Balaton street food grilled on basalt and Balaton cakes are trademarks of KisHableány terrace, opened last week. The vibes of Balaton in the world of gastronomy had only affected the wines before, but now the ripples are spreading: the notion of Balaton beach food was created by a brand new, modern bistro. Let's hope they will stick around, like basalt.
Badacsony's KisHableány (meaning Little Mermaid) wants to follow the simple quality trend. The design is minimalist in Balaton style, of course: the basic vibes are set by raw wood combined with turquoise and white, the herb garden and the infographics, while the paddle bike resting at the end of the terrace confirms your notion of being at Lake Balaton, not that you'd have doubts. The retro air of the building from the mid-60s was preserved in the renovation, but only to the extent it fits today's trends. Just a month ago, the reconstruction works were still at full speed, and now you wouldn't recognise the terrace.
Apropos building. You'll find KisHableány in the centre of Badacsony, at only a few minutes distance from the rows of Riesling by the train station, on the other side of the park - but it stands in an alternative dimension, one that many miss from other nooks of the Balaton.
The building that once functioned as a restaurant and a shop is now owned by Zsófia and Bence Laposa (Laposa Birtok), who only opened the terrace for this season. Irrespective of the limited scope of operation, they have already adopted a strong gastro trend with the help of Dani Bezerics known from Keszthely's Télikert and Boglár's Paletta. The Laposas also plan to set up a oenological visitor centre in the building later.
The Bezerics-Laposa connection does really show on the selection: the items of the drink card and the menu are quite similar to the offerings of Paletta and TéliKert. The ingredients are locally produced, just like the wines.
The well-tested burger (1350-2000 HUF), now grilled on stone and seasoned with the freshest Bezerics discovery, basalt salt made it among our favourites as once, just like one of the new cornerstones of Balaton beach food, BalcsiBagel (850 Ft) volt. The poppy seed-sprinkled, circular crescent roll holds creamy goat Liptauer, mangalica stifolder sausage, and Prague ham, which make a filling, still light and fresh sandwich.
Talking about Balcsi beach food, we have to mention the Vízikutya ("water dog", 950 HUF), which is the Balaton version of hot-dog, with smoked fish sausage, buttery crescent, Nagykanizsa mustard with seeds, pickles and fried onions. Similarly to Paletta and TéliKert, KisHableány will also serve breakfast, an ÉhségTapasz (a tapas plate called "hungerplaster) selection compatible with both vegetarians and meat lovers, pizzas (1400–2000 HUF) and the far-famed cakes by Móni, such as the mille-feuille pictured below.
Unsurpisingly, Laposa and Bezerics wines enjoy priority in the wine selection. All of them are available by the glass (300–1200 HUF) and by the bottle (3000–6000 HUF), and the latter is also available for take away (1600–5000 HUF) for your beachgoing needs, at a more favourable price. The hosszúlépés fröccs (1 dl wine, 2 dl sparkling water) from quality wine costs only 400 HUF, and those who still prefer beer in spite of being in Badacsony, can choose from a range of bottled and draught beer (400–750 HUF), as well as the Stari craft beer from Tapolca (750 HUF).
KisHableány is a gap filling enterprise both in Badacsony and on the shore between Balatonfüred and Keszthely, where new wave gastronomy had only been represented by high category restaurants - now you can fill up on calories in between two paddle bike rides, too. The terrace of KisHableány is only open on the weekends until the end of May; come summer, it will be open every day.
