The food
A magical carnival of familiar and unfamiliar flavours, Asian and simple garden ingredients, French, Swedish and Japanese cooking techniques, and a carefully composed harmony of colours, shapes, scents, and texture charm our senses. With its velvety homely feeling evoking beautiful memories and at the same time refreshing harmonies of flavour and the amazing visual effects so characteristic of the chef, it invites us to leave reality behind and live for the moment.
The twelve-course degustation menu is a refined mixture of Western and Eastern, traditional Hungarian, and cosmopolitan mainstream flavours. Its elements follow the perpetual change of the seasons. There is always something familiar and something new, every quarter of a year it transforms almost completely, like the garden and the forest. Besides the carefully selected wine pairings and alcohol-free juices, our champagnes, which are the trademark of the place and the love of which connects the former owners of the estate and our chef, make your evening complete.
The place
Where the land and the water meet, halfway between East and West, at the meeting point of past and present, of natural and constructed landscape, only an hour from the three most important cities of the old Austro-Hungarian Monarchy – Budapest, Vienna and Bratislava – on a former estate of the Counts Esterházy redreamed by designer Zoltán Varró, you can find the only restaurant in rural Hungary which has earned two Michelin Stars.
Here, under centuries-old trees, the time has not stopped, only slowed down enough so you can admire the landscape, feel the atmosphere of the Belle Époque and enjoy the majestic wealth of flavours. Everything is ready for you to forget the world for a few hours and live life to its fullness.
The experience
Here, on this former estate on the shores of the Old Lake of Tata, for a moment we can leave the hustle of everyday life behind. A lakeshore is a passage where two worlds meet; here you can stop for a moment, then after drinking an aperitif on the terrace, immerse yourself freely in the joys offered by familiar and yet unfamiliar flavours, colours and shapes that make the eyes rejoice, in the open-kitchen restaurant under its quaint tile arches.
If you prefer immersive experiences, in Green Salon you can not only get a glimpse into how the lavish and refined dishes are made, but you can become part of the magic yourself, thus making your gastronomical adventure complete. If you prefer somewhat more privacy, the nearby Blue Salon offers unforgettable experiences. After a long evening, you can relax in one of the nearby rooms or even enjoy the spa.
The chef
István Pesti’s talent has been rewarded by Michelin with two stars, and the Hungarian Bocuse d’Or gave him a life achievement award for his consistent and precise work. Platán Gourmet Restaurant represents everything that he considers his ars poetica: perseverance, respect for raw materials, faith in the future of Hungarian gastronomy, as well as the harmony of flavour and serving.
When conceiving the dishes, creating our own garden was crucial; this provides our kitchen with ingredients of a consistent quality, contributes to sustainable operation, and through its seasonality, connects us to ever-changing nature. Our vegetables and fruit appear in our dishes not only freshly picked but also preserved in various ways.
