Now in business for three years, Kuglóf earned its reputation as one of the city’s best breakfast spots, serving varied morning meals based around products from the on-site bakery, where fresh croissants, sweet rolls, breads, and many other treats are proffered piping hot every morning. Adding to Kuglóf’s round-the-clock appeal, this enticing establishment recently premiered an excellent lunch assortment combining Hungarian delicacies and international cuisine – maybe we’ll start hanging out there all day.
A pleasant breeze blows through the arched arcade of Piarista Passage between Váci Street and Marcius 15. Square. The shaded terrace seating here is full of foreign and Hungarian guests, which is no coincidence – this is where Kuglóf opened three years ago, and thanks to its fresh-baked pastries, breads, and more, the café-and-bakery grew to be one of the best breakfast spots of the city. Continuing this dedication to quality into the rest of the day, they’ve recently developed their daily lunch-menu offers and main dishes.
Considering how good their morning selection is, we’re happy to see that Kuglóf’s owners decided to enhance their midday and evening offers as well, while retaining their commitment to superb breakfasts. The Kuglóf team is achieving this with a division of labor between making the cakes and pastries, while a young-yet-experienced chef is in charge of the new menu.
The salmon eggs Benedict is definitely one of the best breakfast dishes we can imagine, and the ham-and-cheese croissant would provide stiff competition for any Parisian patisserie. Kuglóf became popular for a reason, and their business breakfast (which can be ordered to go) is a great idea. A warm cocoa roll and milk coffee can soften the heart of even the strictest boss.
The first dish we tried from the permanent menu was the Sichuan duck soup, which proved to be a surprisingly refreshing starter with its cilantro, lemongrass, and sour flavor. The soup was followed by salmon roulade with lemon and green-herb sauce and excellent mashed potatoes, and then by crispy pork roast with lemongrass and rosemary potatoes.
The bakery is also proud of their cakes, and justifiably so. The apple pie or the kuglóf (bundt cake) – made similarly to the Italian panettone – are both locally famous, but we also tried a pistachio and raspberry cake and a chocolate-heavy brownie with walnuts and almonds. The cakes are not only delicious, but they’re all made on the spot, are not over-sweetened, and are made with apple and fig sugar, which is much better than refined white sugar.
Foreign guests often want to taste something “authentically Hungarian”, so at Kuglóf, they offer dishes than can be ordered separately or as a degustation menu. This includes goose-liver pâté, goulash, stuffed cabbage, paprika chicken, Esterházy torte, and Gundel pancakes.
Finally, let’s take a look at the daily lunch specials, because there are not many other lunch options combining this price and quality in this part of Pest. The flavors are based on the same type of dishes that comprise the new menu, and the prices are friendly as well, with two dishes for 1,290 forints, and three dishes for 1,690 forints.All in all, we were already confident that Kuglóf could transcend its status as a nice breakfast spot to become a desirable destination for lunch or dinner, as well. Whatever we order from the menu at any time of day, we cannot really make a mistake here.
