Mazi Greek Kitchen — Restaurant in Budapest

This is greek fine dining at its best

I went with my friend and split all dishes into two to get a taste of more courses. First we went for the Octopus with fava puree. Very good grilled octopus, it was tender and not at all gummy-like. Also, the fava puree was excellent and the truffle-oil complimented the whole taste. Then came the Kebab. This is very far from the "original Greek gyros" by Kerkyra. The whole-grain pita was impeccable, also the meat and the sauces. I sensed a little more fuss here then what is expected from a "kebab", but overall this was a very good minimalist composition. The third course was the Kleftiko lamb. This is a 12-hour baked lamb with vegetables and smoked cheese. Tender, good-tasting one-course dish, the seasoning was well complimenting the overall taste. Last came the dessert: Kataifi. This may be the best dessert I have ever had in my life! I can only tell wonders about it! Imagine an apple-ish dough soaked in honey and cinnamon, crushed walnut, then a bunch of crispy caramel spaghetties and to top it all a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Overall it had crispiness on one side, hot, soft and soaked dough on the other, icy ice cream on the third, and all of the tastes fit together so nicely it was an orgy really... From now on I will be a Kataifi-holic :)

On the minus side, portions were very small, I could not get my belly full with the 7000HUF worth of food. Also, the service was not quite in match with the exceptional quality of the food. This is fine dining and from my point of view the value is not the best you can get. However, if you would like to taste the best of greek food, I gladly...

Review Edit (visited 2nd time) = big disappointment compared to 1st visit:

oversalted fries lamb sold as "with vegetables" = 90% only baked potatoes, nothing more expensive despite price set at 9.000HUF lamb meat was not cleaned - chunks of fat and tendon left there -/+sat outaide which was great as again inside it's like in an echo chamber service is still great

Immediately afterwards I went to KFC to see what one can get for 9.000HUF (=one main dish in Mazi): *8 strips *perfectly prepared fries (not overstated as in Mazi) *Kentucky gold wrap

The lamb wasn't any more exciting than a KFC - which is the main problem. Was it tender? Sure. But KFC was tender as well. Neither Mazi or KFC was surprising in any way.

If you want to spend more on a slightly above average dish that doesn't excite or surprise = Mazi. If you are after something exciting or different = pass. It's not a Michelin and they will probably not get a star in a foreseeable future.

Previous review:

Pros: -The food and beer were EXTREMELY delicious! Food not just delicious but also creative and with twist (little bit going towards fine dining experience) The service was amazing as well

Cons: Due to a lot of reflective surfaces and no sound dampening it gets very-very noisy even if there is no "loud table". When there is a table which is loud it gets so noisy one wants to leave asap.

We will definitely go back but will try to go there when the place is the least busy. Or just order for takeaway as the food is not just delicious but very creative as well....

Overall, I’d give this place a 3.7, but rounded it up to 4 for the review. The food was good, not mind-blowing or memorable enough to crave again, but definitely not forgettable either. My favorite dish from what we ordered was the Fava, simple but tasty!

Service was surprisingly fast, especially considering we were a large group, and the staff were friendly and polite.

However, a few things really impacted the overall experience. First, it was incredibly hot inside. Either there was no AC, or it wasn’t working properly, we were all sweating, which made the meal quite uncomfortable. On top of that, the noise level was intense. The sound echoed throughout the space, and it was hard to hear the person sitting right next to you. This really affected the overall ambience and atmosphere, making it hard to relax and enjoy the evening.

One last (but important) detail: it’s honestly a bit ridiculous that you have to pay extra for pita when ordering dips or dishes that clearly require it. For example, if you order hummus, you’d normally expect it to come with bread, but here, you need to order (and pay for) pita separately, which...