The increasing "tomgeorgification" of the Budapest dining scene continues to cause concern, so it was with some trepidation that we stepped into Callas, the latest trendy café-restaurant-bar to open in Budapest - as of yesterday. The opera themed name and location, on the side of the Operaház that is not the new Louis Vuitton, suggests a high swank and snob factor, so the interior was a refreshingly pleasant and laid-back surprise. Which left everyone to concentrate on the conversation, the cocktails and the cuisine.

But before we concentrate on that, the secret of the venue is in the low-level lighting and unintimidating atmosphere - rather than the decor, which takes advantage of the large windows and decorated ceiling to cultivating a deliberately used look. This restricts opportunities for intrusive "people watching" and instantly creates a welcoming arena for couples or groups large and small. Equally unintrusive is the music, which was selected according to the aural needs of the crowd rather than the preferences of the DJ. And now onto our own oral needs...
The cream of potato soup starter with wild garlic pesto served with a crispy duck spring roll (Ft 950) was delicately spiced and sublimely cheesy - without becoming a stringy goey mess - while the duck spring roll was much more than an aesthetic afterthought and offered an excellent crunchy foil. As a main course, the salmon filet with herbs and avocado and baked tomato salad was gone before we even saw it, let alone take a snap, but we can report that the outer layer of fish was slightly crispy and deftly seasoned, while the inside hadn't been allowed to dry and was consistently soft and juicy. But it was the salad buried beneath that was really special about this dish: baked cocktail tomatoes with raw avocado and cucumber, simple but very effective, and altogether isteni.

We were more on the ball to document the dessert: walnut souffllé in brioche (actually "kürtős kalács" in the original Hungarian). Although fairly petite for Ft 950, it had plenty of crunch and even more rich flavour, thanks in no small part to the tangy infusion of pálinka in the apricot coulis drizzled on top.

But this was really just a late-night test run at Callas, which seamlessly caters to diners as well as the sophisticated drinking crowd. However, the menu is large and ambitious enough to spawn a hundred chew posts, and amazingly, no first-night teething problems were experienced, which bodes very well. Menu eyecatchers include an extensive selection of Japanese drinks and sushi varieties, a variety of spring rolls and other delicacies for the pick and mix crew, as well as some Hungarian classics, such as pörkölt and paprika chicken. Breakfast is also served and the atmosphere is much more hip than similar but more staid venues like Central Kávéház or Múzeum. In other words, we'll be back morning, noon and night, even if we're just dropping in for a coffee or a nightcap.