Tanti *

 In March of 2015 the Michelin Guide surprised everybody by giving a star to a restaurant open for little more than half a year, located outside the center of town and without the formality of the majority of the starred restaurants. Tanti is located in a residential neighborhood of Buda, outside the spotlight of tourism and the circuit of the main restaurants in the city, even so the cuisine of Pesti István was able to surprise the demanding inspectors of the Red Guide. Oddly, short after a month of receiving the award, the chef left the restaurant, and the kitchen was then commanded by the young chef Oliver Heiszler to whom was attributed the responsibility of keeping and molding the success of the restaurant.

But on to our visit, after a uber travel, we arrived at the restaurant, installed in the entrance of a commercial space, surprising right from the start for its informal and minimalist environment and decoration, bringing to itself a bit of the atmosphere of the French neobistrôs. Room full of light, naked tables, colourful chairs and a relaxed team.

Already well installed, we are suggested the three course lunch menu.

A white Port, Niepoort 10 years, was our company on this visit to Tanti 

Chestnut Velouté 
On a cold and rainy day, this dish was a comforting Autumn starter, creamy enough, delicate flavor, accompanied with chestnut chips and mushrooms, it worked really well in terms of flavor and texture.

Beetroot, apricot, blue cheese 
A starter with an appeal to the most natural and fresh side, with a series of textures and cooking methods of some beetroot types, radish, with some sweeter notes of apricot and a blue cheese foam, which intense flavor and silkier and light texture became an excellent way of connecting all the elements of the dish. Very, very good!

Goose and barley 
Appealing to the Hungarian roots (Hungary is one of the biggest producers of goose and foie gras, worldwide), this was one of the best dishes  we tasted during this trip around Central Europe. Exceptionaly well cooked goose, tearing apart and succulent, accompanied with its inner parts and an excellent barley porridge with a cream where the precious liver of the animal was noticeable. Delicious!

Viel Shoulder, cabbage
The Cut is a flat iron steak, one of the less noble but tastier cuts of the animal, very nicely cooked, tender and tasty. Accompanying was a variation of cabbages and textures between the raw and the fried cabbage. A good meat, just lacking a bit more as side, the cabbage by itself wasn’t enough to elevate the dish.

Parsnip,  quince and hazelnut  
If in many restaurants the desserts miss the mark with the remaining dishes, here was the exception. A good use of Tanti‘s philosophy, using elements we usually don’t find in desserts, like this parsnip in different textures, served brilliantly with a great hazelnut ice cream, boiled quince and a great crumble with white chocolate details. Sweet enough, with a brilliant game of textures. A great dish.

Banana, spinach, peach and bread crumble 
Banana in ice cream and as a mousse, spinach as powder and infusion, with caramelized peach. Excellent combination of flavors and textures, resulting in a fresh combo, with very well balanced sweetness. Great ending!

Harmonizing with the meal were two wines of the Hungarian producer Apátsági, the Hemina 2014 – a wine of thin tannins based in Merlot and cabernet franc, with a good blackberry aroma and an elegant structure without great history, allowing the light dishes to shine. And a Pinot noir, also marked by red fruits and light tannins.

The Service is quite informal, sometimes too much, with the sympathy not being a constant among the entire team.

In the end, and to celebrate a cuisine of great quality, we offered a wine bottle to the chef, the White Port of Niepoort, 10 years, promising to compete with the best Tokaji.

Final Remarks 
If a restaurant is able to suprise everything and everyone by achieving a michelin star in just six months, the same can be said of a chef leaving so soon after that achievement. Even so, the star is awarded to the restaurant, not the chef, so it’s up to Tanti‘s kitchen, now in the hands of the young Oliver Heiszler, to keep that standard. Altough we didn’t try the tasting menu and therefore realizing all the ideas of the chef, it was well noticeable in the dishes we tasted that capability and boldness are not missing. The presented dishes were of great technical rigour, with local ingredients and a presentation with a touch of Nordic influence, very well achieved. The location is one of the handicaps of the restaurant, but to those willing to waste 15/20 min in a car, the food more than compensates the trip. High score also to the presented crockery and the prices practiced, some of the most reasonable in the Red guide universe. For example, the three course menu at lunch costs less than 20 euros.

Of mandatory visit to those who enjoy the new clothings of the international cuisine and the combination of an informal ambiance with fine dining dishes.

Tanti
Apor Vilmos, tér 11-12 (Hegyvidéki shopping centre9 – Budapest
(+36) 20 243-1565
tanti@tanti.hu

Versão Portuguesa

 Photos: Flavors & Senses with Sony A7S

Disclaimer
Niepoort White Port 10 years with the support of Niepoort.
We were at Tanti by invitation, whereas this not alter our work, being the opinion and the text of the exclusive responsibility of the author.