On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: Mediterranean
412 Market StMon-Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Loading...
First off, I thought a French and Hungarian food restaurant was kinda weird? maybe they go hand in hand, who knows. But, it was great so it didn't matter! The head guy there I thought was a bit grouchy... but then he came over and talked to us for a bit and he was HYSTERICAL. In this quiet, but passionate, voice he talked about some random fish he had in Pakistan once, and then went on about other stuff... randomness... he was a hoot!
I got a shrimp kebab with veggies and jasmine rice. The shrimp was quite big, yet still had a nice texture- lot's of over sized shrimp gets too chewy sometimes. It was special shrimp from a secret bay in Vietman, or so said the waiter. and the spices on it was YUMMY! a nice combination of heat and flavor. My friend had a beef kabob, and the marinade was faaantastic! serious flavor in both plates. I was too full for dessert this time, but DEF having it second time round.
I totally recommend this place. The location is not that great. and I'm sure people pass by it all the time and don't even realize it's there in Brighton Center. So, check it out!
After a long day at work, my BF and I decided to stroll over to Jasmine Bistro for a quiet dinner to unwind and relax. We were graciously welcomes by the owner and his son who bent over backwards to make us feel welcome.
When we sat down I was mad starving so I ordered up the cucumber salad to tide me over while I perused the menu.. Boy oh boy..was it delish!! Crunchy, sweet, vinegar goodness topped with sour cream that tasted more like rich creme fraiche when it was combined with the cucumbers.
Once we were ready to make a selection the owner guided us toward dishes he recommended. I had the Chicken Paprikas with spaetzle (one of my all time fave carbs) and BF had the Curried Chicken...Both were amazingly good and we appreciated the owner's help in our selections.
On to dessert. That was a feast for the eyes and taste buds...Apparently his other son is an extraordinary baker turning out exquisite morsels. I had a wonderful creamy pumpkin cheesecake pastry topped with oodles of whipped cream. The BF had a decadent chocolate number that vanished before I could really see what it was.
I would highly recommend this restaurant for both the food and the ambience. We will be baaackkk!!
This place was so highly rated here and just a short walk from my apartment, so of course I had to try it. I invited my parents, sister and grandmother for dinner since it is my mom's birthday and we all had an amazing time.
I had made a reservation earlier in the week and the owner remembered my name and was very polite to us. They have a rotating wine list which he was very familiar with and recommended a wonderful Hungarian red wine which we all had a glass of.
Appetizers:
Clam Chowder
Cucumber Salad
My mom and I opted for the cuke salad and it was wonderful, lightly seasoned with some sour cream and paprika.
The clam chowder was not like a typical "Boston" chowder, I had some of my sister's and it had a really great kick to it, lots of clams.
The appetizers were all perfectly portioned and served with toasted garlic bread which was delicious and very fresh.
Entrees:
Lamb special with figs
Jumbo Shrimp Curry
Chicken Forestier
Both my parents had the lamb and it looked like a beautiful cut, perfectly cooked too. And there was plenty left for tomorrow, the portions were very generous.
My sister and I both had the shrimp which really were jumbo. The curry sauce they were served over with rice was to die for, well flavored but not too spicy.
My grandmother had the chicken over spaetzle which looked amazing.
The service here is really what gets the great review. The owner was very attentive, made excellent recommendations and had an appropriate amount of conversation, polite without being overbearing.
I was sad to not have any room for dessert it all looked so amazing. His son makes all of the pastries, I will have to go back just for that!!
Go here. I went with my dad last night and it was soo amazing! Warm, cozy atmosphere, engaging, sweet staff, and the food... brilliant! We got the escargot (great bread dipping for after) and wasabi shrimp for apps, delicious. Fabulous service. We enjoyed an amazing malbec, which went great (after the recommdation) with the Chicken Paprikas, and my dad got a lamb special and loved it. A wonderful experience all around.
When I heard there was a Hungarian/French restaurant in Brighton, I was beyond excited. My grandfather was Hungarian and would often cook for me....I miss his meals :( I've been here twice, and both times, LOVED my meal. It's a tiny place, but the food was great.
I had the chicken paprikas as my entree....it was so flavorful and the noodles melted in my mouth. Brought my dad here (his father was the Hungarian) and he loved it as well! Just remember the steps as someone else pointed out in their review as it can be a dangerous drop lol
We enjoyed a meal here this past Saturday night. This is a unique little restaurant. The owner and his son were waiting tables. They are both very friendly, laid back and welcoming. Definitely a good date restaurant. Having a shared parking lot in the back was nice.
The Chilean Pinot Noir was great at about $7 glass. We got a gratis refill as well to leave us with a happy buzz.
For an app we shared the Escargot which was perfect with little roasted garlic bits mixed into the butter. The complimentary garlic bread was great. I think that adds Italian to the mix in this French/Hungarian/Pakistani restaurant.
For entrees we had The lamb with pears and also the veal. The veal was very nice with a sauce I would describe as Pakistani. The lamb was ordered medium and served rare. The ends were great but the middle was too tough.
For dessert we had the Chocolate mouse cake. Excellent.
We will definitely return to this place soon and try some different dishes.
We are upping the rating to five stars. Just came back from another wonder meal and experience at Jasmine. Here is a quick listing of what we had.
Appetizers:
Caesar Salad
Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with ginger wasabi sauce
Grilled garlic bread (complimentary)
Main Course:
Beef Strogonoff
Wiener Schnitzel
Grill Lamb with pear and fig sauce
My son always has the Strogi and it is always grilled to perfection with a delicious creamy mushroom sauce. And as previously suggested, this is still the best Schnitzel I have tasted in this country (the best one was in Austria). The veal was pounded thin with a light bread crumb batter coating fried to perfection. The lamb was delicious, but a little over done tonight. This was the third time my wife ordered this dish. The most expensive dish was the lamb at around $22. This place is a bargain.
But this "family affair" really tugs at my heart strings. This is a wonderful family and a superb restaurant offering outstanding value and an old world Hungarian and French cuisine that is increasingly rare in this town.
As I reflect on our 10+ years of experience coming to this place. Jasmine has not lost any of its mojo.
Wife and I been coming here for about 10 years and now with a 6 yo in tow we still try to get here… Read more »
Yummy, but expensive!
I have been looking forward to going here for a long time-- highly recommended from friends, nice neighborhood place. So the day I passed the Nurse Practitioner certification exam, I requested my fiance take me here to celebrate.
Walked in, was expecting to feel like I was welcomed into someones home, but instead felt like the awkward third wheel at a cocktail party. A walk through the kitchen, with a slight glare from the cook, to the restroom solidified that feeling.
OK, well, I am here for the food. Asked for the wine list- hold on, let me get the owner. He had a bottle of red and a bottle of white open, or a whole bottle of something he really didn't want to tell us much about. OK, I get it. I am at his house, whatever is open is fine. Odd in a restaurant, but I am willing to go with it. My white was warm. Ugh.
Garlic bread- warm, with a unique sweetness. Delicious.
Me: Mix Vegetable Paprikas-- spaetzle melted in my mouth- buttery and a texture similar to good gnocchi. The paprikas sauce tasted rather close to an indian curry.
Fiance: Beef Stroganoff-- Sauce was "the best stroganoff sauce I have ever had" but the meat seemed like a mediocre cut, a bit fatty and stringy.
After dinner, owner was making his way around the restaurant, chatting sweetly with each table. He came to ours. This was the welcome I was looking for! Asked if we wanted dessert- no thank you, very full from a delicious dinner. Asked if we wanted coffee- no thank you. OK, he leaves. I was very much looking forward to meeting the owner and feeling more comfortable in his "house," but I was left yet again feeling awkward. And apparently I wasn't following the rules or something.
Bill comes. About 30 bucks. Not too shabby.
Fiance checks his debit card online later in the week- he charged us $50. We call Jasmine Bistro, he remembered us...well, you had wine. It wasn't in the bill. I was going to take it out of the waitresses tips, but instead I charged you more. Hmmph. I feel bad for the waitress, but that is clearly illegal since we only signed for the original amount. . My fiance told him that this was illegal, but he never offered to take it off our bill and he never apologized for committing an illegal act instead of eating the mistake his staff made. We certainly don't mind paying for what we ordered, this was just a terrible way to do "business",
Overall... awkward, but yummy dinner, with a final bitter taste of damn crooked owner with no sense of right and wrong, He could have eaten the 4 dollars he lost in 2 glasses of wine, but instead he opted to lose out on hundreds if not thousands of dollars of our business because we'll never go back.
My final recommendation, if you go, use your credit card.
We just had the loveliest, yummiest evening here! I would give them 5+ stars. The food was excellent and interesting. We only had the Hungarian dishes, but they all were fantastic. The beef stroganoff was the best I've ever had. There was something a little different and special about it. I asked, and apparently they use their own 15-spice mix of hand-ground spices. The paprikas sauce is also delicious - a great mix of red pepper base, something spicier, garlic, and who knows what else. All I know is I like to eat it. The wine list is small, but the one we tried was good, and they're all very reasonably priced.
But the best part of this restaurant is the experience. It's family-run and owned, and the family seems to love to chat with customers. They're fun and knowledgeable about food, and clearly love what they do. It shows in the food and in the ambiance. I left feeling very happy.
Although I ate here a few weeks ago, I still remember it to be one of the most unique and suprisingly delicious experiences I've ever had. The soup was amazing. The shrimp had the perfect texture, crunchy/grilled on the outside, and sweet/succulent on the inside. The sauce that the lamb was in was divine.
Ive been coming here for years and am always pleased with the food and service. This is a family run casual fine dining restaurant. The chef used to be the executive chef at Cafe Budapest in Copley Square. The food is a mix of French, Hungarian, and Middle Eastern. My favorites are the eggplant appetizer and the Filet de boeuf a la Rossini. It's not an "authentic" Rossini with the truffles and foie gras, but the sauce is absolutely delicious. I've also tried the Schnitzel with spaetzle, which is fantastic. The owner's son is a also the pastry chef. All the desserts are made in house. Love the creme brulee. The wine list is reasonably priced, and don't be afraid to ask for a recommendation. The owner may also be your waiter, so he knows everything about the dishes and can match the wine for you.
Anyone near Washington Square has to check this place out, if not for the food for the personalities! The Owner is a huge talker (ask him why his painting has a hole in it) and his son is a friendly guy as well.
The menu is interesting with French, Hungarian, Middle Eastern, and vegetarian options. I had a really difficult time deciding! We went for the lamb special with pear and fig sauce (sweet and rich sauce) and the saffron chicken curry (perfectly spicy). Our shrimp appetizer had three HUGE shrimps though they were just grilled and covered with sauce not marinated. Portions are non-American sized with enough to fill you up but not enough to take home leftovers. About the same size portions and same sort of menu as Helmand in Cambridge.
The decor is homey (like I said, ask about the hole) and the restaurant is as romantic in the way that Cormelia's is romantic; as romantic as a restaurant where the cook loudly states "OH, too blOOdy" when your medium steak is clearly rare. This is definitely a hole-in-the-wall gem with a lot of personality and we will certainly be coming back.
Also of note, the owner lowered the prices recently because of the economy. Meals run around $16.
One of the most unique and special dining experiences I've ever had anywhere. (And all thanks to Yelp! Hooray!)
My mom and dad were here last weekend, and my dad and I wanted to take my mom out somewhere nice for Mother's Day. My dad reccommended the Cafe Budapest, but when I yelped it, I saw it was closed but the chef had opened his own place!
So, we reserved a table and came here on a Saturday night. The Chef was our waiter, giving us all the details of the specials, his cooking process, and helping us pair our dinner with the perfect wine. As someone who's learning how to cook, it was a wonderful chance for me to get a lesson in flavor mix-ology. Educational and delicious!
The menu itself is a combination of Hungarian, French, and Middle-Eastern cuisine, each with its own section of the menu. The descriptions of the food are quite detailed. Each item we ordered was skillfully prepared with great attention to detail.
We began with a cucumber salad; gently sweet-pickled cucumber slices with a sour cream and paprika garnish. The tastes perfectly balanced each other in this simple dish.
We followed with the soup of the day; a corn and shrimp bisque that was so good we sopped the bowl clean with our table's complimentary garlic bread.
Our entrees continued the winning streak. I ordered a lamb special with sweet fig and pear garnish. My dad ordered the chicken paprikas on soft spetzel noodles. My mom picked the outstanding salmon filet special.
And we had room for desert! We shared a FANTASTIC marscapone/chocolate mousse and kulfi (cardamon-flavored) ice cream.
Basically, you're getting five-star dining in an intimate and casual setting. It's an incredible meal and incredible experience. This place is such a blessing for Brighton and is worth the trip from anywhere in the Boston Metro area.
Loved this place. The food was amazing, the service was great. Nice, cozy atmosphere. Definitely a little cramped, but it's a great date restaurant. The food is definitely rich and well prepared.
Oh, man, this was BAD. I actually just joined YELP specifically to review this place.
First of all, to all of you who are saying how good this place is, please PLEASE know something: this is NOT Hungarian food!!! My father is originally from Hungary and I thought it would be fun to take him to this place for some home cookin'. It was SO disappointing - it was almost like curry, and not at all Hungarian. Real Hungarian food is SO good - I can't believe this restaurant is perpetrating this farce. I really am so upset and angry that a restaurant would try to fool people like this.
Second, not only was the service very slow (it took an hour and 45 minutes for our food to come) but when I asked the waiter if the food would be coming soon (everyone in the restaurant who arrived after us was served first) he was inexcusibly rude - he said that if I was that hungry next time I came I should call ahead first (!!!) and then when I said that it wouldn't have been a big deal if someone had just come over periodically to say what the deal was with the food he actually cut me off halfway through what I was saying and actually said "whatever" to me, like a petulant teenager.
He did realize his mistake and came over to apologize profusely, but again, it really didn't make up for the fact that we waited almost 2 hours for food that is NOT HUNGARIAN.
Thank you, that is all.
A unique combination of fine-dining Hungarian, French, and Baluchistani dishes in a Brighton Center storefront.
The chef/owner hails from Baluchistan (in western Pakistan), apprenticed in swank Parisian restaurants, and cheffed at Boston's late, beloved Cafe Budapest before opening his own place. This helps explain the one-of-a-kind eclecticism of this menu: classic French dishes, Hungarian food, and Baluchistani specialties, which by turns will remind you of Persian and Afghan cuisine.
This truly is a family-run place, the owner's sons having assumed most cooking and serving duties. Boston is really short on Central European restaurants, and the Hungarian dishes, rich and complexly spiced, are stunning: veal paprikash, beef gulyash, Wiener schnitzel topped with a fried egg and anchovies. For all the butter and sour cream in use, this is surprisingly light eating: the "noodles" underneath many dishes are more like tiny, airy gnocchi or spaeztle.
I'm glad I've come back enough times to want to get beyond the Hungarian and French dishes: the kebabs and curries are also superb. With most entrees under $20, this is a small treasure in a neighborhood with few alternatives to pedestrian pub grub. It's prettier than you'd expect for a modest storefront, too.
I live down the street from this Jasmine Bistro. It's *NOT* Hungarian food at all! Just because you add paprika to cucumbers does *NOT* equate to Hungarian food! I have a Romanian friend who's lived in Budapest for many years, and she told me that Jasmine Bistro's food is *NOT* authentic at all.
Moreover, the owner, although he's polite, doesn't know anything about the Hungarian language or that much of the culture. The owner is from Pakistan who disparages Indians to us. His food is more Indian/Pakistani than Hungarian. What kind of gimmick is this?
This is my favorite place for a date.
It's small, with maybe 7 tables. The staff is all family and remember me every time (which is not as often as I would like).
The menu is Middle Eastern, French, and Hungarian. Yes, an odd mix, but it is all excellent. Personally, I go for the Hungarian.
The menu doesnt change much, if at all, but the specials are always fantastic.
For a small neighborhood place, it is just upscale enough to make you feel like you are Dining Out (note capitals).
An excellent wine list as well, and the prices are reasonable by the bottle. Not the usual 200% mark ups.
I love the Jasmine Bistro....if I had more time I'd go on and on.
The food was mediocre at best (very greasy and the mushroom sauce that came with the schnitzel was very salty and it had marsala or cooking sherry -- very non-Hungarian), the Hungarian foods are not authentic (or anywhere near authentic... the rice had spices that never happen in Hungarian food...) and now I am sitting in my apartment trying to delay the vomiting that I feel is coming on. I just hope it's not from the mushrooms (that would be really bad).
On top of all this marvelousness, the owner/host or whatever he is was loud, pushy, and obnoxious. He was rude to the guests near us, very pushy about wine service (but didn't have a wine list -- just tried to get you to buy whatever he had open bottles of). When we walked in we were asked if we had reservations (but others didn't). How would you need reservations to a place where your host is wearing a green t-shirt and speaking at an excessively high volume (wayyyy inappropriate for the intimate dining others describe). Furthermore, there was some loud bass and treble sound coming either from next door or from the kitchen -- it made focusing on conversation very difficult.
But maybe I'm just a food fanatic so if my "Hungarian entree" is $15, I'm going to get pissed if it doesn't taste good.
For good Hungarian food, take the time to go on a bus trip to NY ($15 each way) and enjoy an authentic restaurant perhaps... somewhere where 20 cent cucumber salads are not pitched as a $5 appetizer (seriously folks it's sliced cucumbers that met some vinegar, water, and sugar and then got put on a plate with a little paprika and sour cream on top). It's nothing special and this is definitely not the type of restaurant menu filler Hungarian food you want.
Please do yourself a favor and skip this place. I am not sure why so many people rate it so high...
And p.s., if you do go, please watch your step when exiting the restaurant (especially if you're in a hurry) or you'll fall down the steps and be even unhappier...
I was most impressed by the service! The staff took a lot of time to make recommendations and discuss the dishes. The food was good. I don't think I'd go as far as to say it's the best in Boston but I'm giving it 5 stars because it was well worth the price. Definitely the best option in Brighton.
I went here for Vday, so you know that the price is jacked up for a couple's prix fixe. For a three course meal with red wine it was one benjamin. Despite the price, I do have to say that this place has quite the homey yet exquisite charm about it. The decor is warm, inviting and intimate. In accordance with what other Yelpers said, the owner is quite gregarious and likes to chat it up with his customers. I think what I like most about this place besides the food, of course, is that they don't rush you out of the restaurant to fill their tables. You can just sit and enjoy the place for a long time.
On to the food: for the entrees, we had the scallops and a dish of lamb. The sauces are impeccable and really deserve most of the credit for robust flavors. We had two main dishes: sea bass and the steak. The sea bass was quite delicious and nothing to complain about. However, the steak was a bit chewy for my tastes so I must mark Jasmine Bistro down for that. The desserts that night were little cakes with different fillings.
Not bad, not bad. I'll be back.
JOYA....a hidden gem
Small, cozy bistro that is family owned and managed......these types of restaurants are a rare find in the US but more common in Europe. The menu was very interesting and reflects the diversity of the family which is Hungarian and Pakistani. The waiter was extremely friendly and helpful. The food was good but the ambience is what makes this restaurant.
THE FOOD IS AMAZING! The owners are friendly and knowledgeable. The place is small and intimate. I went with my family and they loved it. I'll definitely take guests visiting the Boston area there again. So good!
I wanna give it 3.5 stars or 3.75, but I am feeling good today, so I am bumping to 4. I had been wanting to go here for awhile because this is the first restaurant in Boston area that I had seen that has Hungarian food. Intrigued by the French/Hungarian combo we went. First I have to say that the inside is not what I expect. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it was a lot smaller and cluttered than I expected. It seemed from the outside to be more fine dining (not dress up fine dining, but you know that in the middle). In some degrees it was, but others not so much. The walls are like a rose pink color and the decor is a mixture of fake Renoir paintings and real photos of the owner and family and the owner and patrons. The one thing that made me consider putting it at 3.5 (yes, I know there are no half stars on Yelp) was that my tablecloth was noticeably dirty. It had chunks of food still stuck to it and the fact that my fork was resting on said tablecloth grossed me out a little.
Aside from that I believe that our owner was the waiter. He was extremely nice (albeit slightly weird) and attentive. The menu is split between the Hungarian options, French options, Middle Eastern options, and a few Asian options. The addition of the Middle Eastern options may have been because the owner is from nearby Pakistan (read that in a Yelp review), but the Asian options I didn't quite understand. I got a vegetarian Hungarian option (paprika, spetzel, veggies), which was very, very good. New flavors in my mouth!! I was impressed and pleased with my food, as was my fiance.
All in all a good experience. Not great or exactly what I was expecting, but good. I was glad to go an experience a new type of food that I have never had before.
I've lived in Boston most of my life: This is the best restaurant in Boston.
It's a five-star top-of-the-line restaurant in terms of food, wine, and dessert quality, but it's priced between $15-30/entree. I've rented out the place for birthdays, etc, and they bent over backwards - custom menus, special dessert, etc.
Basically, when I'm here I feel like an old friend, and I'm treated like family. I don't think this is anything special about me - I think this is how most people will feel after eating here. Truly, this is the best restaurant around (quality, atmosphere, price/quality).
Nicest dining experience I've ever had in Brighton and possible anywhere. We walked in the door and were instantly greeted by the owner. It was a tad late on a Friday night and the owner decided to be our waiter. His charming table side manner was the perfect complement to the romantic setting. We had the salmon and the lamb along with a bottle of wine hand picked by the owner himself. Overall just a wonderful dining experience, perfect for a nice evening out, special occasion, or when you really want to wow that special someone. A bit on the pricey side (our bottle of wine helped the total bill top 3 digits) but a good value for a special night. I have only 2 regrets ... 1) we didn't leave room for any of the wonderful desserts made on the premise and 2) we haven't been back yet. I plan to rectify both of those soon!
There are many good things about this restaurant...parking in the back, friendly staff, and the bread! I went with a large group. We were the only ones in the restaurant for the entire night so that's probably why service was so good. But they didn't have many things...lamb, wine, beer. They ran out of everything! The food was just ok and it was my birthday so the waiters brought out dessert. We had not asked for it so we thought they were just being really nice. then we looked at the bill and they charged us $36 for it! I wanted to complain, but my friends didn't want to ruin the night. I have good friends!
Be prepared for attentive but not annoying service, carefully prepared dishes, of course, and very nice atmosphere. The staff is happy to tell you anything about everything, and is great for a first date. This place is a great hidden gem, in the middle of Brighton Centre. I don't know why I am not there more often. The owners/chefs are knowledgable and kind enough not to give you a bad deal or a bad meal.
Great menu, food was very tasty and perfectly cooked. Service was very very friendly and helpful
What an unlikely location for an incredible French/Hungarian restaurant! You are definitely transported to the "old-world" when you walk through the door. The ambiance is cozy and somewhat romantic, making this a great place for a third or fourth date with someone who knows good food.
A hidden jem in Brighton. Great food & service. Much more upscale than most neighborhood restaurants.
This is a great resteraunt with great middle eastern food
Thanksgiving Week Prix Fixe
Neighborhood: Back Bay
15 % Discount for Yelpers
Neighborhood: Back Bay
Neighborhood: Beacon Hill
Category: Restaurants
Brighton, MA
Category: Spanish
Brighton, MA
Category: Sushi Bars
Somerville, MA
Category: Spanish
Brighton, MA
Category: Thai
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
No burgers and fries in this list. All places…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Where I go when I just want to walk or get…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
