Márai Bistro - Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Košice

I was really looking forward to trying out this place, as I heard mostly good things about it and when I was passing by the space looked very tastefully decorated and inviting. When I finally had an opportunity to try it out with my friends, we spent an evening here.

The place went from fairly empty to busy during the course of the evening. Staff was friendly and with a single exception when my son was ignored when trying to get attention from one of the servers, they were attentive and service was reasonably fast.

As I mentioned, decor and atmosphere is very nice, much nicer than previous venue in the same location. It’s very appealing.

Now I am coming to the main point of the experience. Disclaimer: I am a trained chef and always try to be fair to creators of the menu and food itself. Menu is really creative and balances Slovak and Hungarian cuisine well.

I was expecting excellence across the board since the chef makes the point of letting the customers know about his preference for fresh high quality ingredients. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed. But I’ll start from the beginning:

Drinks: I had a very nice cocktail (French Santa - cognac-and-cointreau-based with winter spices), my friend ordered ginger tea which was very weak, not enough ginger, and what was in the teapot did not look like freshly chopped ginger at all. Pilsner on tap was fine.

Two of us ordered Halaszle fish soup, my son has stuffed cabbage with smoked rib, and we also ordered “Bobalky” which is traditionally little bits of sweet yeast dough dumplings in poppy seed sauce.

Halaszle soup was really BAD. Fish was not fresh and tasted like mud and the broth was super weak and under-seasoned. Normally this soup is rich in flavor as well as consistency - almost like a stew. What we were served was not even close. I had a few spoonfuls and returned the bowl, my friend ate a bit more, but did not like it either. Chef came to our table and asked what was wrong - but our feedback was not accepted gracefully and chef basically tried to convince us that we are wrong and then turned around and left in a huff without any acknowledgement. We weren’t offered any apology or compensation.

Stuffed cabbage with the smoked rib was excellent - simple and traditional preparation from very obviously high quality ingredients. Presentation was also excellent.

“Bobalky” was more of stretch - quite far from traditional form of this desert, but well balanced flavors and good presentation. I enjoyed it, even though my friends who expected traditional bobalky were surprised.

Coffee is excellent - their statement that they serve the best coffee in center of Kosice is probably true.

I think I will give them another chance. I hope they will work on their communication style when it comes to receiving...

One of my best meals of a 7 week international road trip. My local contact recommended this as the best restaurant in Kosice. Super service from start to finish. My wife enjoyed a great local red wine while I had a very refreshing cocktail. We shared the vegan antipasti for 2 which was outstanding. Every one of the many food items on the generous plate were creative and tasty. My wife had the cauliflower steak and I had the salmon for our mains. The presentation and flavours were art on the plate and palette. We had the pleasure of meeting the talented Executive Chef Sam Monori whose global experience and friendliness were very much appreciated. The musical entertainment by both the violinist and piano player, combined with the fountains in front of the restaurant added to the ambiance and romance for this much needed date night with my wife. Don’t miss the desserts. Too good and creative to even describe this Apple tiramisu and liquor soaked plumb covered in a caky cream. Overall a magical...

Fantastic restaurant with a chef who brings incredible style and flavor to traditional Slovak and Hungarian dishes, elevating them to a whole new level. The atmosphere is stylish and welcoming, right next to Košice’s main fountain. Service is exceptionally friendly.

Prices are very reasonable too, around €10–20 per dish. Maybe you first say it's slightly higher than some typical local spots, but absolutely worth it for the quality and creativity. Everything is fresh here, which nowadays unfortunately is more and more difficult to find in other restaurants (where they just mix prepared meals).

If you appreciate great food, this is definitely a place to add to your list...