It's always lovely to have a little pleasant surprise; and this is exactly what happened to us at Trattoria Gusto. Thanks to the pleasant atmosphere, the furnace in the guest area and the eclectic interior, the small restaurant is rather cozy. Not only that, the 23-year-old chef, who moved to Budapest from Italy, runs a kitchen that embraces the cuisine of the whole “boot.”
Toward the end of the last decade Liszt Ferenc Square became filled with cafés and restaurants. It was here that we first encountered summertime terraces with mist-blowing devices, and that we drank tasty and expensive lemonades. This is also where the economical lunch menus started as well. After a while, the scene moved to other places in District VII and the square became a magnet for tourists. But now it seems that the square is living its renaissance: Becketts reopened there just a few days ago, and Trattoria Gusto, which opened about a year ago seems to be doing well at this location.
The trattoria opened here because there weren't any Italian restaurants with a friendly atmosphere and excellent flavours nearby. The story of executive chef Simone Marcedula is somewhat of a fairytale too. A Hungarian girl stole his heart in Italy, however, they decided to settle down in Budapest, and Simone now utilises his gastronomical knowledge acquired at a local trattoria back home. He leads a kitchen free of excesses and clichés, and uses recipes that were developed over generations.It is important to note, that Tibor Benedek and Panni Epres, who spent years in Recco in the Liguria region, are also owners. Therefore, the menu now includes dishes that were their favourites because they would like to show Budapest what Recco is famous for - in addition to its water polo team. This includes the focaccia, for example, which they make with spread cheese and paper-thin pizza dough. By the time they take it out of the oven, it becomes similar to flaky pastry both in texture and thinness. It is perfect either as a side or a main dish, and it's impossible to stop eating. Focaccia di Recco, remember it, and definitely order some. We tasted the 2-person antipasti platter (4 650 forints), which comes with Bufaka mozzarella, burrata cheese, feline salami and Parma ham. Among the appetisers, we can also find black mussels (2 450 forints), which arrives fresh every week, and there is a wide selection of soups, as well.Although the pizzas that are made right in front of our eyes are a delicious sight, we still chose to try fresh pasta and risotto instead. Franca Mamma’s special risotto with sea fruits (3 200 forints) was richly packed with mussels, shrimp, octopus and baby squid, and the rice was truly Italian - round and soft. We can find grilled dishes and even burgers on the menu, but we decided to try a maccheroncini with morels, goose liver and sage.
What we got were clean, homely flavours, not to mention that the portions are rather trattoria-worthy. The classics are dominant among the desserts (profiterole (1 150 forints), tiramisu (990 forints).
We recommend it to fans of Italian cuisine and culture who would like to clink glasses over a calzone; to couples who would like to wake the memories of their summer vacation in Italy; and to lovers of Italian wines - at Trattoria Gusto we can taste the most excellent wines of wine regions reaching from Toscana to Abruzzo.
Trattoria Gusto (closed)
Address: 1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 11.
