Being a landlocked country, Hungary is not exactly famous for its seafood dishes, but as demand for local freshwater fish increases, more and more fish restaurants are opening here with gradually increasing success. Szabolcs Horváth is a guy who grew up next to the Tisza River, and, with only a little exaggeration, he was born with a fishing rod in hand. He fished a lot, and had an interest in gastronomy, including the different ways of preparing and serving fish dishes. He set up a blog, organized special dinners, and then opened HelloHal at multiple locations, including Budapest.
Statistics prove that Hungarians eat very little fish. Although these numbers don’t say how much of this is sea fish versus freshwater fish, probably the first category is eaten more frequently. Fingers that never even met fish, hake on the beach, and some occasional canned goods – this is the typical way to eat fish here. Local fish is served on Christmas in soup or as carp slices. Szabolcs Horváth wants to change this, as much as possible.
HelloHal started out as a blog that shared tricks, tips, ideas, and recipes woven into stories. How to clean a fish, how to fry it so that it doesn’t fall apart, why does fish meat require an acidic flavor, and so on. Then, after the success of the blog, he organized friendly dinners with themes, preparing fish that he caught himself, and did everything himself from catching the fish to serving it. These dinners then became fish stand-ups for a wider audience, with an open kitchen, a projector, a lot of stories, laughs, and great flavors. They gave home to such revelations as “This doesn’t even taste like mud” or “I wouldn’t have guessed it’s fish!”
His first eatery opened by Tisza Lake, and the small hotspot has grown up over the years – the restaurant in Tiszaörvény now awaits guests with a truly special atmosphere. The next step was opening a bistro in the Hungarian town of Kecskemét, and the project has reached the point when the HelloHal of Budapest was ready to open. The bistro is at the corner of Török Pál Street with an airy, sleek terrace along RádayStreet.
This new location offers a wide selection, and will surely be different from the first two eateries. We would be especially happy if the “erotic mermaid-fin” would end up on the menu here – it is served at the Tisza locale, and it is the crunchy fin of a walleye.
The menu has such creative specialties as carp chips (1,490 forints), catfish sushi (1,990 forints), walleye-head variations (2,990 forints), catfish gyros (1,990 forints), or the fish sausage made from carp, and served with bread, mustard, and prickles. Of course they have fish & chips (1,990-2,490 forints), and they also serve fish burgers (1,990 forints), as well as fish salads (1,490-2,490 forints).
Our favorite was the Brasov-style fish steak (2,490 forints). Imagine a classic Brasov roast with spices and fried onions, only, instead of steak, they mix potato with grilled catfish.
The bruschetta with grilled fish fillet (1,690 forints), or the whole fried bream (45 forints/kg) are both good companions for a wine or beer. We also get a printed itinerary with the dishes, as Szabolcs thought it’s best not to leave any of the valuable fibers on the spine of the fish, so he made sure that guests can enjoy every bit of their food. For example, the ribs of the bream are easy to munch on, not to mention they taste great. We liked the spirit and quality of HelloHal, and we hope that there will be more and more quality, freshwater-serving restaurants like it here.
