Located inside Budapest’s Palace District, Fiktív is the kind of restaurant where fermentation-themed books line the bookshelf and a small food lab hides on the upstairs. By the end of the tasting menu dinner, diners will have familiarized themselves with fermented juices, starter cultures, and a range of refined and bright tasting dishes. I was especially taken with the golden beets and buckwheat variations with horseradish and mint leaves, and the collagen-rich beef tartare ravioli sitting in a kefir-spiked sauce and sprinkled with citrus peels.

The passionate and kind servers create a relaxed atmosphere (the dessert courses are served upstairs, in plush armchairs). The wine and non-alcoholic drinks, served by sommelier Orsolya Kovács, feature Tokaj pezsgő and szamorodni, German riesling, Australian natural wine, homemade kombucha, Japanese sake, hops-filled fermented rice juice, and other inventive choices. The 10-course tasting menu runs €100 plus €50 for the drinks pairing.

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