Replacing the former Cha-Cha-Cha, BRKLYN Island is not only a place to sip cocktails but sample quality cuisine – which is how the Bock Bistro and Lajos Bíró came into the picture, familiar with Margaret Island after running a decent beach-food outlet at the Palatinus lido a couple of years ago.
However, BRKLYN Island raises the bar, targeting a different audience to that at the former Laza Pala. The goal is clearly to provide excellent eats and decent drinks to a lively crowd by the Danube, with well-chosen music, close to the city. Only having had a couple of weeks to get the place shipshape after it had been neglected for years, the team has produced impressive results. You can choose from different terraces, sunny or shaded, gazing at the bridge or the Danube over your cocktail.
They open at 2pm, so you can start early. Music takes place in the evenings, such as Budapest-born DJ Nigel Stately this Saturday, 27 June.
The menu isn't long, but it is exciting. Luckily, it manages to avoid the cliché of hamburgers or hake by the waterfront. The selection of 11 dishes features popular yet innovative dishes – you would expect nothing less of Lajos Bíró. In BRKLYN, the Asian range has been accentuated, with Far-Eastern spices thrown in. There are two main parts to the menu, snacks, as the name suggests, means lighter, smaller dishes, while the signature ones should conquer your hunger.
Labneh with olive caviar (2,190 HUF) comes with a light cream-cheese labneh tapenade reminiscent of olive caviar and sprinkled with good-quality olive oil. And a nice slice of crispy, soft sourdough bread from András Wolf's oven on the side. The squid carbonara (2,890 HUF) is a very fresh, savvy dish, with several surprises. It has nothing to do with Italian pasta other than its appearance, as the spaghetti is replaced by sous-vide squid. Squid is a divisive fish, but for those who like it, we highly recommend it. Thanks to technology, it doesn’t have the rubbery texture at all that scares many away from its tentacles – it rather resembles an Italian-cooked pasta. The thick sauce in which it sits is a perfect hollandaise, which, while not particularly summery piece, is delicious all the same. And thanks to the carefully chosen chili, the basically soft and silky food also gets a spicy, fiery little punch.
Among the meats, Japanese chicken wings with strong mustard (2,490 HUF) is a real hit, and a brilliant brainwave by Bíró. The wings are coated in sesame oil and soy and then put into flour for a few minutes. As for the spicy mustard, Bíró uses the most basic Globus brand and some Piros Arany paprika sauce found in every Hungarian household. However, the result is unstoppable. No wonder –Bíró used to prepare dishes for his friends at monthly seminars.
Peking duck with bao noodles (4,800 HUF) was perhaps our favourite – soft duck leg, tasty Asian spicy stew, hair-thin, crunchy vegetables and soft, warm bao. It’s not the easiest choice if you’re on a date, because you have to dissect the thighs yourself and fill it into the bao, but being wrist-deep in sauce is an easy price to pay. These selections will remain for the summer, but there will be a couple of pop-up variations on Sunday lunchtimes when Bíró will man the cauldron.
The same high standard of drinks matches the food – with a decent number of spirits and more champagne and Prosecco than the average place. The cocktail menu is well put together. In addition to new-wave favourites, you can choose from a number of signature drinks and light, colourful, summer mixed drinks.
BRKLYN doesn’t want to operate as a party spot, just offer good food, drinks and music in one place, chilled by the water in the summer heat. As weekends can be busy if you’re with a group, do book ahead.
BRKLYN Island
District XIII. Margaret Island
Open: Tue-Sun 2pm-11pm
