Lisztin in the Aria Hotel We had our best and most expensive dinner last night at the Liszt Etterem at the Aria Hotel, but expensive is relative in Budapest.

There are three dining rooms: a large, main room, a smaller, very intimate room, and several tables in the bar. We had our choice and opted for the bar, something out of the Emeral City of Oz. You could easily just stop for a drink here. I had the carp from Akaszto, pan fried and marinated in lordo with asperagus (4500 HUF) and Barb ordered the grilled baby chicken with roasted potato and green salad and burnt leaks (4500 huf). Each main course on the menu has a suggested wine pairing. We went with the suggestions - a Sauvignon Blanc from Etyek with the fish and a Pinot Noir from Eger - since we have been to both places. (2800 and 2200 HUF) respectively.

But wat!

What originally attracted us to the restaurant was the mushroom paprikosh which is on a smaller menu called Easy Meal, a variety of items which are smaller but not quite appitizers. We asked the water if he thought starting with that would be too much. He said "No" and we were glad we decided to overdo the meal somewhat. It was a dish of wheat noodles with mushroom paprikosh infused with grilled scallions. Fabulous! As was the carp and the chicken. They make their own bread, butter, and sparkling water which comes with the meal, and everyone we interacted with, from the waiters to the sommelier to even the hosts took the time to stop and chat. Total was 17,000, about US $60.00. A bargain, and we would return to sample a few more items.

Perfect Combination of Tradition and Modern Technique. The new location for the restaurant is off to the right of the main entrance and was charm personified.

The waiter was attentive and authentically Hungarian rather than offering a lot of anglicised platitudes and auto hospitality.

My choices were :-

Roast Foie Gras on a Prune Sponge Cake. There were other elements but it was all cooked to perfection full of taste and moist.

Seared Guinea Fowl on a bed of home made bacon cabbage ragout and finally. Fascinating and perfectly executed. The Guinea Fowl was tasty and succulent not dry!

Orange and Custard Chocolate Cake. To die for !!

During the evening the supervisor on duty came to check on progress and suggested a Tokai with the desert - bravissimo!

When I return to the Aria I will certainly include an evening in the Stadivari and I look forward to enjoying another fascinating evening of cooking.

Hidden Gem We are staggered that this restaurant has not made its way onto the Michelin Guide. It has been open for only a short while, but during our visit proved that it is a MUST in Budapest! Michelin star quality without the price tag. Food sublime and perfectly presented. The main concept of the restaurant is to present traditional Hungarian recipes in two different styles; as your grandmother would make it, and in a more modern, refined style. Both exquisite, both beautiful, both gorgeous. The service was on par with the food, completely impeccable. Martin was the perfect host, he was keen to offer information about all plates, guiding us through the must-try dishes on the menu. Thank you very much Martin! We can not recommend this restaurant enough! For anyone interested in a great red, we also recommend the Fantastico Malbec! We will be back, without doubt.

Lisztin az Aria Hotelben Tegnap este a legjobb és legdrágább vacsoránk volt a Liszt Etteremben, az Aria Hotelben, de drága Budapesten relatív.

Három étkező található: egy nagy, nagyszoba, egy kisebb, nagyon hangulatos szoba és a bárban több asztal. Választhattunk, és a bár mellett döntöttünk, ami valami az Oz smaragd városából származik. Itt egyszerűen megállhat egy italra. Vágtam az Akaszto pontyát, serpenyőben sülték és lordóban pácolták aszparagussal (4500 forint), és Barb megrendelte a grillezett bébi csirkét sült burgonyával, zöld salátával és égetett szivárgással (4500 huf). A menü minden főételének javasolt bor-párosítása van. A javaslatokkal mentünk - egy Etyeki Sauvignon Blanc a halakkal és egy egri Pinot Noir -, mivel mindkét helyen jártunk. (2800, illetve 2200 Ft).

De vatt!

Ami eredetileg vonzott minket az étterembe, a paprikosh gomba, amely egy kisebb étlap, az Easy Meal nevű menüben található, különféle apróbb, de nem igazán alkalmazkodó termékek. Megkérdeztük a vizet, gondolja-e, hogy az ezzel kezdődik-e túl sokkal. Azt mondta: "Nem", és örülünk, hogy úgy döntöttünk, hogy kissé túlzásba hozzuk az ételt. Ez egy tál búza-tészta gombás paprikosh gombával, grillezett mogyorókkal felitatva. Mesés! Mint a ponty és a csirke. Saját kenyeret, vajat és pezsgő vizet készítenek, amely az étkezéshez tartozik, és mindenki, amellyel kapcsolatba kerültünk, a pincérektől a sommelierig, akár a házigazdákig is, időt vett igénybe, hogy megálljon és beszélgetjen. Összesen 17 000 volt, körülbelül 60 USD. 00 Alkut, és visszatérnénk még néhány elem mintájához.

Perfect Combination of Tradition and Modern Technique. The new location for the restaurant is off to the right of the main entrance and was charm personified.

The waiter was attentive and authentically Hungarian rather than offering a lot of anglicised platitudes and auto hospitality.

My choices were :-

Roast Foie Gras on a Prune Sponge Cake. There were other elements but it was all cooked to perfection full of taste and moist.

Seared Guinea Fowl on a bed of home made bacon cabbage ragout and finally. Fascinating and perfectly executed. The Guinea Fowl was tasty and succulent not dry!

Orange and Custard Chocolate Cake. To die for !!

During the evening the supervisor on duty came to check on progress and suggested a Tokai with the desert - bravissimo!

When I return to the Aria I will certainly include an evening in the Stadivari and I look forward to enjoying another fascinating evening of cooking.

Excelente comida y presentación. La comida excelente, de calidad, buena presentación, buena carta de vinos locales, probablemente de lo mejor de Budapest, cerca de la Catedral, ubicado en un buen Hotel. El salón es precioso, el servicio es muy bueno, la camarera que nos atendió muy correcta, tal vez demasiado, los platos inmejorables, los postres un maravilla, pedimos una botella de vino local que resultó excelente, aunque te aconsejan una copa de vino para cada plato que pides, nosotros preferimos acompañarlo todo con el mismo vino, salvo el postre. Merece la pena no perdérselo, para repetir sin duda. Pagamos unos 120€ la pareja, lo vale sin la menor duda.

Un petit bijou de restaurant au service exceptionnel Dîner en terrasse très confortable avec l’attention constante du personnel souriant et les conseils personnalisés du sommelier et autre staff qui parle un anglais parfait. Beaucoup de recherche, d’originalité, de sophistication résultant en un goût exceptionnel, par exemple, les
Coquilles st Jacques à base de champignons sur une crème de petits pois . Viandes et poissons préparés à la perfection. Desserts succulents. Que dire? Bien que plus élevé que le Budapest ordinaire le rapport qualité prix est indéniablement excellent. C’est difficile de trouver une telle qualité de service aujourd’hui à Paris, NYC ou LA mais pas à Budapest, on dirait !

Fine dining of it’s best, great service The design of the place is fantastic except the big plant in the middle that felt as if it would fall on us.
We loved how the the food combined local traditional flavours with unique modern design.
There were four of us literally eating through the whole menue from starters/soups to deserts.
Although it is not ‘ comme il faut ‘ we all tried each
other’s dishes. I did not like each dish equally, but that’s a matter of taste of course, but the presentation and the food quality was outstanding.
Don’t forget to try the old fashion consomme ( comes with marrow bread crisp ) it goes well with the signature home made bread and butter.
They have a nice selection of spirits, as well, we drank prosecco, martini and port wines.
Certainly recommend the place.

Special homemade bread and butter Visited here on 2nd January for my partners birthday. The restaurant is small, just off the entrance to the Aria hotel, so it could be easily missed. It doesn't quite have the atmosphere of a high-end restaurant as you can't get away from the fact that it is a restaurant within a hotel and you do get guests peering in for a nosy (not helped by its proximity to the entrance) but the quality of the food makes up for that. If you want to sample local cuisine this is the way to do it. From start to finish the dishes were delicious and the waiter was very knowledgeable in his descriptions. The homemade bread and butter was so delicious we had to ask for more! The staff were all very welcoming and friendly and at the end of our meal they were able to call upstairs to the HighNote SkyBar and reserve a table for us for after dinner drinks. All in all, it was very enjoyable.

International standard food and wine We are aware of the danger of being too definitive in reviews when speaking from 3 days experience in a city. We had tried a number of cafes/restaurants in the Jewish Quarter and found them all “satisfactory”. We walked past Liszt on our way to the basilica and liked the clean, modern, somewhat eccentric look of the place so came back that evening. Are we glad we did! While the price was a little above average, the food, presentation, wines and service were way above average. Of a high international standard, Listz is simply in a class of its own and not to be missed.