Hungary’s beach food of 2025: You would never guess what it’s made of!
The “Buffalo Tartare in Marrow Bone Boat” from Kicsi Csóka bistro in Balatongyörök was chosen as the beach food of the year in Hungary.
The best beach snack went to the catfish suppli from Pizza Sztori in Balatonmáriafürdő, while among beach desserts, the Granola Optimist from Mónisüti in Gyenesdiás took the prize. The results were announced on Thursday by the competition’s creator.
The Balatoni Kör organised the beach food competition for the eleventh time. The jury selected the winners from among 36 entries, according to Gábor Kardos. Their Facebook post says, “At Kicsi Csóka, you’ll find pretty much everything that makes a place on Lake Balaton lovable, which is why the newly opened place, located not at the main Györök beach but on the Szép Balaton stretch of shoreline beneath the Szépkilátó, was also given the Discovery of the Year award.”
“The dish is made mostly from local ingredients: the buffalo from Zalaköveskút is finely chopped by hand, and the tartare is made fresh and exciting with anchovies, capers, and pickled cucumber in homemade mayonnaise. It’s served in a ‘boat’ of marrow bone, alongside the marrow, so it’s especially filling—real Balaton beach food. This bistro dish, unique in its ingredients as well, is priced at HUF 5890 (EUR 15) on their menu.”
Gábor Kardos, the competition’s creator, stated that the buffalo tartare is made from Zalaköveskút buffalo meat and served with potato gratin, horseradish foam, crispy celery, anchovies, capers, pickled cucumber, and homemade mayonnaise.
The idea for Pizza Sztori’s dish comes from Roman rice balls (supplì). Catfish paprikash is combined with túrós csusza (Hungarian cottage cheese noodles), shaped into lollipop-like balls, and fried. It’s served with dill-flavoured cottage cheese and roasted pepper cream.
The granola optimist dessert takes its name from the Optimist sailboat, which children use to learn sailing. The body and sail of the boat are made from profitteroles, filled with a honey-yoghurt cream, topped with forest fruit sauce and granola.
Gábor Kardos also highlighted: “Europe’s only beach food contest has greatly contributed to making Balaton Beach Food venues an outstanding regional attraction for foreigners, since they don’t just copy an international trend. Instead, the consistently successful competitors have inspired each other to create something unique—not found in Budapest’s street food trends nor in international gastronomy—which, in this specially Balatonian form, we call Beach Food and which you can only find at Lake Balaton.”
Read more food-related news on Daily News Hungary.
Read also:
- How much do food and drinks cost at Sziget? Brace yourself for brutal prices!
- Gourmet revolution in Hungary: Michelin chef, Balaton flavors, and artisanal burgers at Time Out Market Budapest