapest’s culinary scene. The stories of Budapest of over 90 years ago conjure up an image of stylish ladies with impossibly intricate haircuts, men smoking cigars while discussing philosophy, and music and food that made Paris green with envy.
I’d like to have lived there; I’d learn how to dance, pretend I understood philosophy and finally get a respectable wardrobe. Sadly I didn’t, and as time passed, Budapest buckled under the weight of history and ideas, recipes and style dissipated like the ice cubes in your gazpacho soup.
Luckily, Café Déryné – 94 years and counting – survived all this and, thanks to a face lift and a rethink, is everything that is good about the past without ever feeling old, stuffy or tired. Arriving on a Friday night, my notoriously hard-to-please date and I swooshed past the trendy crowd sipping cocktails outside and into an almost overpowering optical treat.
The room is the kind of wonderful space that you only get in corner buildings, with a sweeping bar in the center and interesting shapes around it. Our section had a string of lights swaying above our heads and we faced two wonderfully retro cube-like lighting installations.
We were welcomed by young and charming staff who switched seamlessly between English and Hungarian. Three different people for the three different aspects to our dining: one for food, one for wine and one for bar drinks. This defined focus was noticeable elsewhere, as the menu was wonderfully small. Too often restaurants attempt to dazzle with a mind-bogglingly extensive list of foods, none of which they can prepare very well. Thankfully, here they choose a few good things that they can do well – very well.
For drinks, I opted for a grape soda (with fresh grapes, naturally) while my date went for a mojito; despite the quality of my refresher, I was instantly jealous because the mojito was divine. For a starter, I was advised by the waitress to try the blended vegetable cup. Blended layers of carrot and zucchini surrounded slices of fresh cherry tomatoes and celery arriving in a drinking-glass-shaped bowl with slices of crunchy toast. It was now my date’s turn to be jealous.
Then came the part of the evening which often ends up painful for all parties concerned, as I told the staff about my “disease” – vegetarianism. The usual silence that follows was instead greeted by smiles and explanations. The waitress even went to consult the chefs and came back with their recommendation (based on the best ingredients they had available on the day).
I opted for freshly made penne, with a mixed vegetable topping laced with olive oil. My date ordered roast duck on a bed of crunchy lettuce – pasta was offered, but pasta was refused, with her eye firmly on the cakes which I was told would follow. The duck was lightly roasted and the dripping juices were used to coat the salad, making a wonderfully well-rounded dish.
After we finished our main courses we needed a break, and Café Déryné is the right spot to do so. Dimmed lights, a live DJ playing modern versions of classics and the light chatter of pretty young things and a few tourists. Eventually, we succumbed to the desire for dessert and ordered a massive slice of New York cheesecake with wild cranberry and red wine sauce, along with the Hungarian specialty túrógomboc – two tennis-ball-sized helpings of sweet cottage cheese, served hot with cream. Each a meal in itself.
Leaving wasn’t easy, and there was no reason to do so, and everyone seemed to be out for a special occasion, giving Café Déryné an exciting edge, while maintaining its well-learned class.
Ian Cook
From the Menu:
Starters
Blended Vegetable Cup
Main Course
Penne with Mixed Vegetables
Roast Duck with Salad
Dessert
Túrógomboc
New York Cheesecake
Café Déryné
1013 Budapest, Krisztina tér 3.
Tel.: +36.225.1407
