Like the nearby travel agency that shares its name, the Vista Kávéház és Étterem has something for everyone. There is an elegant front room restaurant with a gallery, a comfortable, clubby backroom, and a few computer monitors for those who want to check their email as their kids play in the romper room that sits across from the piano (that the staff actually play). They have a thick menu that crosses many cuisines, and friendly, multilingual service. The wine list is expertly chosen, with options to suit all pocketbooks. Basically the Vista Café can do anything – except, apparently, make a great hamburger.
I initially had high hopes that the Vista Burger (Ft 1,490/€5.85) would be a powerful entrant in the ongoing Budapest Burgerwar™. I figured that anybody who had the wherewithal to serve onion rings with their burger was already ahead of the game. How wrong I was. I had read the general complaints of over-salted, over-spiced ground beef on the Caboodle.hu burger forum, but didn’t give it much thought until I bit into the Vista Burger. Both salt and something porkish (was it Baco-Bits?) overpowered the meat, which, though I ordered it angolosan (rare) came on the well done side of medium, adorned by a checker piece-sized disk of melted something that passed for cheese. The sesame-seed bun was serviceable, though a bit dry. And rather than tomato or onion, the Vista Burger comes with a few decorative cucumber slices. The onion rings on the side were appreciated, though the novelty did not do much to offset the salt lick of a hamburger patty. I’ll probably return to Vista Café sometime: every menu has a few black holes, so I don’t want to smear what is by all appearances, a successful, well-run outfit. But then again, so is TGI Friday’s.
Postscript: All three burgers I have requested medium rare during my service in the Burgerwar have been served well-done to charred. It is the same with curry; you have to order it really hot to get even a medium level of spiciness in Hungary. But if there is going to be a true winner in this battle, they are going to have to know better than to kill their own soldiers with friendly fire.
How They Stack Up:
Meat: (5/10)
Bun: (7/10)
Trimmings: (7/10)
Service/Setting: (7/10)
Affordability: (7/10)
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Total Score: 6.6/10
