Christmas Above the City - Levente Lendvai's Festive narrative chef's selection

In the final weeks of the year, time slows down. We turn inward and make more time for one another. At VIRTU, the kitchen sets the table for Christmas 28 floors above the glittering lights of Budapest. Executive Chef Levente Lendvai’s festive menu brings old-world elegance and family tradition together, giving the staples of a Hungarian Christmas table a refined, contemporary expression. Fish, cabbage, game and a walnut dessert each have their place in a dinner worth dressing up for, made for the moments that matter most this season.

The evening opens, as tradition dictates, with fish. VIRTU serves smoked sturgeon, the aristocrat of Hungarian waters. Silky cream cheese complements the fish’s firm texture and clean flavour, while the delicate tang of grape capers and the crisp freshness of cucumber give the dinner an elegant start.

Next comes stuffed cabbage, a dish few Hungarian families would imagine Christmas without. The VIRTU kitchen gives this familiar favourite a bold twist, pairing richly marbled Mangalica pork with the delicate sweetness of prawns. Silky smoked buttermilk and the aromatic lift of fresh lovage round out the familiar tang and smokiness. The dish feels at home in both a grandmother’s kitchen and a modern fine-dining restaurant.

The main course celebrates the abundance of the season and the quiet grandeur of Hungary’s forests. Tender roe deer loin from Gemenc, cooked to perfection, captures the deep, clean flavours of the winter woodland. Soft sweet potato and fragrant, umami-rich porcini mushrooms complete a richly flavoured dish worthy of the Christmas table.

The final course evokes the grand drawing rooms of Pest and the Christmases of a bygone era. The rich walnut layers of the iconic Esterházy cake are lifted by the tartness and deep spice of green walnut liqueur, giving the classic dessert a contemporary finish. It’s an elegant, unmistakably Hungarian farewell to the year, high above the city.

Starter

Smoked sturgeon with cream cheese, grape capers and cucumber

Warm Starter

Stuffed cabbage with Mangalica pork, prawns, smoked buttermilk and fresh lovage

Main Course

Venison from Gemenc with sweet potato and porcini mushrooms

Dessert

Eszterházy cake with green walnut liqueur