A gourmet’s delight by the Hungarian sea – let’s go on a gastro tour!
Most people visit Lake Balaton for the water and the beaches, but Balaton has become so much more than a waterside holiday destination. The region offers plenty of festivals, culture and entertainment, as well as hiking and other sports, which make it a great destination any time of the year. Recently, the region has been putting great emphasis on gastro tourism, which resulted in huge improvements. If you enjoy tasty food and drinks, you can have great adventures in gastronomy by the Hungarian sea and nearby.
Quality and local values
The region is becoming a destination for fine, quality food, even when it comes to simpler fares. While you can still find street food along the promenades, if you want something more substantial, you will surely find something you like. You can discover new flavours, try classic Balaton meals with a new twist or choose from a selection of trendy meals. The Balaton region’s definitive restaurants and caterers are thinking together and thanks to this they are now based on local values and local produce. Many restaurants offer meals prepared from local produce. This is also the case with modern food outlets and handmade street food.
What is a gastro tour?
You probably wouldn’t feel good if you were to do nothing but eat and drink for days on end. A gastro tour doesn’t mean rushing straight from one restaurant to another. A gastro tour is about trying different foods, new quality restaurants, and being open to discover new foods and new flavours. For example, if you are spending a week at Lake Balaton, you can decide to try one new food every day or to dine somewhere different every day. It would be a waste of time and money to only eat schnitzel, pizza or kebab when you can eat those foods anywhere at any time. To go on a gastro tour means trying to be open to discover flavours and cuisines that are different from what you are used to.
What to eat?
At Lake Balaton, the most obvious answer is fish. Fortunately, there are many delicious fish alternatives to hake these days and the selection keeps getting better and better. Many restaurants offer fantastic catfish paprikash dishes, not the least one of the iconic restaurants at Balatonszemes, but many places also offer authentic roast pike. Marinated fish are becoming popular starters and they are a great accompaniment to some of the local quality white wines. And when it comes to dishes to have with your wine, there are some great local cheesemakers in the region, so it’s a great choice when you see cheese platter on the menu – try which cheese goes best with which wine.
Don’t worry if you’re not a great fan of fish. Most caterers at Lake Balaton have plenty of home cooked favourites on offer, although sometimes with a modern twist. Goulashes, game and letcho based meals, Hungarian pasta dishes and quality vegetable meals are widely available. It is worth checking in the gastronomical guides where it is worth to try which dish.
What to drink?
Wine is an essential part of all gastro tours. While in Hungary wine is not considered a part of meals so much, new tendencies show that it is starting to seep into public consciousness and will become an essential accompaniment to dinner. Moreover, thanks to great transformation of the Balaton region, there are many new vineyards producing quality wines. Visitors to Lake Balaton cannot leave without trying and comparing the Riesling wines produced in different vineyards across the region, or at least without enjoying some Kéknyelű or having a glass of Kadarka or Kékfrankos with their fish soup.
For those with a sweet tooth
Last but not least we need to talk about the great variety of quality desserts on offer across the region. Many patisseries have gained iconic status with their French-style desserts or Hungarian home-baking style classics with a twist. Thanks to the chocolate revolution, the patisseries are now using high cocoa-content chocolates, which won’t dissapoint our sweet toothed readers.
Best desserts at Lake Balaton »
Gastronomy at the camp site
There are great gastronomical opportunities at our campsite, too. Each year, we pay great attention to perfect our camping favourites.
You can find all the eateries at the campsite here »