Given the spread of Neapolitan pizzerias and classic trattorias, with their signature checkered tablecloths, you may be forgiven for thinking that’s all there is to Italian dining in town. Not any more. Someone has had the bright idea to open a contemporary Italian eatery in the city centre. Pupi Ristorante Budapest features a sophisticated interior, an exciting menu and modern Italian cuisine with no little fusion.
If there was a vote for the most popular cuisine in the world, chances are Italy would be first, or at least among the top three. Those interested in gastronomy will also know that Italy is one of the last places in Europe where you can find completely different types of cuisine a short distance away from each other.
But, ever since the export of the typical trattoria, most Italian restaurants around the world have been offering a similar experience, with any number of carbonaras, pizzas and caprese salads on the menu. Some venues in larger cities are beginning to stray from this tradition – now Budapest also has an Italian restaurant with a more contemporary style.
The owner of Pupi Ristorante didn’t jump into something unfamiliar when starting the business – he already had another restaurant with the same name in Štúrovo, on the Slovak-Hungarian border. This happens to be a classic Italian eatery, with rough brick walls, a large pizza oven, seafood and the most popular Italian pasta dishes on the menu. However, he wanted to bring something new to the table and get out of his comfort zone, hence Pupi Ristorante Budapest.
For a start, the interior of the Sas utca restaurant remains clean and simple – there are no checkered tablecloths or garlic wreaths on the tables, and no tacky ornaments on the walls, either. White dominates, with cream-coloured textiles, natural wood furniture, providing a classy and elegant vibe to the locale. The real difference however can be perceived on the menu – you feel that they’re Italian from the first glance, despite the classic aperitivo, primi piatti, secondi piatti blocks. This isn’t one of the old, traditional venues.
Although the menu features antipasti platters made with original denomination of origin products, as well as pizzas and pastas, everything is a little different. As for the appetiser-salad-main course trio, not only can you expect modern Italian dishes, but they’re also sprinkled with a little bit of fusion and elements of Asian cuisines. Chef Tibor Fekete formerly worked at restaurants such as Tanti and Costes, and although Italian comfort food is definitely close to everyone’s hearts, he can now bring the flavours of Rome a little closer to Budapest, while working his magic in terms of Asian cuisine and fine dining, too.
Don’t be intimidated by the term fine dining though – there are no overcomplicated textures on the menu, and the desserts also don’t come in dozens of different varieties. You can simply tell that the chef has experienced working at Michelin-starred restaurants before. By the way, this is not reflected in the prices.
On our visit, our first pick was the duck liver marinated in Porto (2,900 HUF) – the pressed liver comes with morello cherries as sweet as cocktail cherries, as well as a pistachio sponge, nuts and homemade butter bread. There’s also a bit of pistachio powder along with the green, sea sponge-textured pistachio sponge, both of which are flavoursome and characteristic.
This is not the place to look for spaghetti Bolognese, carbonara or pesto pasta – instead, they have two exciting risottos and three homemade pasta dishes. Our choice was the beautifully shaped walnut tortellini (3,300 HUF). The homemade dough buns were filled with soft walnut cream, and kept warm by the blue-cheese sauce. The gorgonzola taste in this is quite dominant, but it’s still very creamy and harmonious, creating a perfectly autumnal feeling alongside the walnuts.
The features of Italian cuisine are best represented among the main courses, despite there being an Asian touch to some of the ingredients. The mangalica pork chop (3,000 HUF) is served with almond polenta, brown-butter cauliflower puree and mini carrots – a beautiful, wholesome dish with autumnal colours, soft veal and a creamy purée.
Despite the locale’s plentiful innovations, pizza is still a must. Here, they follow the Neapolitan tradition instead of what we’ll normally find at a trattoria, and they make it particularly well. The crust is nice and airy, while the base is thin, topped with delicious, quality ingredients.
The relatively long pizza list features exciting cheeses, Italian cold cuts, seasonal mushrooms and rare vegetables. They begin at 2,200 forints and go up to 3,500, with weekly changing varieties for lunch as well. For just 2,200 forints, you can even have a soup or a dessert to go with it.
Although tiramisu seems to be the most obvious dessert option, you won’t find it at Pupi. You’ll be delighted to find mascarpone, however, which is a great way to close your visit. The white, chocolatey mousse is served with homemade apricot jam and tonkabean biscuit crumbs, with two muffin-shaped madeleine-like sweets – overall a very homely, comforting dessert to balance out the otherwise modern, contemporary line of dishes.
Pupi opens up new doors to local Italian cuisine – if you are adventurous enough to experience this world of flavours beyond what you’ve already tried, give it a go!
