Here at We Love Budapest, we normally write about new places opening in town, but sometimes excellent venues just hide in plain sight. Such a venue is Grill Mánia on Bartók Béla út, home of authentic Balkan flavours.
The cultural and gastronomical scene on Bartók Béla út gets more and more impressive by the year, increasing along with its popularity. This main artery of south Buda is lined with convivial terraces yet exudes a calm you won’t find in busier Pest. While new cafés and restaurants are continuously popping up, plenty of classic, old places can still be found. Grill Mánia has long been sizzling Balkan delights over charcoal.
Owner Velinov Velizar – or, as everyone knows him, Bárni – came to Hungary from Bulgaria in the early ’90s. Then only 17, he had already been experienced in the realm of chargrilling, as he had been helping out at home since the age of 14. He also has another profession, and immersed himself in interior design for a while, though he always wanted to run a restaurant where he could share the flavours from his childhood with others.
His first attempt to make this happen was in the form of a Bulgarian delicatessen, only a few steps from the present Grill Mánia. Although business ran smoothly, he couldn’t spend enough time at the store because of his involvement in the construction sector – but he also couldn’t let the deli’s marketing be done by people who perhaps weren’t as familiar with the products as he was.
After shutting up shop, he got into fast food. Later he decided to do what he had always dreamed of, and opened a restaurant near the former delicatessen, offering dishes made with that most popular of Balkan techniques, chargrilling. Down where the southern Slavs live, cultures mingle with unique gastronomical properties, with some prevalent shared features. In the heart of all this is charcoal-flavoured grilled meat, as well as simple and refreshing salads, and vegetable-based spreads.
These are the main features to be savoured at Grill Mánia as well, presented in the most authentic way, and flawlessly with it.
The menu includes a few dishes off-grid for the Balkans but most are identical to what you might find at the finest eateries in Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Bulgaria.
Among the appetisers – obligatory for any authentic Balkan experience – we asked for peppers with feta (1,460 HUF). Simple as it comes, sizzled-on-the-grill pepper with Greek feta, olive oil, parsley, very good in itself, but you can happily have some meat to accompany, as well as house spreads, such as the homemade ajvar (670 HUF) with its grilled-pepper and aubergine base and deep smoky taste, nothing to do with what you’d find in the store. The homemade hot sauce (470 HUF) consists of roast peppers and garlic, is slightly bitter and also goes very well with meat, or the Balkan spicy-cheese spread, the feta-based urnebes (560 HUF).
When choosing your main dish, a lot depends on what kind of meat you would like, because the minced meat can be made from pork, beef, veal or lamb. According to Bárni, this is a big difference between the Bulgarian and the Romanian versions, his compatriots preferring a specific base rather than the mixed variety consumed by Romanians.
Be sure to try either pljeskavica, ćevapčići or Bulgarian kebabs – for these minced meat-based Balkan specialities, the raw ingredients are obtained by Bárni, and he also mixes them every day. If you really want to make the most of the juicy, smoked patty experience, ask for the cheese-filled version to make your day. Like the meats, grilled cheeses have their traditions in the Balkans – to discover them, opt for melted grilled cheese platter comprising three varieties (2,360 HUF).
Other choices include whole ribs, chicken and shashlik, the meats marinated for four days before they hit charcoal, resulting in a wonderfully tasty and succulent dish. The rice is fried with vegetables then prepared in the oven.
Whatever you choose, a shopska salad (1,190 HUF) will enhance it – a Balkan staple whose cucumber, tomatoes, chunks of cheese are cut into larger pieces compared to the Hungarian version. The homemade mixed salad is made twice a day. Add a healthy ayran yoghurt drink, and you have the full Bulgarian grill-bar experience. The only items Bárni doesn’t prepare himself, in fact, are the pita bread and fries.
Grill Mánia is easy to love – Bárni’s constant presence and the flavours from his childhood, the experienced Balkan grill masters, as he refers to them, the enthusiastic service, and the laid-back but caring Balkan hospitality are at least as important as the charcoal grilled meats themselves, and heavenly accompanying salads.
Grill Mánia
District XI. Bartók Béla út 6
Open: Daily 11am-11pm
