Magyar Hungarian Restaurant Manila

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Magyar Restaurant is the first Hungarian restaurant in the Philippines, and its just a stone’s throw away in Magallanes. The first thing that comes to my mind when anyone mentions Hungarian cuisine are the sausages.

Entering the place, you’ll immediately notice the water feature that serves as a break between the entrance and the main dining area. It immediately brings a sense of calm, with the nice water sound. As we were led to our table, we were given a notebook like thing which  serves a cross between a scrapbook and a menu. It has lots of nice pictures of the food as well as tidbits and history of the culture and the dishes.

We decided to order a Lamb Goulash (P290), good thing they had many different meats and even a vegetarian version since the traditional goulash uses beef and Irene does not eat beef.. It is presented beautifully, with the bowl being hung above a tea light to preserve the heat. Their version of goulash is more on the soupy side, but it was flavorful, the paprika taste is very evident throughout. As you slowly eat the goulash, it become slightly thicker as it simmers above the candle.

We also saw an interesting thing on the menu, Langos (P110), which is a fried potato bread topped with sour cream, garlic butter and cheese. We were quite surprised with the size of the two pieces of bread (almost as big as my hand) as well as the plentiful toppings. I’ve never tasted potato bread and it was chewy and savory. It was not oily despite being fried. The sour cream and cheese complimented it perfectly, giving it a yin/yang of flavors.

The last of our choices was Pork Porkolt (P275), a stew made with peppers, tomatoes and onions. The taste of this dish is quite similar to the goulash owing to some of their similar ingredients like the tomatoes giving it same hue. We wouldn’t order this and goulash together next time we eat here. Good thing the Spaetzle siding was a winner in our taste buds. The pasta like things made with eggs and flour, served as a perfect foil for the savory pork stew. We thought of putting them into the goulash next time.

It took quite a while before we came and tried out the place even though it was just near my daughter’s school and we pass by it everyday. I’m so happy to move away from the concept of Hungarian cuisine being just sausages and now exposed to a whole new culture through their food.

Magyar Hungarian Restaurant
Unit 3, Maga Center,
Paseo De Magallanes, Makati
853.1397 / 852.0376

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