IÑEZ Food Bar operates as a family business under a short and catchy name. A young couple runs the show, and naturally we thought that the female half of the pair also bears the same Spanish-sounding name, but we later learned that as they were designing and primping the store, they often listened to a song with this title. That is how the name found the place, and not vice versa. The location and the kitchen are both really tiny, but there is still room to eat by the window, and they have a nice little table in front of the place for more leisurely guests as well. We were already impressed by the clean design and graphics on the place's Facebook page, and in person, IÑEZ immediately offers a cozy scene with its many small details, like the white quotes about love of food and coffee on the black counters, and the huge Dóra Földes painting on the wall.
Less is more – this is true at IÑEZ in many ways. There are not too many food selections offered every day, because that is not what guests want; this is a place to find familiar flavors, frequent novelties, and reliable quality. There are eight kinds of bagels in the repertoire (550 HUF apiece), among which 5-6 can be found in stock every day. Moreover, they have vegan sandwiches with grilled vegetables as well. We tried the karibi (ruccola, tomato, avocado, salami, mango) and the white grape with turkey ham (cream cheese, turkey ham, brie cheese, white grapes) versions, and as always, the liked the extreme flavors. The bagels are made and baked on the spot, and luckily are not as crusty as we experienced in many places. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and made light by the fillings. The holey buns are sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, which is a small but tasty touch to give it a little extra flair. We expected bagels sprinkled with pumpkin and poppy seeds too, but maybe they were out of those that day.
In addition to the bagels, they also have other round foods: quiche and frittata (both 450 HUF per slice). The quiche we tried was a feta-spinach version, which they made with spinach from Szimpla's Sunday market, but they might have played a joke on the IÑEZ lady, because the leafy vegetable was actually sorrel. But there is no need to panic: the sorrel's sweet taste went fine with the feta, even though we never dared to try this combination before. The frittata is made with vegetables and is almost carbohydrate-free, so it passes the paleo and diet test. Similarly, the daily salad (450 HUF) is made from the freshest ingredients at hand. Moreover, they also have a daily soup that we unfortunately did not try this time.
Their drinks, shakes and other refreshments all hit the spot as well, as we indicated in our recent compilation about lemonades and smoothies. We especially recommend their mango lassi, and also their coffees (espresso: 290 HUF) that they get from Lumen. IÑEZ is a fresh little stopping point for the hurrying cyclists of Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street, along with rushing bank employees and daydreaming couples.
