Mester utca was already on the map of gastro-tourists in the first half of the 2010s, thanks to one of the first quality hamburger restaurants, a Black Cab Burgernekwhich still operates today, welcomes surfers with the greeting “Nice to Meat You” on its website.
But around this time, in the columns of the “Dining Guide Top 100 Gastro Adventures” publication, in the list of beer places beyond the world of large-scale multi-beers, we also read about a place on Mester utca, which has since been closed, if I remember correctly, it was called “Beer, beer”, Mester Bike and Coffee was listed on the list of top cafes already when dozens of units of this genre were not operating in Budapest.
És Margarita opened here last year (report in column here), and if I’m not mistaken, it was last year’s opening Paci cultural center also, where you can get an enjoyable pizza at a friendly price, and sip the concoctions of the Forbidden Csíki Sörmanufaktúra alongside it.
The other day, a good friend and I went to Kis Blazej to drink the final beer of the day, but Impasto, which we liked from the outside, got in the way, so we decided to stop by. We exchanged a few sentences with the nice, direct lady at the counter about Géza Lenkey, whose wine was decorated next to the beiglis in one of the gift baskets.
This made it certain that we would stay. As it turned out, she is the owner’s partner, who is currently working as a drop-in in the guest area. The surprise came when Mózes Farkas greeted me, with whom we have been following each other’s activities on Facebook for several years.
He is one of those chefs who does not need to be introduced to the general public, since in 2015 he appeared very well in the popular show “Konyhašefosé”. His data sheet is still available on the world wide web, we can learn that his favorite chefs at the start were Paul Bocuse, Erik Schröter, Tamás Széll, Szabina Szúló, as in an interview he said, Ákos Sárközy was also included among these big names, obviously thanks to the show.
The young chef turned 30 last year, but he already has a very serious professional career behind him, he worked at the Halászbástya restaurant, the starred Onyx, the Michelin-starred Rézmozsár, he started the Villa Kabala in Szigliget, which later won a green star, he managed the Neptun hotel in Badacsony, and the the kitchen of Borbistro in Baja, he was sous chef in the kitchen of Viator, the restaurant of Pannonhalmi Abbey, most recently at He was the chef at La’Róna, which opened at Bagatell’s place in Kiskőrös.
We also talked to the owner, Barile Renato, he told us that he started with ice cream, in “I Love Gelato”, which you could read about on several portals, then came the pizza, and finally he and his partner decided when the opportunity arose to rent the current property in the summer of 2023, to open a restaurant.
The interior of Impasto is attractive, with small, framed black-and-white photos of Italian life and world stars on the walls in a pub-like layout. Pleasant, well-chosen background music plays. Wines also played a role in the decoration. In the refrigerator on the counter to the left of the entrance, the sophisticated cakes of the Hyztéria pastry shop are lined up.
In addition to the Italian classics, arancini, bruschetta, pizzas and homemade pastas, they offer some Hungarian and international main courses, typically with a small Italian twist, such as crispy pork emperor with parmesan potato puree and blood loop, rosé duck breast with sweet potato puree, pumpkin seed curd dumplings, chili eggplant and steak sauce. Italian-Hungarian fusion at its best.
When we were there, the regularly changing chef’s offer included, among others, French beef tartare, Saltimbocca made from veal (Hungarian for “jump into the mouth”, a popular Italian dish), which is served with sage butter sauce and confit potatoes. In addition to the Hystéria monodesserts, you can also find one dessert in the chef’s offer, and three more on the menu: two types of tiramisu and rum baby.
They offer ten types of well-chosen Italian and Hungarian wines, the latter from quality-oriented smaller wineries such as Babarczi in Győrújbarát, Kislaki Bormanufaktúra, or the Árpád-hegy cellar in Szerencs. All wines are also available by the glass.
The beer genre is represented by Peroni, of which the idle beer is available on tap and in bottles. In addition, we can choose the Capri and the zero variant in bottle packaging. Among the spirits, in addition to Fenegyerek pálinkas and the usual imported products, we also find some interesting Italian liqueurs.
As a chef’s welcome, we received prosciutto with ricotta cream, mini-pork terrine with pistachio and roasted cabbage, and egg gel. A sumptuous combination, the terrine was one of the best of its kind that I have ever tasted.
For the main course, we chose the Carpathian hook, which was served with tiger crab, dill butter sauce, homemade gnocchi and devil’s chariot mushrooms.
The fish is fresh, juicy, sufficiently crispy, the sauce is silky and tasty, we soaked it up to the last drop, the gnocchi and the mushrooms are impeccable, the harmony is also great.
We ended the meal with a cheese cake made in Basque style. The chef was able to spice it up with additional elements, both visually and in taste.
Impasto was a great experience in every way, the genre that, if you discover it with your best friend, you start thinking about when you can take your family there too.
Source: magyarnemzet.hu
