Tapas, dancers, a champagne tower and a bit of ’Bamboleo’ – Buda’s newest restaurant, Cut & Barrel has just burst onto the city’s gastro scene with a flamboyant fiesta. We attended the opening, dined and wined, danced all night, and when we just couldn’t control ourselves any longer, we even joined the conga line. In the meantime, we got a glimpse of what’s to be expected of Cut & Barrel from now onwards: perfect dishes, top-quality wines, attentive service and a laid-back yet elegant atmosphere spiced up with a pinch of Latin temperament.
Cut & Barrel breathes new life into a huge and imposing industrial building that used to house an old textile factory on Óbuda’s Pacsirtamező utca. The cuisine is Basque-South American, the wines are outstanding, and the atmosphere is laid-back, spiced up with a pinch of Latin temperament.
The new bistro-restaurant is a perfect reflection of the multicultural spirit of owner Carlos Coelho, who has Argentinian and Spanish roots but after decades of living in Budapest, also considers Hungary his home – he’s also behind Etyek’s renowned Haraszthy Winery and Matador Restaurant. Chef André Bicalho is Brazilian-Portuguese and has several years of experience gained at restaurants all around the world. So, if anyone can bring a slice of South America to Budapest, and knows how to do it right, it’s the team behind Cut & Barrel.
The new bistro-restaurant is a perfect reflection of the multicultural spirit of owner Carlos Coelho, who has Argentinian and Spanish roots but after decades of living in Budapest, also considers Hungary his home – he’s also behind Etyek’s renowned Haraszthy Winery and Matador Restaurant. Chef André Bicalho is Brazilian-Portuguese and has several years of experience gained at restaurants all around the world. So, if anyone can bring a slice of South America to Budapest, and knows how to do it right, it’s the team behind Cut & Barrel.
Pintxo fiesta
If you think of a fiesta, you expect vibrant colours, strong flavours and an atmosphere oh so exuberant. This is exactly what the opening night of Cut & Barrel delivered. There was more pintxo than a real Spanish mamita could make – we’ll casually mention the newest saying we learnt during the night: “Pintxo is always tapas, but tapas is not always pintxo.” Pintxo is a small appetiser similar to tapas, often served with a skewer or toothpick, hence the name. We were stuffing these one after the other right by the impressive champagne tower bopping a bit to Bamboleo when amazing dancers appeared and put on an impressive performance that made even those hiding behind tables move.
A fiesta does not always have to be this flamboyant though. Pretty much anything can be called a fiesta where you gather with your loved ones, eat and drink and make merry. And that you can do anytime at Cut & Barrel, as the restaurant considers food a quintessential element of building community. Just like Basque people in general, who cannot imagine a gathering of friends and family without food. So next time you crave delicious Latin American dishes, grab your nearest and dearest and book a table.
A fiesta does not always have to be this flamboyant though. Pretty much anything can be called a fiesta where you gather with your loved ones, eat and drink and make merry. And that you can do anytime at Cut & Barrel, as the restaurant considers food a quintessential element of building community. Just like Basque people in general, who cannot imagine a gathering of friends and family without food. So next time you crave delicious Latin American dishes, grab your nearest and dearest and book a table.
Where meat meets wine
As you may have guessed from the name, top-quality meats and outstanding wines are in the limelight here. Steaks, signature sausages and cold cuts are made from meat coming from all around the world. We recommend trying the Charcuterie board that serves cured mangalica specialties made according to an ancient family recipe – this is a house specialty. But if you’re after something more filling and warm, you can order beef cheeks, pork sausage, pork ribs and scrumptious picanha steak. While meaty dishes dominate the menu, some vegetarian options also feature on it.
The restaurant’s wine selection features Hungarian wines, as well as red wines from sister wineries in Argentina and California that go perfectly with grilled dishes.
The restaurant’s wine selection features Hungarian wines, as well as red wines from sister wineries in Argentina and California that go perfectly with grilled dishes.
If you’d like to buy them by the bottle, there’s a Winehub adjacent with an incredibly vast selection, and if you’d like to try your hand at making some of the recipes at home, you can pop into Culinaris shop, which is just a few steps away. Besides wine, the drink list also features cocktails, spritzes, various spirits, Pisco, non-alcoholic distillates and craft beers. And if after your meal there's still room for something sweet, try the Tarta de queso cheesecake with Malbec sorbet, the Goxua, which is a typical Basque caramel dessert, or the passion fruit crème with passion fruit sorbet and mango mousse from the desert menu.
A restaurant within a restaurant
Something extra special about Cut & Barrel is that a cosy fine-dining establishment named Epicurean will soon open its gates within the walls of the restaurant as well. Though it isn’t officially open yet, we managed to take a sneak peek inside. The interior is impressive, sleek and elegant, and there are only a handful of tables and an open kitchen inside, so while enjoying a fancy fine-dining experience, visitors can also keep an eye on André Bicalho’s talented hands. We tried some smoky Foie gras that was so delicious that we still kept thinking about it long after we left, as well as a bite of tuna topped with white chocolate and pink peppercorn – the chocolate sweetly melted away in our mouths while we were enjoying the subtle flavour of the fish. Watch this space!
