At the base of Buda’s pleasant Rózsadomb district near Margaret Bridge, a welcoming hangout opened without much ballyhoo about three months ago – Törökméz, serving as a café, a bakery, and a delicatessen... but perhaps it is best to just call it a friendly and familiar living space tucked away within a hidden corner. We visit Törökméz and admire its understated delights.
This charming Buda eatery opened amid summertime on Margit Street, close to the panoramic tomb of Gül Baba, providing a perfect hideaway for all-day relaxation. The existence of Törökméz is the product of a joint effort by family and friends, who had been adamant about launching their business on the Buda side, seeing as its breakfast scene is less vibrant than that of Pest at this point.
People living in the nearby neighborhood welcomed the idea with unanimous cheer, and some locals now stop by frequently.
We thought long and hard about what title would fit Törökméz best, and we finally realized that “living space” is the most accurate phrase for describing what the eatery is all about: breakfastall day, sparklingelderflower wine, rare vintages, delicatessenproducts, French baked goods, and fantasticcoffee. It’s virtually impossible to resist the urge to lounge for awhile on the leafy terrace.
Before the opening, the team had no previous restaurant experience, or even a firm concept for the place. All they knew was that they wanted a friendly, casualatmosphere and a selection of goods that they themselves were particularly fond of. The idea seems to have worked: over the course of just a few weeks, a handful of guests made Törökméz a regular haunt, and it’s also a common occurrence that people from across the city come here to hang out at the cozy café they’ve heard so much about.
We kicked off our tasting session with a cucumber lemonade and some fresh apple juice, followed by a bowl of homemade granola with yogurt (1,190 HUF) and a spinach-and-feta-cheese omelet (1,290 HUF). Our last course was a selection of meats and cheeses (3,900 HUF) with freshly baked bread, spicy Balkan ajvar spread, and olives.
With our bellies full, we soon understood the cause of Törökméz’s popularity, and while the prices seemed a little bit over the top at first, the portions and the top-quality ingredients made us forget all about our initial financial reaction. There’s probably no need to point it out, but everything is made fresh on the spot.
Törökméz is like any other good place in town in the sense that it continues to evolve, develop and experiment: the future holds lots of cool, new promises, the most recent project being an American-style breakfast dish that apparently isn’t yet available in Budapest. Try as we might, we couldn’t convince them to spill the beans, so there’s no doubt that we’ll return to get to the bottom of this mystery.
