Right in the heart of Budapest, there’s a popular beer bar named MADHOUSE Budapest Bistro & Craft Beer Bar, serving up the mind-blowing concoctions of a famed Hungarian brewery, Mad Scientist. And now, local crowd-favourite rock’n’roll and indie band Carson Coma have put a temporary menu of traditional Hungarian dishes together for the bar, inspired by the 80s. If you’re interested in authentic local flavours with a modern twist, as well as in high-quality Hungarian craft beer, be sure to pop into MADHOUSE to drink and dine on any day of the week.
MADHOUSE is a reliable craft beer bar in Budapest, a few steps away from central Deák Ferenc tér. Besides offering an impressive selection of high-quality Hungarian craft beer, they always like to impress their guests with something new as well. This is why they joined forces this summer with popular local musical acts like Beton-Hofi, Bohemian Betyars or Irie Maffia to put temporary menus together that present authentic local flavours and dishes with a modern twist. This time, it was crowd-favourite Carson Coma’s turn to put something new on the table – together with MADHOUSE's executive chef, Norbert Piszkor.
The new menu will give Hungarians a sense of nostalgia and foreigners a chance to try some truly traditional local favourites.
The new menu will give Hungarians a sense of nostalgia and foreigners a chance to try some truly traditional local favourites.
Hungarian flavours at their best
One dish we definitely recommend from the new menu is rakott krumpli (Hungarian layered potatoes), made of Agata potatoes, mangalica pork sausage (mangalica is Hungary’s own breed of prized pig) and farm eggs. Harcsapaprikas (catfish stew) with sweet cottage-cheese pasta is a real classic. At MADHOUSE, it's made with guanciale (Italian cured meat), local catfish, as well as a touch of Carrot Charmer sour beer brewed with carrots.
As the frontman of the band, Giorgio has Italian roots, the menu needed to include Spaghetti Bolognese, of course, made of luscious tomatoes, minced pork and beef and Grana Padano cheese.
As the frontman of the band, Giorgio has Italian roots, the menu needed to include Spaghetti Bolognese, of course, made of luscious tomatoes, minced pork and beef and Grana Padano cheese.
Lamingtons and Sex on the Beach with a twist
Both Carson Coma and the team behind MADHOUSE agree that for dessert, lamingtons – a favourite of many Hungarians – are a must, but with a twist, of course. They come served with coconut ice-cream, as well as a rum- and espresso-flavoured stout-based cream. Delicious!
If you order a Sex on the Beach, what you’ll actually get is a Mad Sex on the Beach, served with a touch of Hungarian pálinka, yuzu and hop. These new flavours truly shake up this all-time favourite drink and make it oh so scrumptious.
Phantom Vibration
If you need some beer recommendations to go with your food – by the band themselves – you can try Fantomrezgés (Phantom Vibration), named after one of Carson Coma’s songs and brewed in collaboration with Mad Scientist. It is a Helles brewed with ginger, lemon grass and cardamom, perfectly dry, spicy and refreshing at the same time.
80s vibes
The picture menu is designed in the style of recipe cards that were super popular in the 80s in Hungary. They used to come weekly in the post, and almost all housewives collected them eagerly.
To finish on a high note, we’ll mention that 10% of revenues will go to two local charities that support kids and young people living with disabilities and their families.
Check out the bilingual menu on MADHOUSE’s website, and follow their Facebook page for upcoming events and updates.
