BOCK BISZTRO
The Classic.
Bock Bisztro is one of the few classic establishments in Budapest. Lajos Bíró the chef is a legend here, Bock Bistro, guests can devour slightly reinvented Hungarian meals, and pair them with one of the 220 kinds of wines at their disposition.
I sincerely confess that in 6 years in Hungary I never went there. Why? I am not a big fan of hungarian food to be honest. And what bother me to be even more candid is the appropriation of other countries recipies, and saying, that these are our specialities. You have to be honest with yourself, your tradition and history, something that I think Hungarians have a hard time to do ( this is my personal opinion). Anyway, since The chef tries to revisite those dishes, and the fact that my future mother in law craved hungarian food, we made a reservation there.
We entered the restaurant which as a very cozy interior, trully bistro style, but a very disdainful waiter welcome us looking at us from some high castle, dude, who on earth do you think you are? Needless to say he lost his tipp on the spot. By chance another waiter came at our table and was very helpful. While checking the menu, we tasted the buttered fat at our disposition with fresh bread, god it was delicious, very tricky though, It’s hard to stop eating it. I have to note here that that we forgot about the daily offers, and the waiter did not proposed them, which was a bit disapointing because they were some exciting items. Other than that he was great.
Finally, we chose: Hortobágy pancakes, crepes filled with meat very good, salmon tartare with cucumber wasabi dip, Cold goose liver in its own fat, Wiener Schnitzel "Bock" style with mashed potato, Beef tenderloin "Budapest" style, Filet of Pike -perch served with mixed kohlrabi and cottage cheese balls, Bizarre ice cream selection (Tobacco, cottage cheese, sausage)
The food was impeccable, the presentation was spotless except for the Wiener Schnitzel. I am the one who chosed this dish and I was very disapointed. Everyone was saying how good it is, but franckly, the only thing special here is the size of the thing. It was a bit dry, and tasted like a wiener everyone would do at home for a Sunday lunch, I expected way more from a michelin guide recommander bistro. At least some seasoning or a imaginative presentation that makes me forget its just a breaded piece of meat.
The others dishes were delicious, the steak was well cooked, as was the fish, and the kitchen even accommodated my fiancée with vegan green pea mash instead of mash potatoes for the steak. T No one had room for dessert, except me of course, so I decided to be courageous and taste the bizarre ice cream selection. Again, presentation wise, it was just 3 ball in 3 different plates so nothing special. The tobacco and cheese ice cream were hands down the best of the 3. The tobacco flavors comes at the end, and for nonsmokers, don’t worry it’s not that strong, and does not taste like cigarettes. It’s has more of a smoky flavor, it was actually pretty good, same for the cottage cheese, creamy, surprising yet simple at the same time. As for the sausage, frankly it did not taste good, perhaps because it was a sorbet, as the 2 others were good old ice creams. The sausage infused flavor was overwhelming. it’s all about balance and it just wasn’t there.
I strongly recommend Bock bisztro if you are in Budapest. It’s not that expensive for such creativity and portions, the wine selection is outstanding and overall I am pretty sur you will have a good time.













