With the first Michelin star shining in our bright Budapest sky, it’s official that our beloved capital has gone a bit gourmet-crazy lately. Slick and modern restaurants are popping up everywhere in town; crystals are clinking, white gloves are serving, designs are maxed out, and taste buds are exploring. All good.
But these little taste buds might sometimes get tired and home-sick, and just want to get back to their mama. To Trattoria Mamma, for instance. Because some of us feel like red and white checked table cloths and some kitsch on the walls sometimes.
Upon entering (hey, don’t miss the handsome plastic chef figure at the door, it’s a must in places like this), you’ll find yourself inside rural Italy. Or at least a place where you don’t feel bad about your jeans, where you can sit down after all that sightseeing, working or walking, and sip a San Pellegrino while flicking through their menu packed with Italian goodies; soups, salads, pastas and risottos, grilled yummies and pizzas galore. Maybe a bit too packed, but talking to owners Norbert Körtvélyesi and Kornél Kerek, we learnt that they’d just designed a new, more compact menu which makes it easier to choose. But we didn’t mind browsing, as we got a good peek into Italian culinary diversity and meanwhile had a good look around.
Okay, it maybe hasn’t got one of the trendiest designs, but that doesn’t seem to have been the point, as Trattoria Mamma wants to be a place for families, for friends, for a chat, for a pizza. And they are. In the same spirit, they let our little furry friends in, too. The brick-layered bar hides a pizza kiln and a pizza ‘factory’ behind, some angel figurines with garlic next to them (they’re deffo secured from Dracula) and oil and pálinka filled bottles line the shelves with the pastel colored walls as their background. There’s also a slightly twisted version of the Sistine chapel ceiling fresco of God and Adam; the Almighty is giving a bottle of red wine to the first man. A sight that becomes significantly funnier after your first glass of Fontella Frascati.
I went for the most typical Italian starter, Vitello Tonnato, as it’s always a good base to compare and contrast an Italian place with others. The tuna purée was tastier than most of the Vitello Tonnatos I’ve had before, while the veal slices were slightly thicker than usual. Maybe it wasn’t to the taste of this reviewer, but it’d definitely be a numero uno of its kind for a meat-lover. Served with a good number of capers and fresh ruccola, it could have been my main. My friend opted for a goat cheese salad with grilled king-size cheese slices, apple, fresh pesto and lamb’s lettuce; a refreshing change after all that iceberg Budapest eateries tend to use.
For our mains, I chose pumpkin pappardelle with forest mushrooms and parmesan on top, while my friend tried gorgonzola stuffed ravioli with a creamy salmon sauce. Both were rich and tasty. The salmon sauce and gorgonzola cream were pretty heavy, and would have benefitted from a side salad, while the pumpkin pappardelle formed a great harmonic whole with the forest mushrooms, taste-wise. Their pastas are home-made, and it showed.
To be honest, we were more interested in the Italian menu, but they also offer two set Magyar menus as well as some a lá carte options for those with an urge for csirkepörkölt or somlói galuska.
Whatever your taste buds yearn for, it’s always best when paired with a good glass of wine. So, a loved-up couple could be one of their Mediterranean salads with some Budai Savignon Blanc from Nyakas Winery, or try Magyar wine-master Figula’s Italian Reisling (olaszrizling). For red meat, go for Tiffán’s Villányi Portugieser or Hungary’s signature Egri Bikavér Superior by Thummerer.
If you go for the taste and not necessarily modern looks, Trattoria Mamma’s a sound spot for a quick lunch or a dinner with some friends before heading out into Budapest’s nightlife.
Check their website for home delivery!
Trattoria Mamma
1051 Budapest, Hercegprímás u. 3.
Tel.: +36.1.267.5268
Open: daily from 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
www.trattoriamamma.hu