Titusz Review – Hungarian Cuisine at Its Finest

Titusz is a Taste of Hungary in Pittsburgh

The dining space itself has been beautifully transformed from its former life as Merchant Oyster Co. The space pops with bright colors, from the yellow tiled bartop to the bright blue wooden benches. The upstairs level features a second bar and additional seating, with an open view to the lower level. Every detail has been thought of in terms of the design and decor (ceramics in the windows! painted details on the steps!), which makes the place feel inviting and special.

The drink menu features unique cocktails with ingredients that lean towards floral, herbal, and fruity flavors that evoke Eastern Europe. Take the O' Sweet Bird, for example, which features Szamorodni Szaraz (a special Hungarian wine), an Austrian vermouth, pear, and peach bitters. We enjoyed this one with its touch of savoriness balanced by a hint of fruitiness.

We also tried the Morning Fair, Night Sky with rye, sweet vermouth, China-China, Unicum (a Hungarian bitter/herbal liqueur), and absinthe. With its spirit forward nature and herbal and anise notes, this drink was delicious and reminded us of a sazerac.

The wine menu is special and one of the most unique in the city, focusing on Austrian and Hungarian producers. Given the wine program is led by Sean Rosenkrans, one of the most knowledgeable wine people in the city, this comes as no surprise.

You'll find lots of wines with grapes that are special to the region with hard to pronounce names, but don't let that deter you – the staff is very knowledgeable and happy to help you pick out the perfect bottle or glass. We particularly enjoyed our glasses of Kadarka (a lighter, juicier red reminiscent of Pinot Noir) and Bikaver (a more full-bodied, tannic red with black fruit and floral notes).

As for the food menu, it is smaller and focused, which we appreciate – it's split up into Staples, Seasonals, and Mains. The staples include things like liptauer (an Austrian cheese spread), erdapfelsalat (potato salad), and seasonal pickles. We couldn't pass up starting off with the kaspressknodel and the langos.

The kaspressknodel are cheese dumplings served in a charred leek and sauerkraut broth. The dumplings themselves were pan fried to golden perfection with a crispy exterior and gooey, melty, cheesy interior. The broth they were served with tasted like a more complex onion soup in all the best ways – it was rich with a dominant leek flavor and a hint of tanginess from the sauerkraut.

The langos was one of our favorite dishes of the meal – fried potato bread was topped with topfen (a soft, fresh cheese), goat gouda, pea shoots, and dill. The potato bread was so light and delicate with an amazing crispy, pillowy texture.

The topfen had a creamy, slightly tangy texture like yogurt, while the shredded goat gouda brought a sharper flavor and funk. The crisp pea shoots and plentiful dill finished it all off with bright, fresh flavors. Delicious!

We tried the seasonal ramp soup as an interlude, and the kitchen was kind enough to split the soup into two portions so we could share. The soup was served chilled, ideal for the warm spring weather. It was a beautiful bright green with a mushroom broth and topped with sour ream, a crouton, and dill oil. The ramp flavor really came through and was the perfect ode to spring.

For mains, we shared the chicken paprikas and the roasted duck leg (although we had a hard time deciding, considering the other options included stuffed cabbage, tafelspitz, and walleye).

The chicken paprikas was a large half chicken, braised and served on top of nokedli (a pasta similar to spatzle) with cucumber salad and sour cream. The chicken itself was fall-apart tender and was smothered in the warming, earthy paprika sauce. The nokedli had a toothsome bite and were likewise an excellent vehicle for the sauce. The crunch and freshness of the cucumbers and sour cream on top was a nice contrast.

The roasted duck leg was served with polenta and an apricot-riesling reduction. While the duck itself was maybe a touch overcooked, the accompaniments on this dish blew our minds. The creamy polenta was perfectly seasoned and the apricot-riesling sauce was rich but balanced by the acidity of the wine and the fruitiness of the apricots. I would put this sauce on everything, if I could!

For dessert, two of the options sounded delicious but contained nuts (a sour cherry cheesecake and a chocolate chestnut cake), so we tried the violet sorbet with creme de violette and champagne. Violet is not normally a flavor I lean towards but it was integrated and balanced by the acid from the champagne, and the sorbet texture was deliciously smooth.

Don't overlook the after dinner drink menu here – there is an extensive list of schnapps, palinka, brandy, and eau de vie with all kinds of different fruit flavors. But, being wine nerds ourselves, our eyes immediately locked on the Tokaji Eszencia.

This wine is incredibly special and before this meal we had never tried it nor seen it on a menu anywhere, ever. Tokaji Eszencia is a very rare type of botrytized wine, only made in certain years when the harvest conditions are right. There is so much sugar in the juice from these grapes that the wine ferments very slowly, up to a decade or longer. The result is a very sweet, viscous, and expensive wine with a deep, dark brown color bursting with fig and molasses notes. We thoroughly enjoyed our splurge on a taste of this special wine.

We know Titusz is just getting started, but it's already making its mark on the Pittsburgh dining scene. We can't wait to return and try the other mains we missed, to see how the seasonal plates evolve over the summer, and, of course, to sip on outstanding cocktails and wine.

Titusz is located at 4129 Butler Street in Lawrenceville.