The real head-scratcher about Adria Balkáni Tea- és Kávéház (follow link for contact details and user feedback), the Balko-Greek restaurant in the Danube Bend town of Szentendre, is why the heck they don't have one in Budapest, preferably next door to my flat? The answer, presumably, is why bother? When you're serving something good enough to entice jaded Pestieks 20 kilometers down the road, no need to set up in shop in tax-addled and polluted Budapest. That said, Pesti restos could take a page from Adria's lovely approach to the cuisine of Europe's deep south.

What's wonderful about Adria, first, is the food: a small menu of Balkan and Greek mezze and a few meat dishes, the choices are limited but clearly done by people who know what they're up to. Meat dishes, like the Balkan pleskavica that we ordered, are grilled outside on a barbeque (presumably inside in the winter) next to the graveled seating area. Your selections appear family-style on a large platter, artfully arranged by someone who cares what food looks like, as well as how it tastes. All our dishes - grilled haloumi (Ft 850) and pleskavica (Ft 690), grilled pita (Ft 150 each), dolmades (grape leaves wrapped around rice and herbs, Ft 500), ajvar (Ft 770), and a Greek salad (Ft 770) - were delicious. Adria's eggplant dip (Ft 770) deserves special mention; it is toothsome and rich, delicious together with the ajvar or alone on a pita, and with none of the bitterness or lack of depth found in most eggplant spreads.

Adria is actually a cafe, and so their drink menu is much bigger than their food list. I ordered a frappe (Ft 490), hoping that I would get not the revolting cappuccino sludge popularized by Starbucks, but instead the wonderfully refreshing Nescafe-based drink that Athenians suck down day and night. (Quick recipe: in a covered glass, shake until frothy sugar, Nescafe, a tiny bit of water, and a lot of ice. Pour resulting froth and ice into a tall glass, fill with milk or cold water to the top, insert straw, enjoy.) No disappointments at Adria; their frothy frappe was a perfect facsimile of the Greek drink. The friends I dined with, both tea afficianados, advised me that Adria's tea list is impressive, and includes yerba mate (Ft 450), a special South American tea that remains elusive in Budapest. The presentation of the mate (according to the friends) also met the standards of the demanding tea drinker.

Also lovely about Adria is its look: cool, Mediterranean, and simple. It's not fancy, but as with the food, it's tastefully done.

Only two complaints about Adria: the portions are small, and prices seem high. The three of us ordered seven dishes, and our total bill came to Ft 7,500 (€31.25), including drinks (no alcohol) and service. This wouldn't have seemed unreasonable, were we truly full - but we weren't. The meal we had felt more like a selection of mezze than a complete lunch, although the price would seem to suggest that a complete lunch had been had. So be aware: at Adria, order large, pay accordingly, and dine deliciously.