Essência Restaurant - Tiago & Éva
Budapest
Arvostelut
Had a pleasant dinner with my wife, we could barely finish the 7 course tasting menu. It's a lot. We enjoyed every part of the experience, but for this price point, comparing it to other Michelin star restaurants in Budapest or neighboring countries, I would have expected a bit more creativity and excellence. If you are looking for a balanced style, you may enjoy this more than me. If you are looking for a twist, an unexpected combination or just pure consistency and coherence between the courses, the current tasting menu didn't perfectly provide that.
Curation of dishes seems somewhat eclectic and the flavours do not really unfold. The building itself is rather stuffy. The fine dining aspect seems to be more of a guise rather than true culinary expertise. Plating is beautiful.
We had a beautiful dinner at Esssencia with and excellent guide Samu, who shared a very interesting store of owners and each food creation, which was our best experience in Budapest… the dishes are like real poetry, went far beyond taste and gave a visual satisfaction too while creativity levels was impressive all way though the menu! Really liked the Portuguese wine selection too! Strongly recommended for fine dining!
The food was elegant but still comforting, with a really nice balance between Portuguese and Hungarian flavors. The caviar and olive oil ice cream was a highlight, bold and delicate at the same time. The 5-course tasting menu had some real standouts and a few things that weren’t entirely my taste, but everything was thoughtfully prepared and beautifully presented. The staff were genuinely kind and attentive, creating a warm atmosphere that even dining alone felt peaceful and special :)
First Michelin experience. Everything was top notch - very cosy, subdued atmosphere. Lunchtime service, plenty of staff and time to chat. All details were sublime, water perfectly chilled, the staff offer their recommendations depending what you'd like (if you're having wine, preferred meat/fish etc). Special mention to Soma for being helpful, attentive and passionate. We did not catch the Sommelier's name but her knowledge is incredible. I would love to return during a different season for the new menu (we had the last day of summer menu).
