The thought of an organic, vegetarian eatery may leave some imagining bland, unsophisticated lentil and seed affairs. The recently opened Biogardens, though, has a few surprises.
Mainly vegetarian, entirely organic, Biogardens is the only restaurant in town to cover both. It’s not strictly vegetarian, though, as meat and fish courses are on offer, too, with it being possible to have some dishes prepared replete with meat or as a veggie version. Things like their Mexican Quesidellas with spicy sour cream come with or without chicken (organic, of course), or a burger can be ordered with beef or something named seitan – a wheat-based meat substitute.
The menu’s wide-ranging, evidently inspired by the Hungarian kitchen as well as international fare, and the organic eats of our group were varied. We began with a great rosemary and wild mushroom soup (sourced from the Bükk and Mátra regions) and bruschetta with juicy tomatoes, pesto and balsamic reduction. This was followed by the aforementioned Quesadillas (of the chicken variety), a potato-based, baked, herbed lángos stack, topped with forest mushrooms in a rich sauce (which is ususally finished off with a poached egg) and my own – impressive – vegetarian stuffed cabbage. I’ve eaten the real thing, and it really wasn’t far off. Organic cheese- and carrot cakes served with organic coffees rounded off the wholesome feast.
Aside from the health benefits, an upside of organic food’s touted as being the taste. So did we notice a difference? Well, yes, actually; which was added to by the fact that everything was homemade – true of all their bread, dough, pastry, pasta and desserts.
And the bio bender doesn’t need to stop at your food. Two award-winning, organic, Hungarian wine producers supply the restaurant – the Hárs winery, near Pécs, and Szászi Pince, near Balaton. It’s also the only place in the country which stocks the organic Swiss soda, Sambuco, which comes in a great elderfolwer (bodza) version. There are also, of course, organic juices, syrups, and even an organic energy drink, and they’ll soon also stock organic spirits to mix them with.
Something that’s worth mentioning is the price of the place. Mains peak at around 2,000 HUF (around 7 Euro), with many remaining below that, and wine, considering it’s organic, won’t break the bank either. Biogardens, adorned with a huge Renoir reproduction and an almost huge sunflower-filled canvas, makes for a bright, classy little lunch or dinner spot, with nothing of the hippy-hippy-shakes about it.
Biogardens Tel.: +36.1.266.1497 www.biogardens.hu