Budapest’s culinary community is still mourning the recent loss of Kocka, which presented a trailblazing concept to the city – establishing a new-wave French fine-dining hotspot in the middle of downtown’s Kazinczy Street party zone, quite a daring choice by the management. Regrettably, Kocka was a little too far ahead of its time, and while its closure is cause for distress, we were especially worried about what would happen to the restaurant’s talented chef, Gábor Fehér. Around the We Love Budapest office, we reluctantly conjected that Gábor would again start working abroad, which he is certainly qualified to do after studying at Le Cordon Bleu Paris and working at renowned restaurants in Scandinavia.
Fortunately for us, the young chef decided to continue his promising career at home by establishing his own restaurant not far away from the Kocka site, but utilizing a concept previously unseen in Budapest. Nowadays we rarely witness a good idea meeting genuine expertise, so it is really refreshing to have an authentic professional open his own spot. And what a spot it is!
The name ESCA means “food” in Latin, while a “studio restaurant” is neither an open kitchen, nor an apartment restaurant, but a space that can accommodate a maximum of 20 people simultaneously in an intimate setting where the bar and the kitchen are blended into each other, giving diners a perfect view of the workings inside the nicely equipped cooking space. The interior’s Scandinavian design radiates a clean and attractive air, bringing together white, concrete, and metals. Despite the minimalistic design, ESCA is still remarkable: the fact that it was fully thought out by the originators gives it personality.
We all have friends or family members whose cooking is extraordinary, and who provide us with an evening of pleasures every time we are invited to join them for dinner. Somehow, when Gábor is preparing our dishes in the ESCA kitchen, we experience the same feelings.
Based on the courses, we would categorize the offering of ESCA as international cuisine, since it serves fine French dishes as well as Scandinavian specialties. The selection includes numerous fish dishes, and Gábor will throw raw cuisine into the mix, too, surprising as it might sound. We watched the preparation of three dishes, and found it difficult to wait before eating them while the photos were being taken – we felt like a dog who has to sit down in order to get a bone.Gábor’s calm when handling the ingredients is hypnotic. The components – mushrooms, fish, and vegetables, the majority of which were locally grown in the Budaörs-based Kíváncsi Garden – were already mesmerizing in and of themselves. ESCA only works with the best suppliers, which means that the coffee is also excellent, and they serve exquisite Janus wines from Hungary’s Villány wine region.
We started with sardines served with cucumber, green apple, and baby spinach, sprinkled with currants (1,250 HUF). This was followed by gurnard in a potato sauce made with saffron and white wine, with grilled potatoes, capers and onions on the side. After the fish, we were served a steak of a beautiful burgundy-pink color in jus, with flavorful forest mushrooms and green peas. We could not help but blink contentedly: this restaurant is by far one of the best things that has happened to us in Budapest, gastronomy-wise.The eatery will also serve three-course lunch specials priced just a bit above 2,000 forints, providing excellent value when considering the cuisine’s quality. Thanks, ESCA – we didn’t know what was missing from Budapest’s restaurant scene, but now we happily get it!
Address: Budapest 1074, Dohány u. 29
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 11:30am - 11:30pm
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