Ice cream in Hungary is still cheap compared to prices on 75 European beaches.Continue reading
Around 300 restaurants, beach bistros, cafés and pastry shops, including fifty new places, are listed in the Balaton 2024 Gastro Guide of the Magyar Konyha (“Hungarian Cuisine”) magazine.
The Balaton Gastro Guide has been published for the twelfth time. “It is uplifting to have been following the development of the culinary art of the Lake Balaton region for so long,” recalled Anikó Lévai, chair of the magazine’s editorial board, at the publication’s press launch in Budapest on Tuesday. As she pointed out, Lake Balaton is a region in its own right, not primarily for geographical reasons, but rather for cultural ones.
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When the Balaton Gastro Guide was conceived, the aim was to ensure that Hungarian families would not only return home with experiences, but also with a good taste in their mouths, as Balaton gastronomy has long been more than just a beach buffet. Anikó Lévai also recalled that Magyar Konyha is 48 years old this year, making it the region’s longest-running gastronomic magazine.
József Vinkó, the editor-in-chief of Magyar Konyha, welcomed the fact that at Lake Balaton,
the decades-old buffets offering lángos (Hungarian deep fried flatbread) and fine dining places can operate side by side.
Photo via Facebook/Retro Lángos Budapest/ Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 25
This year’s Balaton 2024, like its predecessors, is not a restaurant guide, it does not contain scoring but a culinary offer for visitors to Lake Balaton,
József Vinkó explained. The book presents cultural bistros, fish restaurants, spice gardens, cheese-making workshops, small restaurants with plaid tablecloths, fine dining restaurants and wineries.
Photo: Facebook/Apátsági Rege Cukrászda
Speaking about the current situation of the Balaton catering sector, he said that there was a slowdown, with many restaurants not opening after the pandemic, but there were plenty of new bakeries and ice-cream parlors waiting for visitors to the lake. The book looks at Lake Balaton’s restaurants by sub-regions, with a separate list highlighting Michelin recommended places and the best wineries around the lake, and its own TOP10 lists in the restaurant, beach bistro and pastry/ice cream shop categories. The Balaton 2024 Gastro Guide is available from Wednesday.
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/Petrányi Pince és Borterasz