Stand25 : Where two star chefs pay an homage to their roots
It’s an airy, contemporary chic bistro, located at the foot of the Buda castle. The lighting is warm, the guests are laughing, the kitchen is open, topped with the glow of a neon sign : Stand 25. Behind the concept of this elegant and modern neighborhood bistro are two major figures of the Hungarian fine-dining scene, Szabina Szulló and Tamás Széll. In 2007, the married couple, both chefs, started working at Onyx. The renowned restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2011. This critical recognition launched their international career. In 2016, they left Onyx to open Stand25 Bisztró in 2017, wanting to create a place where families could meet and eat traditional, yet modern Hungarian food in a familiar atmosphere. In 2018, their second restaurant, the fine-dining address Stand, earned a star after only eight months.
To Chefs Szabina and Tamás, Hungarian gastronomy must be celebrated. They are building a community of producers, foragers, and farmers to ensure constant quality. They are famous for elevating local staples such as goulash, brassói (pork shoulder and bacon cooked in a thick gravy of tomatoes and paprika with roasted potatoes) , túrógombóc (cottage cheese dumplings) and Somlói galuska (a rum-infused sponge cake with vanilla custard, whipped cream and chocolate cream) to an art. At Stand25, the food is hearty, liberally salted - the way Hungarians love it - and generously portioned. Just like in any good bistro, the plates are easy to understand. « It’s more than food, it’s a feeling », emphasises Chef Szabina, « We are taking care of Hungarian traditions, we feed our families with comfort food. It has to feel like a traditional Sunday lunch, we want our guests to forget everything that happened during the week ».
The difference with an everyday Hungarian restaurant is in the details. The perfection of the
French technique is palpable. There’s a lightness to the bright red goulash soup, to which salted preserved lemon brings a welcome acidic edge. There’s a melt-in-the-mouth finesse to the foie gras terrine, served with some English celeriac and mustard seeds. The Hungarian wine pairing, under sommelier Bence Gulyás’ guidance, is impeccable. Szabina Szulló is one of the two only female chefs in Hungary. Though she spearheads the finedining Stand restaurant while her husband Tamás is more focused on Stand25 Bisztró, she is still less famous than him. Yet she swears that she’s had only good experiences in the food industry as a woman.
« It wasn’t easy to make my way in a male-dominated world, but I tried my best », she says humbly. And in fact, she succeeded. Her mother was the sous-chef at the Buda Castle hotel restaurant. « I loved it there, and I wanted to create something myself ». Since her mother worked late at night, Szabina and her sister liked to surprise her with a homemade meal. Today, Szabina’s sister is the ingredients buyer at Stand and Stand25. The ambitious chef has plans for the future : together with Chef Tamás, she wants to open a restaurant in the touristic Tokaj wine region. They’re also working on their second star at Stand. « We are simply putting Hungarian gastronomy on the international scale », she concludes with a discreet smile.
Laurel : Hungarian terroir under Asian fine-dining influence
On the Pest side of the river, Laurel is a discreet gem: is it a restaurant or a bookstore ? The
warmly lit window shows a bar dominated by natural materials and a mezzanine lined with books, most of them dedicated to Hungarian writer Béla Hamvas. The fine-dining restaurant is hidden in a beautifully vaulted cellar, a few steps below the bar and the Baberligét bookstore. Laurel’s concept, directed by Gergely Báthory, is smart and funky, just like the atmosphere in the bustling district of Erzsébetváros, where international young people and Hungarians alike love to party. The guests can come to read or buy a book of Hungarian contemporary literature, then have dinner in the restaurant downstairs, looking into the glassed kitchen operated by young chef Ádám Mede. The casual fine-dining experience ends with a relaxing drink upstairs, in a quiet, intimate atmosphere. Sommelier Peter Tüű is the curator of the excellent selection of Hungarian and international wines hosted in a pretty vault adjoining the dining-room.
Chef Ádám, who is French-trained and worked in several starred kitchens in Budapest, tries to preserve the traditional Hungarian taste on many levels. Local ingredients such as freshwater fish (carp, trout, catfish and pike perch), plums or mangalica (a Central European pig with wonderfully marbled meat) are given prominence. He also revives forgotten Hungarian traditions, such as a regional deep-fried donut made with a rose-shaped metal tool, served as an appetizer. Another traditional, yet creatively twisted amuse-bouche is the Gerbeaud slice (a traditional Hungarian cake) layered with duck fat instead of chocolate.
However, the young and open-minded chef, who loves to travel the world to learn new techniques and discover ingredients is a fervent supporter of Asian - and particularly Japanese - cuisine. The delicate, tingly flavor of sudachi kosho, a citrus akin to the more famous yuzu, sparks up a dish of Hungarian water buffalo. Shiso leaves bring a scent of clove and cinnamon to an exquisite traditional plum strudel, designed by Zsuzsanna Ötvös, the very talented in-house pastry chef.
In line with the guests’ increasing demands for vegetarian and vegan food, Laurel’s team has worked on a vegan eight-course menu elegantly mixing Hungarian ingredients, French technique and Asian influences as well : Japanese seaweed and green tea meet local apples, kumquat meets tarte Tatin. Whether you prefer the cozy, voluptuous quiet of the Buda side, or the vibrant hipness of the Pest side of the Danube river, Stand25 and Laurel are amazing places to immerse oneself in the nuances of Hungarian cuisine with a contemporary edge.
Hero Image : Laurel Restaurant.
