Reset: Rock ‘n’ roll cuisine hits a few wrong notes

Dining Out :

Reset goes against the grain of Belgrade’s conventional food offerings, which is great. Pity, then, that the heavy-duty mains don’t quite live up to the ‘gastro club’ billing.

Food Review:

Belgrade’s restaurant scene is colourful but quite conventional at the same time. Catering for the majority is the order of the day, original points scoring all too rarely. Introducing something new has always been hard and brave, so we were happy to find a place that has one basic goal – going against the grain under a name that says it all: “Reset”.

This wild child was conceived by two partners, Peđa and Zeka. They themselves do not call it a restaurant, but a gastro club.  Their concept is a mix of a restaurant, a nightclub and art gallery. All of that packed into a tiny space, tucked away in the central Dorćol area, in a side alley crossing Kralja Petra street. 

The place is hard to spot from the outside.  So, if you are curious about the boundaries they claim to have re-set, look for a door with two cows and make a reservation. The place is not hugely popular but because of its small size, booking makes sense.

Reset promotes its food as “rock-and-roll cuisine”, and the interior has a “Rebel Without a Cause” feel. The realization of this bold idea is a bit dodgy at times, however. It is actually a cross between a simple kafana with standard checked pattern tablecloths and a stripped-down nightclub, fit for a demo bend and their tipsy teenage crowd. The atmosphere is suitably casual and the staff warm and friendly. Unfortunately, as happens in such places, the ad-hoc approach is also visible on their website – badly structured and not recently updated. It all makes you wonder whether the food is going to be fantastic or a disaster.

In a place like this, don’t expect a regular menu. It changes daily, depending on what’s on offer in the markets and on the inspiration of chef Zeka.  Having lived in France, most of his creations derive from French cuisine. He pays a visit to every table after the drinks arrive, so everyone can negotiate their meal directly with the man in charge. There is also a more conventional daily menu, however, and the possibility of signing up for their email newsletter, which has the menu of the day on it.

Part of Reset’s concept is affordable food, and it still is on the cheap side, although prices have risen ever since they opened. Right now all starters are 350 dinars and all the mains 900.

We tried all the starters on offer, and they were (both) fantastic.  “Sexy” pies with goat’s cheese, figs and aromatic herbs were just as sexy as announced – a thin, fluffy, crispy shell of pastry balancing the contrast between strong goat’s cheese and sweet, sensual figs, with just a hint of hotness from the herbs.  Homemade venison pate was also strong but great nicely complemented with fruit chutney. We’d just started to catch the rock-and-roll feel and if only they could keep the rhythm we’d be partying into the night… but it wasn’t meant to be.

The time we visited, there were five or six main dishes to choose from. Our first choice was veal cooked with orange – a one-pot dish, also containing new potatoes, carrots and spinach. An interesting and nicely cooked dish, but so dominated by the orange aroma and sweetness that the rest of the flavours were lost. 

Another main, homemade beef sausages (Zeka’s recepe), served with fried potatoes, was commendable. Veal cutlets were enjoyable, but came topped with a seasonal mushroom sauce that was too dense and buttery.

Crème brulée with chocolate was the only sweet thing around. It sounded great, but turned to be the biggest disappointment of the evening. It was a basic, simple chocolate pudding with an attempt at a caramelized crust on the top – not inedible, but not worthy of a good restaurant, and certainly not living up to the good name of crème brulée.

To sum up, everything we tasted was a little strong and heavy. And while the pies, pâté and sausages benefited from this, the rest of the food could benefit from a more delicate approach.

In many ways, Reset is like a talented and rebellious teenager. It has the energy and creativity to bring something new to the Belgrade restaurant scene. But there is still some learning to be done and room for improvement. However, the potential is there, and we will be interested to follow their progress. As for now, Reset is a good choice for some casual food and drinks with old friends.

Wine Review:

The gastro club “Reset” in Dorćol is a place with more than a whiff of home atmosphere, somewhat disturbed when someone new like us comes in. But this is just the first impression. Immediately, host Peđa and chef Zeka show you that hospitality is their middle name.

I have always had the philosophy to look for what the restaurant offers, including the wine list, and not for what I might want in that very moment.

And that kind of thinking saved my day this time. I have my own favorite wines and faithful bottles in the rack back at home, so I easily went with the flow nicely set by the ‘Reset’ kitchen; based on fresh ingredients and a certain twist to the ordinary offer which can be found in most of the restaurants in Belgrade. 

However, the wine list is not long or well developed here. In fact, it is almost non-existent. You can only find house wine, which at least comes from Mačkov podrum, a well-established producer from Fruška gora whose quality has been proven in the last few years.

Following that line, wines are served in “ordinary” glasses, confirming that this is not the place for wine lovers. 

On the other hand, the local rakija is not to be missed, and you can not only drink them with appetizers, but I would recommend them with the main dishes as well.

Apart from the usual suspects such as plum, quince, apricot or pear, Reset says it offers orange, elderberry and carob as well. However, we ran out of luck as they’d run out of them when we were there, so hopefully we can try them next time.

With no intention to take anything away from the considerable glory of the kitchen, it is rather disappointing not having the possibility to enjoy in various bottles which could be nicely combined with the offered food.

After all, interesting selection of wines, no matter how short, is something that you have expected in a place that calls itself a gastro club. 

 Reset

Kralja Petra 70

Tel: 011 3284347, 063 7727344

Price guide:  1,600 per person for three courses without wine