We ventured out for a stroll in beautiful Buda and stumbled upon Bonfini Garden Restaurant at the foot of the castle wall, close to Bécsi Kapu (Vienna Gate). Unable to resist the gorgeous, tidy garden and atmospheric terraces of the imposing, modern-but-not-intimidatingly-so building, we decided to fill our empty bellies there. And yep, some of the best decisions are made on the spur of the moment!
We opted for one of the separate terraces, so we could feed our visual appetites with the sight of the sun going down behind the historic district amidst twinkling lights. On the terrace next to ours, a bunch of friends were celebrating a birthday, while the main terrace started to fill up with couples after a candlelit dinner and a heart-to-heart. After around 7 p.m., a woman armed with an acoustic guitar took to the stage, playing Renaissance melodies (the restaurant dishes out live music from Thursday to Saturday) – a bit like stepping back in time and landing in King Matthias’s glittering royal court (we’d imagine). The choice of music was no accident – the restaurant’s namesake, Antonio Bonfini, an Italian humanist and poet, was King Matthias’s chronicler. We learnt from our waiter that Bonfini follows the Italian creative-fusion trend, as well as offering Hungarian specialties for those who’d rather go Magyar when in Budapest. Apparently, they make their own pasta on the spot and always use fresh vegetables and spices as well as real Italian ingredients (straight from Italy, that is). After about 15 minutes of vacillation over the huge menu, we opted for marinated salmon, cannelloni stuffed with lamb (marinated in Chianti – yum) and a bottle of rosé – all great. We topped it all off with a fresh chocolate soufflé – moist and soft in the middle, exactly as it should be.
Bonfini has its own car park, is smoke-free inside and offers business breakfasts (buffet-style) and daily and business menus along with wine dinners. Menus can also be compiled for special occasions.
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