Fine dining on the terrace - Terazza Bistro, Sümeg

We arrived in Sümeg from Balatonfüred, which is about an hour-long journey by car, and the ride itself is pretty spectacular because it takes you through the Káli Basin, often referred to as Hungarian Tuscany. Once you reach the town, follow the small red signs that will point you toward the eatery – based on the signs, we were expecting to find pizza and goulash at the end of the road rather than one of the most promising fine dining restaurants of Balaton.

We pull up to a Mediterranean style building enveloped by lush vegetation, a rock garden, fantastic rose bushes and lots of herbs – of mint alone, there are eight different kinds. Totally Italian vibes, yet the restaurant apparently offers modern European cuisine. Our interest was definitely piqued because such a claim can mean many things.

Young and talented chef Klaus Deutschmann has basically toured half the north shore in the past few years: he’s worked at Sparhelt in Füred, Karolina Fűszerkertje in Tihany and for a short time he was creative chef at Köveskál’s Káli Art Inn. “When I stepped inside, I felt like I had found my kitchen, like this was going to be my place,” he told us. We hope this time he’ll stay and settle down, at least when it comes to the kitchen.

Klaus has been given a free hand and can realize all his creative ideas here – says the owner of Terazza, whose aim is to do catering at a much higher than average level, serving simply good food in a no-frills environment. They didn’t plan on opening a restaurant at first, but in the end all their travels, Italian adventures and impressions made them come to the conclusion that Sümeg needed a restaurant that offers more than greasy goulash, but has a familiar and friendly atmosphere.

The view from the terrace is breathtaking: several smaller, intimate terraces have been created in the garden, so everyone will find their own peaceful nook to chat and relax without being overheard by someone at a neighbouring table. Sümeg Castle, the green hills and the beautifully designed garden add up to a stunning backdrop.

The menu evolves continually, but the style of the chef is absolutely recognizable, especially for those who’ve seen Klaus’ wonderfully composed and detailed plates in any of his previous restaurants. Exciting flavours, lovely presentation, and refined textures are his signature features. We think the design of the menu could be a bit more elegant, it looks more like it belongs in a mediocre bistro than a fine dining establishment, but it’s nothing that cannot be fixed in the future. Our waiter was nice and attentive, and he “explained” every dish, which actually meant that he read the menu out loud for us again.

There’s a three-course meal option (3,990 HUF), the regular menu contains two appetizers, two soups, four mains and two desserts, and you can choose the chef’s recommendation or the degustation menu (16,500 HUF with wine, 14,500 HUF without), of course. The kids’ options include chicken broth, Wiener schnitzel and crepes.

The freshly baked, home-made bread with parmesan cheese is divine; it comes with herb butter, Maldon salt French butter and wonderful olive oil with thyme. The chef’s welcome snack is also very promising: baked, small, golden meatballs made from poultry with sour cherry granita. We picked marinated seatrout with celery and apple salad and champagne jelly (2,450 HUF) as a starter, and out of all the soups we liked the cold fruit soup the most (1,390 HUF), which is not made with cream like at home, but with pure pressed fruit, granita and lemon and thyme brioche with mascarpone and fresh fruit. Cooling and heavenly.

Our absolute favourite main dish was the duck breast with almond and honey crepes, celery and apple purée (4,150 HUF). The meat was perfectly soft and pink, but the skin was crispy, so we highly recommend it to those who love dichotomies – superb harmony of savoury and sweet on your plate. As a daily option, we chose tagliatelle with tiger prawns and champagne mousse – it’s a home-made pasta with a light sauce and huge tiger prawns cooked to perfect crispiness; it almost feels like having lunch on a seaside terrace.

Despite the crazy heat, we had to try dessert as well. The rest of our lunch was so convincing that it would have been a shame to miss the lavender crème brulée (1,390 HUF), which looked so nice we felt guilty running the plate, but it was so worth it…