Other Worldly

It was such a retro feeling when we entered the Maros étterem és söröző I felt like I'd walked into Budapest circa 1990. The real bonus lies at the back of the joint in their beer garden.




Maros Restaurant and Beerhall
District XII.
Maros u. 16.
Tel: 212 3746

What a joy it is to see one of your oldest, best friends and discover an old bar and restaurant that has survived the rapid changes of post-communist Hungary. My buddy András picked me up outside of my gym and whisked me in his super car towards Moszkva tér. I suggested we sneak in a beer before he went to his lady's flat, presumably for a "booty call".

I suggested the Maros Restaurant, which beckoned down the street. András called Ildi and told her she should join us there later. As it is close to her flat, she wasn't sure it was such a great place.

And when we got there, even though the interior is a classic retro gem right out of the Hungarian 1970s, we were overwhelmed by the smokey stench that permeates old school Hungarian restaurants. But when we saw that the large garden space in the back was open for business, we knew we'd found the right place. The beer garden welcomed with numerous green wooden booths.

While they only have Hungarian Dreher on draught, they have a decent selection of bottled beer. I had Czech Budweiser (Huf 530 a bottle). András stuck to tonic and had the Hungarian spongecake desert "Somlói Galuska". I was hungry and ordered a half order of wild boar stew (vaddisznó pörkölt) with a side of spaetzle; it was delicious and the half portion was ample. I also had a cucumber salad.

We exchanged our boy stories, ate and then Ildi arrived. She had an Unicum, we talked more and it was time to go home. The throwback atmosphere at the Maros made the night.

More information (in Hungarian)
Étterem.hu
Sörjárőr