Gastronomic experiences in Onyx Restaurant, Budapest - Part 2

We were impressed enough by our first dinner at Onyx (see previous post) to want to return for the other tasting menu (Prestige Menu) the following evening!

Amuse-bouche: langoustine topped with a sprinkling of cereal and served in its own jus with black beans. 

Extremely well-executed and retaining all its natural juices and springy texture, the latter of which was also complemented by the crunchy black beans and cereal garnish. The jus was really intense and delicious too.


A nice contrast to the light amuse-bouche - rich chestnut cappuccino topped with milk foam.

First starter: Japanese-inspired variations on tuna (raw but unexpectedly fresh and impressive!). 

From left to right:

1) Tuna tartare marinated with sesame oil and ginger, topped with black and white sesame and enoki mushrooms - extremely fragrant due to the use of sesame, and with a hint of spiciness due to the ginger. Texturally well complemented by the enoki.

2) Pineapple marinated with balsamic vinegar - juicy and refreshing.

3) Salted tuna with a black pepper coating - again spicy and just slightly salty, very good.

4) Yuzu (Japanese pomelo) jelly - smooth, fragile and intense; didn't feel the least gelatinous despite the obvious form - disintegrated into juice cleansing the palette with the loveliest citrus flavours, as soon as it entered the mouth.

5) Tuna marinated with ginger - the closest to a sashimi, simple and delightful.

Drops of wasabi mayonnaise enhanced the spicy bent of this dish, perfectly appropriate for the chilly weather. 


Second starter: marinated saibling with its caviar, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin purée, in an orange-pumpkin cream soup with pumpkin seed oil.

A Styrian-inspired winter warmer - we had lots of pumpkin soup whilst in nearby Vienna, but this was the first time (and rather unusually too) that we had one mixed with orange juice. Worked extremely well, enhancing the sweetness of the pumpkin whilst refreshing the palette with more citrusy notes in the midst of the creaminess. The toasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil were incredibly fragrant and the purée very sweet and not the least fibrous (which can happen with pumpkin) - stunning. The saibling and caviar added a nice savoury and luxurious touch to the soup.

(This is what the dish looked like before the soup was poured in.)

Third starter: sautéed scallops served with cauliflower textures: cauliflower panna cotta topped with oscietra caviar, and breaded cauliflower with its chip. 

We both agreed that the scallops were not entirely consistent from piece to piece - texture was nice overall but some pieces lacked the juiciness that would have made this a masterpiece. The panna cotta was savoury and delightful especially with the fresh caviar, and the breaded cauliflower and chip were surprisingly tender and juicy despite having gone through the fryer.

Cauliflower panna cotta

Breaded cauliflower and its chip

First main course: breast of quail with carbonara risotto, parmesan foam and pancetta (Italian bacon) crumbs. 

Excellent course, very tender flesh, still slightly pink in the middle, and retaining all its natural juices. The lightness of this meat was aptly contrasted by the savoury roasting jus and rich cheesy flavours of the accompaniments. The pancetta sprinklings provided a nice sporadic crunch to the dish. 


Second main course: saddle of venison fillet served with yellow (didn't know they existed!) and purple beetroot vinaigrette and Jerusalem artichoke purée.

Venison was rich and tender, only complaints were that it was a tad too pink and that the gamey presence was a tad strong (for me personally, that is). The artichoke purée was excellent, with a thick and creamy consistency that complemented the meat perfectly and somewhat helped to mask its gamey smell, and the beetroot provided an apt contrast to the overall richness of this dish. 


Pre-dessert: mango sorbet with pistachio streusel. This sorbet was amazing, with a very full-bodied feel in the mouth, almost like having a real mango. Such thick and creamy consistency that it felt almost like an ice-cream! Kudos to the pastry chef for being able to achieve this texture.

More foamy mango soup to go with the excellent sorbet.

First dessert: mojito - rich vanilla panna cotta served with lime jelly, lime soup and topped with lime foam. A real palate cleanser, very refreshing with a good variety of textures, despite the somewhat homogeneous and overpowering citrus flavour.

To go with the main dessert: mojito granita and bits of Emmanuel sponge cake with rum in a glass. Again very refreshing but the citrusy flavour would have become overwhelming by now, if not for the final dessert...

Final dessert, the pièce de résistance: an incredibly rich slab of white and dark chocolate ganache, topped with milk chocolate ice-cream in a dark chocolate biscuit swirl, garnished with violet sugar, gold leaf and a coulis of strawberries and balsamic vinegar. A plate of artery-clogging sin! 


Petit fours for both evenings: (from front to back) white chocolate with a raspberry sugar coating and a raspberry and walnut filling, milk chocolate with walnut cream and a crispy hazelnut millefeuille, and dark chocolate with an apricot and pistachio filling. Sweet endings for our gourmet experiences in Budapest!