Miklós Sulyok traveled a long way before arriving at Kertész Street. He spent most of his childhood in Paris and graduated as a mathematician, although he spent most of his life translating and producing "samizdat" (a form of dissent involving self-publishing censored works in the Soviet bloc). After the end of socialism in Hungary his focus turned to cooking. First he cooked for his friends only, and then he led the canteen of the SZDSZ free democrats political party. Around this time, he made the acquaintance of a few French students at Central European University (CEU) with whom he opened a restaurant at Klauzál Square. However, this place did not operate for long and soon he obtained his current restaurant’s place in Kertész Street.
"My wives wore blue stockings and could not cook, but I loved to eat. But we are not cooks, and like shipwrecked people, the storm threw us on the coast of a restaurant,” says the owner, who steers this “ship” in Kertész Street with the help of his daughters, Janka and Rozi.
After thirteen years, the not overly “professional” kitchen facilities came to deserve a renovation, and everyone involved was inclined to “redraw” the interior decorations as well. So the team added some indoor plants, a dresser, racks, a record player and a chandelier to the paper wallpaper. After a short close, the popular place is now open again with a re-freshened look and a great new kitchen.
In terms of food, among the welcome bites we can find Jewish egg with chicken liver, avocado cream and foie gras foam. After a glass of wine, the appetisers arrive: octopus tentacles with mango bean sprout salad and coriander soy sauce, and foie gras crème caramel with walnut.
From the main dishes, we chose Moroccan venison with bulgur and duck breast steak with spring onions and scalloped potatoes. As for the desserts, we ate some apple tarte tatin with salted caramel, and although the chocolate fondant with candied orange was not quite right – we will blame that on the new oven – it is still very delicious. As they said, there would be a revolution if they would not keep this dish on the otherwise ever-changing menu.Otherwise the whole place is almost the same as before: simple but good kitchen, French flavours, relaxed interior and atmosphere, and not over-the-top service. It is definitely worth trying out!
