Budapest has been ranked Europe’s most authentic food destination, achieving a score of 98 out of 100 in a SAGA survey. Within this context, Kimpton BEM Budapest has emerged as one of the city’s notable recent openings, attracting both residents and visitors through its strong focus on food. Located on the Buda side of the Danube, the hotel’s culinary direction sits under Executive Chef Attila Fehèr, who oversees three dining venues: AGOS, Bar HUSO, and FENNEN Rooftop Bar. Each offers a view of Hungarian cooking shaped through Mediterranean influence. Within a year of opening, AGOS has received two Toques from Gault&Millau and secured a place among Hungary’s Top 35 Restaurants, marking the hotel’s early impact on the city’s dining scene.
A chef shaped by place and experience
After more than ten years working in leading European kitchens, including The Berkeley and The Savoy in London, Attila Fehèr returned to Budapest to develop a style of cooking rooted in local identity while open to new ideas. At AGOS, he focuses on Hungarian flavours, local produce, and familiar recipes, reworked with techniques and ideas drawn from Mediterranean cuisine.
“For me, the goal is to dress Hungarian traditions in Mediterranean attire without either culture losing its soul” Fehèr reflects. Dishes such as Venison Wellington, made with Hungarian game and forest mushrooms, and Smoked Goat’s Cheese Panna Cotta reflect this approach. Other plates, including Lescó-Gazpacho and Bakonyi Mangalica, combine regional ingredients with a broader outlook shaped by Fehèr’s international experience.
Closing the loop in the kitchen
Sustainability forms a practical part of the kitchen’s daily work. Ingredients that are often discarded are reused through local partnerships. Used coffee grounds are dried and given to a nearby grower, who uses them to cultivate shiitake mushrooms. These mushrooms then return to the kitchen at AGOS, while the remaining grounds are composted for local vegetable farms.
Ash from the restaurant’s charcoal grill also returns to the land. Local farmers use it to enrich their soil, creating a clear cycle between the kitchen and the surrounding agricultural community.
Three Venues, One Philosophy
Each of Kimpton BEM Budapest’s dining concepts tells a different story within a shared ethos of locality and creativity :
- AGOS: Mediterranean–Hungarian signature dining, led by an award-winning Executive orChef Attila Fehér, with a focus on seasonal produce and local sourcing. Recently ranked among the Top 35 Restaurants in Hungary, AGOS showcases craftsmanship and contemporary flavour through a menu that spans traditional Hungarian dishes such as Wild Boar Goulash to Mediterranean favourites including Paella.
- Fennen Rooftop Bar & Garden: Rooftop lounge with panoramic city views, serving small plates and signature cocktails from the Pistachio Paradox (dark rum, pistachio and heavy cream) to Bitter Harmony, a tribute to Budapest made with Unicum Riserva, sweet and dry vermouth, and orange bitter. Open year-round with a curated selection of aged rums and Japanese whiskeys.
- Bar Huso: A sophisticated lobby bar and vibrant social hub of Buda, featuring award-winning mixologists, open daily till late, often hosting DJ nights.