Leora and David Seboek have lived in Budapest for 20 years now, pioneers of fine dining in the city they love. First they set up on Magyar Street, later moved to Andrássy Avenue and finally settled on Dorottya Street. Here Baraka finalized its concept and found its audience; it is a discreet place that doesn’t follow the marketing strategy of the city’s top restaurants but simply strives to proffer the maximum from season to season. Three years after our first visit, we find a new chef in place, of Brazilian-Portuguese extraction, and the same high gastronomic standards as before.
The husband-and-wife team behind Baraka has years of experience in fine dining. When we first visited this restaurant in 2015, it was only the third day after its opening but a sense of perfectionism was already apparent. Back then, everyone was talking about the awakening gastronomy of Hungary, about local ingredients and about artisanal cuisine. It did not go unnoticed that David was originally a baker and a pastry chef.
Since then, much has changed, much has stayed the same. Here at Baraka, the cocktail selection is a lot stronger now; Bence Mácsai prepares signature drinks and tasty concoctions using well-tried recipes. The former chef is gone, and an intriguing professional, Brazilian-Portuguese André Bicalho, has stepped in. Bicalho has previously worked in France, Spain, Italy and Brazil, at food trucks as well as at top-notch restaurants.
Baraka’s menu changes seasonally, which requires a lot of experimenting, sampling and creativity. André does not only pay attention to presentation and flavor, but also to a theme behind each dish, building the menu around a different concept each season. The current 2017/2018 winter menu features fire as a main element, further explained to diners in a short description.
We still love the elegant interior for its open kitchen, but this time we chose the lounge area that entices guests with warm lights and plants. We should also point out that we haven’t seen such a harmonious staff for a long time. Some employees have been working here since the very beginning, which is quite rare in hospitality.
The restaurant has an à la carte menu, but for a true Baraka experience, choose the dégustation of six courses at 27,900 forints. It costs 49,900 forints with paired wines, with prestige labels 69,900 forints. These prices more or less match those of other top restaurants in Budapest.
The bread selection is always an important factor at a restaurant, one that receives extra attention at Baraka thanks to David. They served us sweet walnut bread and brioche with French butter, followed by various amuse-bouches: coconut melting in a spoonful of ginger, fresh green curry, crunchy crackling, salty pumpkin seed macarons, cod and onion and crunchy curry bites in wheat balls. All of these bites were excellent appetizers before the main course. Presentations is exceptional; we had previously thought that such expertis only exists at Babel Budapest, but Baraka is now engraved in out memory.
The bouillabaisse with jiaozi impressed us as it was drowned in dry ice, while the lamb steak stunned us with crimson colors, generated by blood orange and grapefruit. Besides these extra twists, other flavors are equally cared for; the corn selection with Chinese five-spice and sweet chili was surprising. They deal expertly with scallops, served with kohlrabi, cuttlefish, dashi and soy. The highlight of the dinner was undoubtedly the local venison served with pumpkin, tamarind, beetroot and chili. It was excellent.
The desserts are also sophisticated, from Hungarian flódni with quince and kumquat to the holy trinity of passion fruit, hazelnut and milk chocolate.
The flavor of each ingredient comes through in each dish, but equally they work in perfect harmony. At Baraka, they are not afraid to use spices but do not try to cover the excellent savors of high-quality meat with aggressive aromas but rather highlight them. Baraka is one of the best examples of Asian-French fusion, recommended for true epicures as its flavors and atmosphere make it one of the absolute quality restaurants in Budapest.
