The opening of Monk’s Bistrot was perfectly timed for the first spring days of the year. Even the weakest rays of sun reach Piarista Passage, and a sunny day means 8 hours of sunshine here. The bistro has a prominent open kitchen, which was designed in place of the historic building’s former kitchen. The menu is simple, the flavours are convincing.
Piarista Passage is slowly but surely became an important gastronomic point of the city. There's already KIOSK - the kitchen of which we love and which recently expanded with a fabulous confectionery. Nearby there's Babel Delicate, which represents the top of Budapest's gastronomy, and opposite is Kuglóf with its awesome breakfasts and bakery items. Now, we have Monk’s Bistrot the name of which refers to the Piarist order. We think it's nice to pay tribute to the building, built to the plans of Dezső Hültl, in this way.
The head of Monk’s, Miklós Tóth-Deme, might be a familiar face to some, since the ruin pub Káli-Kapocs at Mindszentkálla (in regional Hungary) is also hallmarked with his name. He told us that he prepared for nearly four years to open Monk’s and definitely has long-term plans for the place.
The former kitchen of the building used to operate exactly where the bistro is now – except for the half-story lowering, which is offset compared to the street level in the current interior design, so the room has become more spacious. The interior is somewhere between the usual industrial-bistro line and modern elegance. Here, tired tourists in jeans and sneakers can enjoy themselves just as much as a serious business person tasting a little pinot noir. The design is the work of Ákos Bara and his team.
The most significant element of the bistro is the kitchen itself. If we want to, we can watch how our food is made up-close. As part of the concept, they looked for chefs who would gladly cook in the “display case,” having no stage fright, and are prepared to readily answer the questions/requests of the guests. The idea of the open kitchen originates from how all good social gatherings centre around the stove, and Miklós would also like to make dining an experience via this unique element. Last but not least, he is rather proud of his team and Monk’s Bistrot’s repertoire.
The menu is well-thought-out, it does not list 234 dishes, but instead works by the principle less is more and each dish is named based on its ingredients. As an appetiser we ordered crumbed pig rillettes with pickled vegetables and homemade mayonnaise (1780 HUF), foie gras terrine with vanilla pear, pomegranate and homemade brioche (2400 HUF), and a cold celery variation with basil apple and salad (1380 HUF). We were especially fond of the celery dish – it was fresh and exciting.For the main course we ordered rib eye steak (5480 HUF) with swedes, steamed-buttered vegetables and jus. It was flawless and we especially recommend it for those who like their roast medium done (although you could always request your own preference). The roast duck breast (3900 HUF) was also a blast, complemented with soft and creamy polenta and carrots. Even those who are not that enthusiastic about chicken will be amazed by the tender version, served with ratte potatoes and Swiss chard (3180 HUF). Finally, from among the desserts, we recommend the chocolate fondant with forest fruits (1250 HUF).
Overall, we were quite surprised – we did not expect such good results, since the place has just opened.
It is clearly worth paying attention to Monk’s Bistrot. Moreover, everyone who reserves a table for dinner in April receives a 10% discount.
Address:
1052 Budapest, Piarista Passage 1.
Phone:
+36 (70) 624 7109
