When ESCA first introduced the “studio restaurant” concept to Budapest last year, chef Gábor Fehér offered high-quality lunches at his teeny eatery, but after renewing their appearance and concept in springtime, the esteemed hotspot stopped serving midday meals. However, after many regulars missed the afternoon service, ESCA recently launched TÁBLA next door, creating a stylish eatery that serves gourmet lunch specials during the daytime, and doubles as a relaxed wine bar in the evening. We just had to check it out.

While Esca 2.0 took on a darker appearance more apropos to nighttime after its springtime renovation, its new sister restaurant, TÁBLA, has a daytime-friendly monochrome style with whitewashed walls, a low ceiling due to a gallery, and a blackboard (“tábla” in Hungarian) that always features the daily selection, from which we can put lunch menus together however we see fit. Lunchtime at TÁBLA is between 11:30am-3pm, and there is no A or B menu, as we can pick dishes for our three-course midday feast individually from the daily selection. A three-course menu costs between 2,500-3,000 HUF, which is a pretty friendly price for such a high-quality restaurant.

Among the appetizers, we mostly find snacks and creams served with pastries, which can also be ordered in the afternoon with some tasty wine, coffee, or syrup sodas. During the week, TÁBLA awaits guests with succulent lunch menus, while during the weekend they serve as a wine bar.

We visited the truly tiny new restaurant, and tasted two three-course menus. The lunches include modest portions individually, but after devouring all three we feel pleasantly full.

We tried their smoked egg cream with Mangalica ham (850 HUF), and the flavorful mackerel cream (850 HUF), which is perfectly paired with capers. From the soup selection, we tried fresh autumn pumpkin cream soup with ginger duck breast (1,350 HUF), which is intensive and rich. We also had spinach risotto with chicken (1,350 HUF), but if we would like to go for a vegetarian option, the buttered risotto is always a good choice. The Thai pork comes with confit potatoes (1,650 HUF), which is a truly delicious meal enhanced with a slightly sweet coating. For dessert we had pistachio ice cream with crunchy topping (450 HUF). TÁBLA’s wine selection is truly impressive, holding many treats for cozy evenings.

TÁBLA is a fitting addition to ESCA, offering a super concept and mouthwatering flavors – we definitely wish we could come round here for lunch more often.

TÁBLA

Address: Budapest 1074, Dohány utca 29
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