Two newly awarded Michelin Star restaurants you need to try in Budapest – PHOTOS

The new MICHELIN Guide Budapest 2021 was published only recently, and according to the new guide, two restaurants managed to earn one of the highest possible recognitions the hospitality industry can offer.

According to Diningguide, Onyx, which was one of the first restaurants to have earned two MICHELIN Stars in Central Europe, has been closed and is currently undergoing a transformation. This meant that Hungary has lost two of its MICHELIN Stars.

However, this year, the MICHELIN Guide awarded SALT and Essência their first MICHELIN Stars each, keeping the number of total MICHELIN Stars restaurants in Hungary at seven.

“Both these restaurants [SALT and Essência] are wonderful examples of Budapest’s dynamic restaurant scene. They not only offer fantastic food and are doing something a little different, but they also do so while paying respect to Hungary’s culinary traditions,” Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the MICHELIN Guides, said.

The other MICHELIN Star restaurants are Babel, Borkonyha Winekitchen, Costes, Costes Downtown, and Stand. You can learn more about them here:

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Essência

According to their own website, “Essencia Restaurant-Tiago & Éva features the taste of Portuguese and Hungarian cuisine from childhood memories with modern top gastronomy”.

No wonder that the restaurant has earned a MICHELIN Star, as Tiago Sabarigo has been working as the senior chef at Costes Downtown and has repeatedly earned the recognition of the MICHELIN inspectors, Hvg said.

Essência is the result of the Portuguese Tiago’s and his Hungarian wife Éva’s passion, endless devotion, and relentless hard work.

SALT

SALT is a little different from Essência in that it mainly focuses on the traditional Hungarian cuisine, with particular emphasis on the natural herbs and wild plants of Hungary and brings the flavours of the Szatmár region to the forefront.

Their website states that chef Szilárd Tóth himself gathers the majority of these herbs and plants in the countryside, and the rest is produced by local farmers. Additionally, the chef and the restaurant manager often serve the dishes themselves to invoke the atmosphere of a family dinner in the countryside.

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However, it is not only these two restaurants that have managed to grab the attention of the MICHELIN inspectors this year. In addition to having two restaurants earning stars, six other establishments have also been added to this year’s selection of places recommended to visit by some of the most meticulous critics. They are the following:

• Hoppá! Bistro
• Felix
• Stand25 Bisztró
• Spago by Wolfgang Puck
• Rumour
• Pasztell

Gwendal Poullennec also added that “Budapest offers a wonderful choice of restaurants, of many different styles and in many different price ranges. Some are run by homegrown chefs and restaurateurs, others by those who have gained experience abroad and have now returned to the homeland. This is what gives the city its vitality and what means that the future is full of promise.”

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Featured image: facebook.com/essenciarestaurantbudapest

Source: Guide.michelin.com, Diningguide.hu, Hvg.hu