The MICHELIN Guide Hungary 2023 Is Out!

2 Restaurants Maintain Their Two Michelin Stars

Platán Gourmet in Tata and Stand in Budapest retain their Two Michelin Star distinction for 2023. Both restaurants were awarded Two Stars in last year’s inaugural MICHELIN Guide to Hungary.

Platán Gourmet is an intimate spot hidden away in the cellars beneath the castle walls. Here, in the open kitchen, Chef István Pesti and his small team create refined, innovative dishes with perfectly balanced flavours and textures.

Tamás Széll and Szabina Szulló’s elegant restaurant, Stand, is also centred around an on-view kitchen, and their beautiful dishes are full of depth and sophistication. Whilst modern in construction, traditional flavours shine through, with passion for their heritage infused into every dish.

7 Restaurants Are Awarded One Michelin Star

All seven restaurants awarded a Star in the 2022 Guide retain their status for another year.

In Budapest, Babel is the perfect blend of tradition and modernity both in its décor and its cooking. The unassuming-looking Borkonyha Winekitchen offers over 100 wines and lets top-class ingredients shine in intensely flavoured dishes. Elegance and sophistication lead the way at Costes, from its smart décor to the well-orchestrated service and the vibrant global dishes. At essência, Portuguese chef-owner Tiago and his Hungarian wife Éva blend their heritages with three different menus: one Portuguese, one Hungarian and a tasting menu which combines the two. The chef at Rumour works with calm precision and passion to create innovative dishes in the counter-wrapped kitchen. Intimate restaurant Salt sits within a boutique hotel, while shelves laden with preserved produce contribute to the exquisitely constructed surprise dishes.

Outside of the capital, 42 in Esztergom combines tradition with modernity in dishes which are sometimes playful and always full of flavour.

7 Restaurants Are Awarded A Michelin Bib Gourmand

Seven restaurants receive a Bib Gourmand for their good quality, good value cooking – one is promoted from the main selection and six retain their distinction.

Anyukám Mondta, Encs
Casa Christa, Balatonszőlős
Kistücsök, Balatonszemes
Macok, Eger
Morzsa, Pécs - New Distinction
Mór24, Balatonfüred [Update: Now Closed]
Sparhelt, Balatonfüred

The latest restaurant to receive a Bib Gourmand is Morzsa in Pécs, which is promoted from the main selection. This new wave bakery-cum-bistro sits on a part-pedestrianised lane and has a relaxed, urban style. The loaves and pastries are oven-fresh and the great value, all-day small plates are packed with flavour.

5 Restaurants Are Highlighted With A Michelin Green Star

All four restaurants who earned a Michelin Green Star last year retain it for 2023, with one newly awarded from the existing main selection.

The Michelin Green Star highlights restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their practices regarding sustainable gastronomy. Their initiatives could include: sourcing home-grown and local produce; performing their daily activities in a manner which reduces their carbon footprint; the use of clean energies, such as solar; or the sourcing of regional textiles and locally crafted ceramics for use in the restaurant.

This year's recipients are:

Almalomb, Hosszúhetény
Graefl Major Kétútköz, Poroszló
Onyx Mühely, Budapest
Salt, Budapest
Villa Kabala, Szigliget - New Distinction

Hungary’s newest Green Star restaurant, Villa Kabala, works exclusively with produce from their own vegetable garden and from local farmers and suppliers. They make their own breads, jams, hams and beers, and have an exclusive, family-run winery on the hill opposite.

They roast their own coffee on-site and even make their own crockery in their pottery workshop! Their hotel follows the same ethos and is furnished with only reclaimed items.

14 restaurants Are Added To The Main Selection

59 restaurants feature in the main selection this year, with 14 featured for the first time.

They are:

Bobajka, Tarcal
Botanica, Dánszentmiklós
Csopaki Resti by Laurel, Csopak
FLAVA, Budapest
Fricska 2.0, Budapest
GÓRÉ, Kisharsány
MoszkvaTéЯ Bisztro, Budapest
NOON, Balatonfüred
Piac 42, Esztergom
SHO, Budapest  [Update: Now Closed]
Solid, Budapest
Tati, Budapest
White Salon, Budapest
Zincenco Kitchen, Budapest

3 Special Awards Presented
While the MICHELIN Guide’s culinary distinctions are awarded to a restaurant as a whole, the Michelin Special Awards are given to outstanding individuals who, thanks to their infinite passion and considerable skills, can make a restaurant experience unforgettable.

This year's winners are:

Welcome and Service Award – Péter Fölföldi and Petra Terjék (at restaurant Villa Kabala in Szigliget), who impressed the MICHELIN Guide inspectors with their genuine warmth and enthusiasm. In the restaurant itself, the service is chatty and friendly yet at the same time professional – and they present their homemade produce with palpable pride. They also love to show guests around the grounds, as well as welcome them to their hotel, which they see as an extension of their home.

Sommelier Award – Imre Rácz (at restaurant Spago by Wolfgang Puck in Budapest), for his passion in his work and his endearing and personable interactions with diners. He loves to share his knowledge and brings as much pleasure to the process of choosing the wines as to drinking them. While his wine list offers global representation, he is particularly supportive of the constantly developing Hungarian wine industry.

Young Chef Award – Zaida Inez Kiss (at restaurant Zincenco Kitchen in Budapest), for her ability to create wonderful dishes that fuse the classics with an elegant, occasionally inventive touch. She loves ‘supper club’ style dining and successfully recreates this in her relaxed apartment restaurant, which feels like an intimate home-from-home. With a beaming smile and the utmost pride, Zaida presents dishes such as nokedli with egg and sturgeon with fennel and caviar.