November 13, 2025
Pink lettering on the ground floor of a new building: VOILÁ. Three guys known from Budapest’s gastro scene teamed up and filled their newly opened little Angyalföld restaurant in no time.
The space that once housed the late Figi and Lipike has a new life. The location has always been interesting: technically still suburbs, but full of fresh energy, with thirty-something young people, families with small kids, and those just shy of starting a family.
Three born-and-bred downtown figures saw the potential in a restaurant in a residential area (officially called Kassák Residence). At first glance, it could have been just an average place with plastic chairs and a standard sandwich-pastry-coffee offer, but the owners’ personalities set it apart.
Downtown vibes in Angyalföld
Renátó Kovács has long made his mark among top-rated chefs; he is the chef with two Gault&Millau chef hats at the downtown HILDA. A real cooking fanatic, you can’t chat with him for ten minutes without him starting to “recipe.” His flavors are famously deep and punchy, and at HILDA he’s been running his authorial kitchen for years. At first glance relaxed, but actually very prepared, technical gourmet line – three-year vegan master soup and one of Budapest’s best gulyás on the menu, the playfully named Gulyás Royal.
Nick Balázs may be familiar from the brunch scene, a true downtown character, owner of the Eggdrop Project and Vinyl&Wood in Gault&Millau’s POP category. The relaxed vibe, seemingly easygoing but seriously run venues, and connection to music are shared with Renátó, who also DJs in the Pest nightlife scene.
The third member is responsible for VOILÁ’s signature product: Dávid Varga, the pizza chef, also at home in the Pest nightlife scene. Naturally, he honed his skills at the original IGEN on Madách Square, then made pizzas at the cult Blitz Kitchen in the same area. A master of Neapolitan pizzas, he now crafts gourmet-style pizzas at the new spot.
It’s clear who contributed what to the new project. VOILÁ opened at the end of October and already enjoys packed tables at the unusual location. You can easily bump into cool faces inside (during our visit, a hip photographer and videographer sat at the next table, coincidentally one of the photographers for the 2025 Gault&Millau Gala). We’d call it a hipster spot if that label still holds.
Injecting the crowd
It’s not immediately obvious to passersby what the place hides: the tight menu is always promising, the naturally leavened Neapolitan pizza is no joke, and although the kitchen is small, far more serious dishes arrive than you might first expect. It’s clear this is less about self-expression than HILDA, but that’s precisely why you should try a Caesar salad or Bácskai rizses hús, both credited to Renátó Kovács.
The Neapolitan pizza selection speaks for itself. Goosebumps wordplay – Salame Hayek, Ham Solo, Cheesus Christ Superstar – gourmet toppings, super-light airy dough, with the expected black spots. Varga Dávid’s skilled hands at work.
Renátó brings his signature dirty, juicy flavors here too. With compromises, the “injection” works: instead of the originally offered, much juicier chicken drumstick alongside the Caesar salad, the health-conscious crowd requested chicken breast. Which is great: even the chicken breast is juicy, pleasantly chewy, with crispy skin, thanks to sous-vide cooking.
No need to hunt for the sausage
The menu favorite is the rakott krumpli (layered potato casserole with home-made paprika sausage, smoked Békés style) – worth dropping by even from a distance. “Rakott krumpli comes from the heart, childhood memories. I loved it, and I’m glad we managed to make it so that every bite contains all the flavors,” Renátó says.
As a kid, he tried to make sure all the sausages didn’t end up on his plate unnoticed. We all know overcooked, chewy boiled eggs in rakott krumpli. He prepares it so every bite gets a piece of roasted sausage, and only at the end does he place the six-minute cooked egg, so it’s not rubbery. The base is a French-style gratin potato, with milk and cream, juicy, with 2-3 mm thinly sliced potatoes. Quite a substantial dish, considering the sausage and cream plus the 3.5% milk fat. And there’s also sour cream, homemade style. From Mezőberény, they source real thick Békés-style paprika sausage from an excellent producer. Already, it’s clear this dish will stay on the menu.
Well-chosen drinks, kombucha in jars, specialty coffee – just as you’d expect in such a spot. It’s great to see quality kitchens finding their audience beyond the downtown circles, even if they sometimes deliver farther out.
Photo by Balázs Ladóczki
