Zincenco Kitchen (Fine dining - Lakásétterem, Apartment restaurant) — Restaurant in Budapest

HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND (we would go back again in a heartbeat next time we are in Budapest). The food and experience was amazing. The "apartment restaurant" concept in Budapest is unique and a great experience - Zincenco takes it up to another level by bringing in the attention to detail (visual, texture and taste of the food) and service of fine dining and combining it with a much more comfortable, home-y environment. As Igor states at the beginning, they aim to provide a fine dining experience without the pressure and strictness - it's meant to feel like a meal inside a friend's home (which was how they started this concept, with weekly meals with friends in their home that they turned into a restaurant). Jess really appreciated this - one of her biggest complaints previously with other fine dining / Michelin starred restaurants was that you felt like you were being observed under a microscope during the entire meal, with people watching and waiting to wait on you during every move (e.g., cannot go to the restroom without being escorted). This experience was the opposite while still being very well done - for example, Igor brings all of the ladies a small step stool at the beginning of the evening to rest their purses on. Igor and Zaida served the food and explained the background, ingredients and wines of every dish and wine pairing (to each group individually so you got your own special treatment). They did a great job explaining what we were eating and were so friendly / encouraging in answering questions (e.g. Hungarian food & wine history, how they came up with the ideas of dishes, etc.). Not only are they accomplished chefs and restauranters, but their English was superb. Now onto the food. As expected, the food tasted delicious (different flavors, textures, etc.). However, the presentation of each dish was a scene itself - a visual sight to behold. We almost felt bad eating the food given how beautiful each dish was and how much care went into it, except for the fact that we knew how delicious it would taste, which all culminated in the final chocolate dessert (it was such as high final note to finish on, when we couldn't expect the meal to get any better). Igor mentioned they change the full menu about twice per year, but are always constantly tweaking courses based on what is in season. Gives another reason to come back in the future. Definitely make sure to budget for the full 5-hours - we arrived promptly at 7:00PM and were the 3rd to last group, and we finished at midnight. We were so excited and had so much fun leaving the dinner that we were fully energized despite it being midnight and having 7 glasses of wine and an after dinner digestive. (P.S., we did the Hungarian wine pairing to get the whole local experience - the Hungarian wine was good and unique, spanning Riesling to chardonnay to cabernet franc & sauvignon to dessert wines. Would recommend as opportunity to taste local, highly curated wine). Make a reservation - well in advance as the apartment only seats 12 - 15 people, they only do one seating a night, are open only 3 nights a week and ~10...

We had a huge crush on this restaurant and the concept!

We had a real blast, everything was absolutely perfect, from Igor and Zaida's welcome, to the decor of the flat, the lighting, and of course the meal and the wines...

What can I say, we were very pleasantly surprised with each dish, dishes prepared under our eyes to perfection, a mixture of flavours that was just incredibly well thought out, it was excellent, succulent, a real pleasure! Bravo to Zaida!

With each new dish we were entitled to taste a new wine, which was always a perfect match... Igor was so available and so kind... We loved this experience, because yes, it is a real experience to live, it was not just going to yet another restaurant.

We will definitely come back, at the end we complimented Zaida for the very high quality of her cooking, and we could see that she was a bit embarrassed to receive these compliments, she is very humble and kind too.

A big thank you to both of you, we had an unforgettable evening... Come on, I say it, the best restaurant I have ever eaten...

I wanted to put a few words together in regards to my and my sister’s experience at this wonderful place , when we visited in May 2023. What a night it was! We visited Budapest purely as a food trip/experience. The apartment was stylish decorated with a touch of simplicity, and we liked the feel of the room, the cosy lights and the open kitchen areas where you could follow the process making of the food. The food was amazing, beautifully presented and the wine was divine. We went for the Hungarian wine menu, and it was such a pleasant surprise - paired perfectly to the food. The hosts, Igor and his partner, was incredibly attentive and made time for all their guests. Any information about the food and wine was presented and answered to the smallest detail, and out of all the restaurants (and the Michelin restaurants in Budapest we tried) this was by far the best experience. We cannot recommend this...