Decked out in an extreme 90s-meets-70s interior design scheme that would be at home in Silver Lake or Brooklyn, Menza's room feels spacious and comfortable. Its clientele tilts towards hipster expats and Hungarian entrepreneurs. You can kick back with friends and people watch while eating some of the best examples of refined Hungarian cuisine.
Yes, I said "Hungarian cuisine" - usually a self-canceling phrase. At Menza however they seem to strive for an overhaul of the Central European diet that is as modern as their trip-hop DJ bachelor pad interior would suggest. Yummy mini-langos and great soups are a standout for me. Unlike many restaurants of this kind who strive to impress with refinement, the portions can be ample.
This has become my go-to restaurant for out-of-towner pals who are looking for something new but still part of a Hungarian experience. Thumbs up from me for Menza.
This post needs a warning attached to let the uninitiated know that they'll be aurally assaulted by someone who sounds remarkably like Barry White if they click that link without muting their speakers! Ha.
(Thanks for the tip, I, probably unnecessarily, shun much of Liszt Ferenc, so I should give it a look. Had a unwelcome reminder of my dear homeland last week, dodging a band of thirty white-shirted Geordies careering down Kiraly in that direction...)
Menza isn't a Michelin 2-star restaurant or anything, but it's nice to have a place that serves Hungarian in a clean modern room in the middle of town.
It seems like every inch of that town is studded with fantastical light fixtures, or fantastical absence of fixtures for bathing in light.