It isn’t easy to develop and expand a business so that quality doesn’t suffer but improves. For this to happen, you need drive and a willingness to evolve, so that business doesn’t stifle your heart and creativity. The owner must be present, however capable his many helpers.
Such a man is Szabi Szabadfi, baking in Szentendre by morning, then overseeing the never-quite-ready artisanal bread and gourmet pizzas at the main bakery at Városmajor, then hopping over to the Downtown Market and closing the day on Király utca. If anyone gives the 24-hour clock its best shot, it’s Szabi.
He has had the idea of Il Giardino for a while, an intimate garden restaurant where pizzas bake in a wood-burning oven, wafts of porchetta fill the air and children run around while the crickets sing. The building now filled by Il Giardino was most recently occupied by Sophie & Ben Garden, who leave it in very good hands.
While we can only look out over the garden in winter, we have a fireplace to warm us, romantic for dining couples. Much has already been done with the interior but, as ever, there is more to do. A Provençal atmosphere will be replaced by a more dynamic, more impulsive Italian one – starting with the menu.
We wouldn’t say that Il Giardino is a pizzeria per se, but that’s where the focus is. Running from basic to the gourmet varieties familiar from the Városmajor outlet, the range starts with a standard margherita at 1,990 forints and goes up to a pistachio pizza at 3,390. The lunch menu also centres on pizza, either with a starter or dessert for 2,590 forints, plus a cordial.
Inspiration comes from Italy – Krisztián Kertész heading up the kitchen has worked for Italians before, so is hardly new to the task.
The menu will change seasonally, but the favourites remain. We sampled the tenderloin carpaccio (2,790 HUF), accompanied by a focaccia that Szabi quickly knocked up, all pretty authentic. The porcini mushrooms (2,790 HUF) came with smoked duck breast – as it’s difficult to compete with the intense flavour of mushrooms, for those who love their porcini, this might become a favourite.
Of course, you can also order classic bruschetta, minestrone soup or buffalo-mozzarella caprese as an appetiser. The pasta here is homemade – note the arrabiata, carbonara, lasagne, bolognese, wild-boar ravioli and savoury shrimp spaghetti listed on the menu. And something else that’s not too prevalent in Budapest, even though it’s very hearty, tasty and Italian, is porchetta (4,190 HUF), with traditional seasoning. Crunchy on the outside, soft within. We can safely say that there is no better porchetta in town – flawless! In addition, it can only improve when devoured in the garden in summer.
Until then, there’s a fireplace to cosy up to.
Il Giardino by Panificio il Basilico District II. Hidegkúti út 81
Open: Daily 11:30am-10pm
