An Early Bite of Lake Balaton’s Best

Although I’ve always liked Lake Balaton, I’m not much of a lake person. Even when I visit in summer, I never do more than stick my toes in the water. So on a recent weekend I discovered that the off-season is when I like Balaton best. The tacky souvenir shops are boarded up (at least most of them), the strands are empty, and the whole place feels somewhat deserted. The only problem with Balaton in April? You can’t very easily find lángos, and I love lángos. So instead of eating greasy garlicky fried dough on this trip and worrying that the lake was too cold to swim in, we checked into the recently opened Hotel Silver Resort wellness hotel and then ditched the hotel’s so-called “spa food” in favor of some meat-heavy meals at two great area restaurants.

Dobó Vendéglő
We began our weekend by stopping at the Jásdi Pince to pick up a few bottles of wine for the weekend. Although we got there after the winery had closed, Mrs. Jásdi kindly came out to sell us some wine, her wet hair in a towel. One of the things that I’ve discovered after visiting lots of countryside wineries is that winemakers (and their families) always give the best recommendations. So when Mrs. Jásdi recommended the Dobó Vendéglő, just a few blocks from the winery, we took her up on it. Run by the Dobó family, the restaurant is pleasant place which on a Friday night was filled with families with young children, couples, and a big group of local guys quietly drinking carafes of white wine.

Since it was the off-season, the menu was brief (it is longer during the summer, according to the restaurant) but we chose, mostly, winning dishes. The tárkonyos vadragu leves (wild game ragout soup with tarragon) was excellent, with a generous amount of meat, and a wonderfully tangy lemon flavored broth. We wanted the halászlé (fish soup), but they were out of it. So instead we went for the bableves (bean soup) with smoked kolbász (sausage) and csipteke pasta, which was fine, although I wasn’t a big fan of its thick texture. For main courses we had szarvas sült (roast venison, above) which came with potato croquettes and ciganypecsenye (“gypsy roast,” below), which was served with roasted potatoes and some savanyúság. Both were better than the lángos that I had been missing. I can’t vouch for the desserts, since we were anxious to take off and crack open one of our bottles of Jásdi.

Main courses at Dobó are nicely priced, between Ft 1,550 and 2,480. Considering that the restaurant is located in one of the country’s best wine regions, the wine list could have been expanded. The few bottles that were on the list ranged from Ft 2,500 to 7,000 (with the priciest bottle being a pinot noir from Vylyan), and the house wine – Jásdi Olaszrizling – was a very reasonable Ft 1,600 per liter.

The place is rustic – decorated with an array of old coffee and meat grinders and other kitchen knick-knacks – and the service was friendly. We ate in the cellar-dining room which had vaulted ceilings and whitewashed walls, but if the weather had been warmer we would have gladly sat at the outdoor tables in the big, green garden. Since the waitress was already getting overwhelmed (and a bit slow) on this night, I suspect that when the patio outside fills up, this might be amplified.

Szent Orbán Borház

The restaurant that I was most excited about checking out in Balaton turned out to be so good that a meal there would have made the drive from Budapest worthwhile in itself. The lovely Szent Orbán Borház in Badacsony is owned by winemaker Huba Szeremley, and much of the meat on the menu comes from the Szeremley birtok (estate), which includes a farm that raises traditional Hungarian animals like Mangalica hogs, szürkemarha (Hungarian grey cattle) and bivaly (buffalo). Everything about the meal at the Szent Orbán Borház – from the service and the view to the food and the wine – was perfect.

We started out with a few complimentary over-sized dollops of creamy, house-made, herbed beef liver (above) which was served with balsamic vinegar and toast. More than just the single bite that some of Budapest’s restaurants offer as amuse bouches, this was more like a full-sized appetizer, and it was excellent. On to the next dose of meat. I couldn’t resist ordering the Szeremley birtok csemegéi, which in other words, was a premium hidegtál (cold plate) featuring Mangalica szalonna (bacon), cured tarja (rib meat), several types of kolbász and a few chunks of pepper (all the meat came from Szeremley’s farm, of course). Other appetizers included buffalo erőleves (consommé), dried fruit with goose liver pate and kalács, halászlé with pasta, Hortobágyi palacsinta stuffed with veal, and a green salad with “crispy vegetables.”

For main courses, we couldn’t resist trying the Hungarian heritage meats which Szeremley’s farm is known for. I wasn’t surprised that the Mangalica – which was served with sautéed oyster mushrooms (laskagomba) and roasted potatoes – was so tender and tasty.

But what did surprise me was that the szürkemarha bika bélszin (tenderloin of gray steer, above) completely overshadowed the Mangalica, and that it was probably the best steak that I have had in a Hungarian restaurant. Szeremley’s szürkemarha proved that there can be hope for Hungarian beef – at least, I hope.

Other main courses included veal paprikás with tojásos galuska, catfish and pike perch, and a főzelek of the day. For dessert we had the rétes kósteló (strudel tasting), which turned out to be two slices of tasty túrós rétes, above.

The single-page menu was the perfect size (but note that there isn’t an English menu). Although it is expected that prices will be lower at restaurants outside of Budapest, prices here were more than reasonable considering that all of the ingredients were top quality. Soups and appetizers were in the range of Ft 690 to Ft 1,600 and main courses were Ft 1,400 to Ft 2,600. Not surprisingly, the wines all come from Szeremley’s own estate and include his fizzy hableány wine, and nearly two dozen other well-priced whites, reds and roses. If you are only after Szeremley’s wine, there is also a separate tasting room nearby at the winery itself. Luckily you can taste at least some of the stuff from Szent Orbán’s menu without going all the way to Balaton. A butcher at the Fény utca piac stocks some of the kolbász, szalonna and other meats from Szeremley’s farm.

The restaurant is located on a hill surrounded by vineyards with a gorgeous lake view (picture way up top). We sat inside, where the tables are covered with pink tablecloths, the walls are elegantly decorated with old paintings and prints, a wood burning stove heats the place during the winter, and the windows face the vineyards. There’s also a big patio covered by vines, which would have been perfect had it not been overcast and a little chilly.

There should be more restaurants like this one – it celebrates Hungarian ingredients without resorting to gimmicks, high prices that price ordinary Hungarians out, and tired versions of the classics. It was by far one of the most memorable meals that I’ve had in awhile. I might even go as far to say that it is among the top few Hungarian restaurants in the country. But before I do say that for sure, I’m definitely going back to check it out again just as soon as I can.

Balaton Borgaléria

In addition to the good food that can be found at Balaton, there’s also plenty of wine to be drunk. While the best way to taste and buy your bor at Balaton is directly from the winemakers, that’s not always possible without advance planning. The few grocery stores that I’ve been to at Balaton left a lot to be desired in the wine aisle. Luckily the Balaton Borgaléria, a wine bar and shop, has a great selection of primarily local and nicely priced Balaton wines, as well as a few outdoor tables for wine sipping. As a point of comparison, the Jásdi wines that I bought directly from the winery cost almost exactly the same at the Borgaléria. The place is part of the fancy Hotel Silver complex which opened last year and has significantly improved the neighborhood in central Balatonfüred around the Zákonyi Ferenc sétány (promenade) adding several swanky cafés and bars.