Onyx
- Badger
- Apr 9, 2018
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 9, 2018
For our last night in Budapest, we went to Onyx. I dined here in December and at the time was a 1-star Michelin restaurant, but I felt it was ready for 2-stars. The Michelin guide seemed to think the same and has since been upgraded, congratulations to them and we were excited to try it out as an official 2-star restaurant.
The place is elegant and more upscale than the other eateries we visited in Budapest. There are two dining rooms, a front one that looks more old fashioned and out of an earlier era, then the back dining room that is much more modern and is where we sat.
Elegant place setting.
A champagne cart was brought around to kick the meal off.
In sticking with trying local wines as much as possible, we tried a Hungarian dry sparkling wine from the Tokaji region. It was lightly toasty, but had a good mineral and green apple finish.
A nice warm towel was brought out in a creative way with a cloth that was rolled up and opened itself when poured with a rosemary and lemon infused warm water.
We went with the tasting menu and it was great they had a gluten free version for MsFlamingo. I went with the wine pairing to give a good sampling of Hungarian wines a try.
The meal started with a couple amuse bouches, the first consisted of a blini and parmesan, then a parmesan crisp with tuna and another with scallop. All were fantastic!
The next amuse was a very fresh piece of okra fried with dollops of paprika cream.
The bread baskets were brought out next. To start, the regular bread basket was great with a whole variety of freshly baked breads.
But what we loved and I very much appreciated, was a bread basket of gluten free bread for MsFlamingo. I've tried a lot of gluten free breads with her and these were easily the best I've had anywhere.
Two types of butter, sweet cream and pistachio infused.
The first course was salsify with beet root and parsley puree. A very fresh way to start the meal, the vegetables were incredibly fresh and flavorful.
The next wine was Sauv Blanc based with great minerality, acidity and stone fruit backbone.
The next course was a cod carpaccio with a buttermilk cream and tapioca, caviar, dill and rye croutons. The fish was very fresh and the textures worked well together.
The next wine was from a collective and was a heavier style white. It went well with the next course.
The next course was a rillette ball with cabbage and savory cream.
What was awesome is since MsFlamingo had the gluten free menu, instead of a rillette ball, they gave her a sous vide egg. Her version was better, the egg was magnificent and elevated the dish to another level.
Next up was the first red wine of the night. It was similar to a pinot, but was more earthy and the raspberry notes weren't so in your face. Very elegant and went amazingly well with the next dish.
The next course was a roll of trout cooked perfectly on top of a fish based sauce and fresh made noodles. This dish had flavors very reminiscent of home style dishes, but elevated several levels.
For MsFlamingo they brought her scallops which were good and not fishy.
The next wine was officially a pinot noir and was very Burgundian in style, but I didn't like it as much as the prior wine.
For the next soup course, I had a mushroom veloute which was superb.
MsFlamingo had the consomme which was very flavorful and had a slight spice. The sous vide egg was fantastic.
For the main there was a really nice wine that was merlot and had great texture, slightly earthy, yet solid and deep blackberry and cherry notes. Very nice!
The main course was a dry aged rib eye with a root puree and ravioli with mozzarella inside. A tasty and savory dish.
We were quite stuffed at this point and the intermezzo was perfect to help us get ready for the dessert. This was an awesome intermezzo with a nettle shaved ice, chocolate powder and horseradish ice cream. Very refreshing and tasty.
With dessert in Hungary, of course you had a Tokaji. This one was an Aszu of 6 puttonyos and 2007. Intensely sweet with a good acidic backbone and great caramel flavors. We loved it.
For dessert MsFlamingo had the pumpkin dessert which she liked.
I had the chocolate dessert which was fantastic.
MsFlamingo remarking on the wine collection for the night!
Just when we thought we couldn't eat anything more, they brought a mignardes trolly around.
Amazingly I found room for four more tiny bites. All four bites were excellent.
Of course they brought a digestif cart around and being the last night in Hungary, I went with one last Unicum Riserva.
I'm going to miss this stuff.
Another great meal at Onyx and deserving of two stars. The food was fantastic, the wine pairings really fun and tasty. A great way to cap off our Budapest visit.
Trip links:
- Budapest
- Onyx
- Zurich
- Lucerne
- Bern
- Dux
- Escriba
- Xerta
- Lasarte
- A.O.C.
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