There's not yet been a Japanese bistro culture revolution here in Budapest, but maybe without even realising it, this restaurant could be the start of something special. We had a look at the recently opened Kanpai Izakaya, located near Jászai Mai Square. It offers a well priced lunch menu and has more than 100 dishes on the menu. And we're happy to report that at this restaurant there's a focus on hearty Japanese meals - not just delicate pieces of sushi. It's the kind of restaurant that is likely to introduce authentic Japanese cooking to a broad range of people and show that the Japanese kitchen is much more than just sushi.
The newly opened Kanpai Izakaya definitely exudes a Tokyo-style and over the course of your meal you might just forget you're in Budapest and have travelled to Japan. There are more than 100 different items on the menu and it's clear that there's also a focus on the party-factor. It opened with the goal of introducing Japanese food to a broader range of people, and show that Japanese food is more than just sushi on special occasions.
Just 2 minutes from Jászai Mari Square, this is the kind of restaurant where you can just pop in. No booking or advanced planning is required. It's great for a quick lunch (the lunch menu is 1790 forints), or just drop in for some fried eel and Californian hosomaki rolls while drinking a few beers. The word "Izakaya" actually means a place that is a mix between a restaurant and a bistro that also serves beers. The bar is packed with drinks such as sake, potato pálinka, surprisingly good Japanese whisky and Japanese beers (asahi, kirin, sapporo).
This restaurant takes the spot of the Spazio cafe and many might not know that it has links to the Fuji restaurant. The quality of the food and the service elude to this connection because at Kanpai Izakaya these are both excellent too. There are more than 100 things to choose from on the menu; from the most basic sushi rolls to okonomiyaki saishoku, which is a type of vegetarian pancake.
The idea behind this restaurant is to introduce people to Japanese food in Budapest and to show that it doesn't have to be a special occasion to come to this type of restaurant.
From the long menu it wasn't easy to choose, but with a little bit of help we settled on the Japanese curry, tuna-salmon-prawn sushi set, grilled squid pasta, shitake mushrooms and Japanese style beans.
If you've eaten at Fuji, you'll probably know what we experienced, and if you haven't we can tell you this: what's here is genuinely Japanese, it's not Euro-fusion, it's not adapted for Hungarian tastebuds. It's the kind of place that would find its place in the high-tech mega-metropolis of Tokyo. One more thing: this isn't about the tiny portions of fine dining, this is about having a good time, while having a great, filling meal.
The other things we would have loved to have tried if we weren't too full are: crumbed meat on a bed of rice (2900 HUF), baked vegetables with mushroom (3700 HUF), sour plum rice balls (1950 HUF), vegetables in batter (1450 Ft), fried tofu with noodles (2800 HUF) and chicken wings (1650 HUF). We'll definitely be going back to try these.
Kanpai Izakaya - Japanese Bistro (closed)
Address: 1055 Budapest, Szent István körút 17.
