Mini: Simply Stunning
Friends often ask me to recommend a restaurant in Budapest. Every time, I reply without hesitation that they should go to my favorite one: Café Déryné. However, if they asked me now, my answer might not come quite so quickly, as there’s something new on the Budapest cuisine-scene: It’s simply called Mini, yet, as I learned, the impression it leaves will be anything but. Oh, and did I mention that it’s the sister restaurant of Café Déryné?
Inside, it echoes the trendy and eclectic style of Déryné, yet manages this on a smaller scale. Dramatic light installations, miniature trees and thought-provoking décor to-die-for make this place anything but traditional. It pulls off ‘cultured and cosmopolitan’, without the snobbery and self-importance.
The staff are everything you could wish for, too: attentive, polite, knowledgeable and extremely professional. I feel the need to mention this, as in a restaurant like Mini, the waiting staff play a huge part in the dining experience. That may seem a rather odd thing to say, until you realize that Mini is actually a ‘running-table’ restaurant…except diners don’t have to lift a finger.
The food is dependent upon the fresh supplies acquired that day, meaning of course that the menu changes daily…which goes a little way to demonstrate just how talented the chefs are. All the dishes are dreamed up by the master of creativity, cuisine and charm (he often ventures out of the kitchen to ask diners what they think of the food), Chef Daniel, who told us how proud he felt to be working within such an original framework and in an inimitable atmosphere. The restaurant owner, Kristof Kovacs (who is also a famous TV producer), wanted to create a unique restaurant which was affordable for locals. Somehow he’s pulled it off. On the simple menu card there is a list of extremely imaginative cocktails (which should put some of the downtown cocktail bars to shame by the way) and a legend describing how the dishes are priced. The prices range from just 250 HUF to 1,250 HUF a dish; and considering that you would rarely need to have more than two dishes per course, that’s pretty reasonable.
To start, I chose a light smoked salmon salad with miniature seasoned bread slices, a not-too-overpowering dressing and shavings of parmesan. Just as I was thinking about my main course, the waiter showed up again, with a silver tray full of other starters. I thought I’d better try the prosciutto with mozzarella balls and sun dried tomatoes – “it’s carb-free”, I told myself. My dining partner happily helped himself to seconds, too. The drinks waiter (yes, there is a separate drinks waiter), reeled through the impressive wine list and recommended a Chardonnay-Pinot Blanc blend from Eger called St Andrea Napbor (2007). The result was impressive: eminently drinkable, full textured on the palate with sweet, ripe fruit and with cool apple scents.
A soup tray followed: my dining partner opted for a flavorsome pheasant consommé and I enjoyed a thick Italian tomato soup. I should also probably add that despite the large portions, these dishes were priced at just 350 HUF each.
Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to see what form the main course would take. This time, the tray arrived with sound effects: pieces of succulent raw salmon sizzled boldly on a hot rock, surrounded by fresh vegetables. I was impressed. The other mains were immaculately presented, too: the signature Mini hamburger, a whole duck breast served rare, a perfectly pink tuna steak with a herb risotto…and a few more. The servings were surprisingly large for ‘a small plate’ dining experience, and had my curiosity not got the better of me, I certainly would have been satisfied with just one of them.
The desserts were no less grand, and we opted for a chocolate Génoise and a coffee cheesecake with chocolate sauce. Both were bursting with flavor and not bland and overly sugary like many Hungarian desserts. We rounded off the meal with a glass of Tokaj and an espresso, before promising ourselves we would recommend this place with as much frequency as we recommend Déryné. We also made space in the diary for our next visit. I cannot recommend this place more highly. Everything about it is simply stunning.
Joanna Singleton
From the Menu
The menu changes daily
Freshly made Focaccia with a garlic drizzle
*
Prosciutto whirls with fresh Parmesan
Salmon Caesar salad
*
Italian Tomato Soup
Pheasant consommé
*
Salmon on a hot rock
Succulent duck breast with baked apple and mushroom
*
Chocolate Genoise
Fruit and mascarpone cup
BOX
Mini
1016 Budapest, Krisztina tér 3.
Tel.: +36.1.225.3794
Open Daily from noon-3 a.m.