We are aware that gourmet adventures are always waiting for us Over the Hedge, just like in the animated film by DreamWorks. Balaton Sound's cuisine offers good, diverse meals, but this doesn't mean there is no chance to find cool places outside of the festival. We guarantee that you won't be disappointed with these options.

1/5

1. Lángos at Sarok Buffet - Zamárdi

Finding a good lángos could be as difficult as finding José Padilla at Balaton Sound Festival, but every Hungarian knows that lángos could be the perfect warm-up before a long night. Sarok Büfé looks like an ordinary deal at first sight, but last year it finished in the top 10 on a national lángos poll (Vénusz Lángos Voks 2012). Take a walk to Sarok Büfé located on Eötvös József Street at the central part of Zamárdi szabadstrand (dbo beach). The festival itself is located on this beach. The lángos is medium thin, but the toppings are quite rich: besides the well-known cheese-sour cream combination you can choose the ham-cheese-sour cream, sausage or cabbage options as well. Our stomach doesn't tolerate different sweet jams or Bolognese sauce on the oily salty lángos; in this case the old school methods are working better. Wheat beer and Staropramen could both be a part of this perfect match with the happy meal menu.

2/5

2. Zander and other fresh fishes of Balaton in Sió Halsütő - Siófok

The founders of Balaton Sound Festival told us about this place, because this is their favourite food spot when they have to manage things around here. The smell of fried fish in the tiny room and the skanky outdoor tables next to a bike rental are not the reason for the well-deserved imaginary Michelin star. This food spot in Vitorlás Street made every top 10 list of fish-specific places around Balaton.
Sió Halsütő is not just your average fish place offering hake. You are more likely to find fresh and tasty fish from Lake Balaton here. The owner, László Huszár has only one title on his business card: master chef. It may sound a bit bragging, but his incredible amount of experience shows in every bowl of fisherman's soup, and every fried- zander or trout. The high quality dishes at Sió Halsütő come with a higher price, despite the shabby apperance of the place and the fact that their fish is still served on paper plates, with plastic cutlery. Two guests will probably pay more than 5000 HUF together (incl. pickles and refreshments), but this prime meal is really worth it.

3/5

3. Traditional flavours in Beach Party Restaurant - Szántód

Beach Party Étterasz is more like a reedy dbo beach than a small cozy restaurant with a few outdoor tables. Beach could be a bit of an overstatement, but there's enough space for a few towels. No worries: it will not be overcrowded, because the guests will have their beers and Asperol Spritzes under the restaurant's parasols. This is your place when you want to clear your head of constant Avicii- and Kalkbrenner tunes and spend some time chilling with a plate of decent traditional food. A chicken soup with a giant glass of homemade lemonade could be the cure for all of your hangover problems. If you're in for some more serious stuff; try the roast beef with garlic and pepper. When we left we put a menu card in our bag, but even after two days it smelt exactly like our grandmother's kitchen.
Beach Party is situated at the end of Juhász Gyula Street behind a freakishly huge inflatable tunnel.

4/5

4. Dolce vita in Mauro – Zamárdi

It is always open to discussion if Mauro Ristorante is a brilliant Italian restaurant or just a three-ring circus from Italy. Summer is always really busy for the staff with guests constantly piling up. The waiters' behavior is always the same: even on a slow Spring afternoon they will act like the loud Italian staff of McDonald's. Mauro, the owner squeezed every single Italian dazzle into his restaurant, no wonder that the waiters must say arrivederci better than Brad Pitt (in Inglourious Basterds) every 3 seconds. They are shouting all around while you sit listening to melancholic "musica", but your order arrives before you would start to feel as if you were in a Michel Gondry movie. The meals are ready in no time, the flavours are great, the tomato bread you get while you wait is delicious and the pizza crust is thin while the toppings are quite rich. Mauro is a unique place where the food is great. You need to come here in person to form an opinion about this small part of Italia.