Tasty fish move closer to main road 71 - Zoli Kánya’s Fish Grill

The fish grill of Zoli Kánya is found between Balatonszepezd and Révfülöp, on the right side of the road if you’re coming from Tihany. The beach is located a little bit further off, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the panorama from here. The buffet has only been open for a few weeks, and there’s no more than a black sign reading “HAL” (Hungarian for fish) by the side of the road to point visitors in the right direction. Even so, it’s not uncommon that the terrace is fully packed, and customers need to share the long tables outside.

Decent fish grills are harder and harder to find by Balaton. Due to the prohibition of recent years, fishing is not allowed, and catering establishments can’t buy from fishermen, so the fish they purchase comes from Kis-Balaton and fish farms around the lake. That’s also where the fish stock of Balaton is replenished from. Some fish farms specialize in particular species, like the trout farm in Tapolca; Zoli and his team serve the fish procured from there both smoked and fried. This is a peculiar situation: lots of fish in the lake is good for fishing tourism, but it makes the life of Zoli and co. more difficult. Nevertheless, they say that the quality of fish has improved in the past few years.

Zoli started off with smoking, experimenting step by step to come up with the proper ingredients, smoking times, and methods. Later he began frying, and served his tasty grub to the customers of Gyenesdiás beach for five years, trying to set the bar higher than regular beach food with creations like fish & chips. People appreciated what they were doing, although Zoli says the top position of hake seemed unshakeable, even when he offered premium quality cod. The team spent another five years at the fish market of Gyenesdiás, which implies a more fish savvy customer base. They got to know everyone worth knowing, and they enjoyed their time there, but they were not too keen on driving 100 km every day. As the business is essentially run by Zoli and his wife, they decided to try something new and relocate closer to home.

Zoli’s wife Heni says the entire family loves fish, so their job is their passion, too. Hungarian fish are more and more popular, but purchasing them isn’t the easiest thing. They sell hake, but they won’t compromise their principles, so species from the Balaton region feature much more prominently in the selection. Heni claims these are becoming more sought-after. A few years ago hake was pretty much all anyone ordered, but after it was revealed in a newspaper article that this sea fish is imported from Argentina and Uruguay, its popularity dropped considerably. By now the ratio of Hungarian species and sea fish is 50-50 %.

Of course, the current menu features smoked dishes as well, including deer ham, mackerel, trout, and salmon. We tried the smoked duck breast served on salad. Beach food classics like hot dog and hamburger are available as well, but we’d say get some kind of fish; we guarantee that the quality they offer is hard to find elsewhere on the Balaton shore.

Staying true to the setting, we got the Balaton platter (1,690 forints), which normally includes pike-perch and catfish with lemon and chips, but we also ordered a portion of trout salad with beetroot and mayo. It was divine with a bit of bread and pickles. We also gave the carp a try, which didn’t have a stale, “pondy” taste or any overly fatty parts. The breadcrumb coating is slightly crunchy, and the fish are fried for the perfect amount of time: the catfish is great, and when you sink your teeth into the pike-perch, you’ll understand why it’s called the king of Balaton fish.