With all the geraniums, snow white houses, nice little benches and perfectly cut Veszprémvölgy looks as neat and tidy as a small Austrian town. Fricska Bisztró brings organized nonconventional elements to this standardized piece of heaven. The fire is set in the fireplace, hurry up and follow our lead!
The new wave of trendy ruin pubs has finally reached Lake Balaton: wine bars and cozy ruin pubs are opening one after the other. Kredenc and Manézs were the earliest birds in Balatonfüred, then Bor és Szóda opened in Balatonalmádi, and now Fricska in Veszprém is the latest newbie.
Reborn Veszprémvölgy
The valley of Séd-patak was recently renovated, and the result is quite impressive. The construction was funded by the European Union and the sight of small waterfalls, neat benches, snow white houses and renovated ruins make you feel like you are walking somewhere in Austria. We bumped into Fricska on our way from the zoo to the castle on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
say hello to winter
Fricska found a great abandoned location for itself: its building had been standing dead empty for 13 years at the bottom of the castle hill. The good thing about the renovated valley is that you can chill out far away from everything: the traffic and the crowd won't bother you here. Fricska is definitely worth regular visits.
'We wanted something unique, which could become a great social place. No one has ever seen anything like this in Veszprém. It's a bit far from the downtown area, but our first summer was good, because the highbrow intellectuals have already found us. We are planning to expand our business by offering food as well in the near future. Nothing serious, we have average street food on our mind, like sandwiches and pastries. We only want to work with local ingredients and quality products,' says the manager, Márton Schönig who relies on impressions and ideas from Fruska in Kopaszi gát. Márton has been living in this building for 3 years: this is how he met the now-owners of the place.
Fricska is a cross between a cottage and a ruin pub. The huge timbers, bookshelves and decorations make it clear, that every tiny detail is a part of a conscious and well-constructed design. The building is a listed monument, around 300-400 years old. The fireplace in the middle of the room is essential, because the evenings are quite chilly. Delicious pork trotters and chocolate cakes have already been made in the oven above the fireplace. According to their plans the pastry and the langalló will be prepared here as well. Summer is over, but Fricska will stay open during winter. The fire will heat the place up, so will the concerts, the literature events and the programmes for kids.
