As the weather warms up, city dwellers are more in the mood for finding some greenery, and one handy oasis is Szabadság tér with its tree-lined avenues, spacious lawns and a playground for children. When you get hungry, right there is La Parrilla, a high-class restaurant with Mediterranean kitchen, an elegant interior and a newly opened terrace for when it’s sunny.
Although La Parrilla opened in October 2016 on the ground floor of the Iberostar Grand Hotel Budapest, which is a five-star boutique hotel, the restaurant is an exclusive gastronomic experience that is not only for the hotel guests. “We are really happy to welcome local people and guests from the street in our restaurant,” Gergely Bálint Bak, the restaurant manager, emphasises. “Anyone can come in and experience our excellent service.”
“Eat, drink and be happy!”
The restaurant has a business philosophy based on a lifestyle that is very popular with people living in the Mediterranean area: “Eat, drink and be happy!” La Parrilla tries to interpret this primarily through one thing: a one-of-a-kind selection of typical Mediterranean dishes and a long list of exclusive wines.
However, the restaurant does not limit itself to the Iberian cuisine, as one might think from its Spanish name, which is a typical description for a grill restaurant in that country. They prepare recipes from all over the Mediterranean area.
This includes among the appetisers such appetite stimulants as Iberian ham, Tuscan tomato soup or home-made ravioli. And the main dishes too: creamy tomato risotto with shrimps, dry-aged steaks and pasta specialties such as the Frigula from the island of Sardinia, served with Mediterranean vegetables and sheep cheese.
Delicacies from the lava stone grill
However, the true stars on the menu are the specialities from the lava stone grill. This healthier alternative to grilling on coal is gaining popularity in professional gastronomy, its advantages including the even distribution of the heat during broiling and the doing away with poisonous smoke from the burning coals.
At La Parrilla there are Mangalica pork steaks, filet mignon of Omaha beef and even chicken breasts and salmon steaks landing on the fiery hot lava plates. If you don’t mind the price, there is rib-eye steak that has been matured dry for 60, 90 or even 120 days before processing.
A restaurant for every time of day
La Parrilla is not only an option for romantic dinners. Being in a hotel, it offers a rich breakfast from 7am every day. Guests can pick from the prepared buffet table or order a la carte from different international breakfast specialities, such as the Poor Knight, different egg dishes or English Breakfast.
Between noon and 3pm on weekdays they have a business lunch offer for the workers in the nearby offices and embassies, and anyone else who happens to be around. This is a high-quality but affordable lunch with several “offers of the chef” and a number of Hungarian specialities.
Dishes taste best with a nice wine, and this is another strength of La Parrilla. The Mediterranean restaurant offers some 78 different kinds, including numerous Hungarian top wines and noble drops from many growing regions worldwide, such as New Zealand, France, Spain and South America.
One with a little bit of star appeal is the French Miraval wine from the vineyard owned by actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, which in 2012 and 2013 was chosen as the best rosé of the world by the professional portal Wine Spectator.
La Parrilla does not have to be ashamed of its cocktail selection either, and these refreshments, prepared by well-trained hands and elegantly decorated, can be enjoyed at the separate cocktail bar section of the restaurant.
La Parrilla
Budapest, District V,
4 Szabadság tér
Open: daily
from 7am to 11pm
Reservations at
(+36-1) 269-0834
See www.laparrilla.hu
Prices
Appetisers and soups:
HUF 1700 to 4500
Main dishes:
HUF 1900 to 14,900
Desserts:
HUF 1900 to 2600
Lunch offer
(2 or 3 courses):
HUF 3200 / 3900
