The best restaurants in the Hungarian countryside in 2024
There are fantastic restaurants in every corner of the country, and this year’s Dining Guide Top100 Restaurant Guide has once again listed exactly where to go to find the best restaurants in the countryside.
At the top of the ranking is the Platán Gourmet restaurant in Tata, and in addition to Esztergom and Villány, the Őrség and Lake Balaton are also worth a visit, as well as restaurants in Encs, Dánszentmiklós and Debrecen.
“It is very difficult to compare all the restaurants on the gastronomic map of the country. That’s why when we score the Dining Guide TOP 100 Restaurant Guide, we also take into account how the restaurant performs in relation to the standard expected of the type of restaurant. In addition to comparing the quality of the restaurants, we also assess how well the restaurant delivers on its own promises,” said Zoltán Herczeg, the publisher of the Dining Guide.
Modern, bold, contemporary concepts, dishes made from local ingredients and ingredients from their own gardens, showcasing regional flavours – we show you the gastronomic adventures that await you in the country’s best restaurants in the countryside!
Top 10 restaurants in the countryside in 2024 according to the Dining Guide Top100 Restaurant Guide:
- Platán Gourmet
- 42 Restaurant
- Sauska 48
- Pajta
- Anyukám Mondta
- Platán Bisztró
- Kistücsök
- Bistro Sparhelt
- Botanica
- IKON
Platán Gourmet – Tata
Chef István Pesti has proven in recent years that a gourmet restaurant does not necessarily need to be at a major tourist destination to find its audience. One of the most influential figures of modern Hungarian gastronomy has created his fine dining restaurant concept 50 kilometres from Budapest, on the shores of the Lake of Tata, in a picturesque setting – next to an old plane tree.
With the Platán Gourmet restaurant, the chef has definitely created a place of outstanding gastronomic excellence. His cuisine represents a gastronomic mindset based on unique ideas, and the restaurant’s own garden supplies the kitchen with high-quality seasonal ingredients. The restaurant, which this year offers 12-course degustation menus, has a very varied use of ingredients and the menu clearly reflects the chef’s strong and unique fusion vision.
42 Restaurant & Bar – Esztergom
Two years after its opening, the 42 Restaurant & Bar in Esztergom immediately burst into the universe of Hungarian gourmet, fine dining restaurants. Located in the promenade of Esztergom, the restaurant’s gastronomic approach is defined by the joint work of the well-known chef Ádám Barna and the owner of the restaurant, Sándor Varga, who has created the highly successful YouTube channel “Alexander the Guest”, which tests the world’s famous fine dining restaurants. Chef Ádám Barna is one of the leading figures of the Hungarian gastronomic scene of recent years, whose cuisine, with its clear, progressive notes, is popular with gourmet restaurant lovers. The restaurant, which essentially offers only a degustation menu, represents a very free, unique and bold concept, differing from the approach of Hungarian countryside restaurants. It operates by juxtaposing popular dishes of contemporary world cuisines and sometimes combining them with plates representing Hungarian gastronomy.
Sauska 48 – Villány
The restaurant of the highest gastronomic quality in the South Transdanubian region is undoubtedly Sauska 48 in Villány.The restaurant’s renowned chef Attila Bicsár created the concept of “liberated village gourmet cuisine with colours”, and the internationally renowned entrepreneur Krisztián Sauska, owner of the iconic Sauska wine estates in the Villány and Tokaj wine regions, provided a worthy venue. Sauska 48 represents a contemporary take on Hungarian cuisine, complemented by chef Attila Bicsár’s subtle solutions and sensitive approach, and the menu is keen to sensitively follow the seasonal ingredients and the potential of local producers. The dishes are of course accompanied by Sauska wines from Tokaj and Villány, but the wine list is also complemented by a very unique section, unparalleled in Hungary, featuring the finest vintages from the world’s highest ranked wineries.
Pajta – Őriszentpéter
The farm-to-table concept of Pajta, a family-run business in Őriszentpéter, has become popular across the country in recent years. The restaurant, which is based on the emblematic ingredients of the Őrség region, has a clean approach to ‘Nordic’ cuisine, the Scandinavian gastronomic trend. The restaurant’s responsible commitment to sustainable living and the traditions of the Őrség gastronomy is exemplary. The now iconic establishment is owned by Flóra and Ferenc Kvasznicza, a young couple who moved to Őriszentpéter from the capital. In 2023, the kitchen of Pajta was taken over by István Akács, a young talented chef who has trained in leading fine dining kitchens abroad and in Hungary. The new chef’s first menus are of impeccable quality, with a strongly progressive style, but with a much more understandable and precisely elaborated dishes than in the previous periods of the restaurant, highlighting the flavours of the region.
Anyukám Mondta – Encs
The restaurant of brothers Szilárd Dudás and Szabolcs Dudás, the iconic Anyukám Mondta restaurant based in Encs, is now one of the most well-known quality-minded restaurants in the Hungarian countryside. The Italian-Hungarian restaurant, featuring notes of gourmet bistro style, cannot be put into the generally known categories. The restaurant and the story of the “Italians of Encs”, the high quality ingredients fetish, the perfectionist “precise” kitchen philosophy, the menu adapted to the place and its history, the simplicity of the dishes (in the noble sense of the word), the “less is sometimes more” philosophy, all together make up the Anyukám Mondta. The menu’s eclectic selection is made up of traditional Italian and Hungarian dishes with a contemporary twist.
Platán Bisztró – Tata
The Platán Bistro in Tata is the light, “fine bistro” sister of the fine dining Platán Gourmet. The gastronomy concept of the kitchen is the creation of the Platán Group’s head chef István Pesti, while the kitchen is managed by chef Donát Mogyorósi. The menu is a colourful one, with dishes made from both quality local and foreign ingredients. The Platán Bistro’s cuisine is characterised by an international mindset, which is mainly based on local ingredients and is reflected in sophisticated, refined dishes. The serving style is a departure from the classic bistro style, with unique fine dining touches – precisely adapted to the style of the place. The dessert selection stands out high above the standard of countryside restaurants.
Kistücsök – Balatonszemes
Kistücsök, a legendary restaurant in Balatonszemes with a history of more than three decades, was the first to put the Balaton region on the map of quality gastronomy. The restaurant’s owner, Balázs Csapody, is a respected figure in the Hungarian countryside gastronomic scene. The family-run restaurant has undergone continuous transformation and renewal in recent years. Two years ago, the unit was expanded with accommodation: 19 rooms and 2 suites, as well as a conference room. Additionally, there is a gourmet restaurant concept called “Chef’s Room”, which operates on weekends and offers a showkitchen. For decades, the kitchen of Kistücsök has been relying on local ingredients and Hungarian dishes prepared with modern technologies.
Sparhelt Bistro – Balatonfüred
Sparhelt Bistro in Balatonfüred is one of the best performing restaurants in the Balaton region. From the end of 2023, the kitchen of the iconic bistro is run by Ádám Mészáros, the former chef of the Onyx restaurant, whose contemporary plates display his high-standard approach rooted in his fine dining past. The new concept of Sparhelt follows the path of regionally-thinking countryside restaurants. As well as focusing on the use of local ingredients, it has its own bio-garden and never shies away from innovations to add colour to its offer. The restaurant offers an à la carte menu and a five-course tasting menu.
Botanica – Dánszentmiklós
The restaurant at the Hotel Botanica in Dánszentmiklós is a fine dining concept to the core. The owners, Ágota Zsebők and Kristóf Horváth created Botanica inspired by the “small luxury” hotels with the ambience of Provence and Tuscan country houses. The restaurant of the hotel, which exudes casual elegance, is run by the talented chef Tamás Munk. The kitchen concept is naturally adapted to the hotel’s expectations. The 6-course gourmet degustation menu, available mainly at dinner time, combines elements of forward-thinking, contemporary countryside cuisine and high-end fine dining style. The chef’s experience in high-end gastronomy and his parallelling vision of close-to-nature result in truly unique plates.
IKON – Debrecen
The IKON in Debrecen is one of the stars of the East-Hungarian region, delivering a predictable high quality of contemporary fine dining restaurants for years. Ádám Thür, a motivated chef with a strong vision, took over the restaurant after a ten-year training period in England, and has since then been aiming to create dishes with an accessible yet modern approach. As well as using local ingredients, IKON has its own garden, where the quantity of ingredients grown is increased from season to season, adding significantly to the value of the restaurant’s sustainability efforts.
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