I lived in Budapest from February to August of 2003, and had the opportunity to sample a number of local eateries. Some of them I came across on my own, and others were recommended to me by locals. This page catalogues my opinions of most of the restaurants I've visited. Prices are accurate as of 2003; as inflation is constantly at work, the prices will no longer be accurate by now.
Types of establishments
You will encounter many different kinds of eateries in the city. Here are some of the most common:
- étterem
- This is a generic term for a restaurant. Étteremek are ubiquitous and range in price and quality from McDonald's at one end to the likes of Gundel at the other.
- vendéglõ
- Typically a small restaurant with more traditional furnishings.
- étkezde
- An informal cafeteria, usually only open for lunchtime.
- sörözõ
- A beer hall or pub. Most of them have just as wide a selection of food as any restaurant.
- borozó
- A wine bar. They typically carry several kinds of wine, but most have very little or no food.
- kávéház
- A café. Expect various types of coffee and other hot and cold beverages, and perhaps some cakes and pastries as well.
- gyors büfé
- Literally "fast buffet". These establishments are typically small and geared towards takeout. For eating in, they may have standing room only. Büfék include the innumerable gyros stands sprinkled throughout the city, particularly in and around the metro stations.
- cukrászda
- A sort of pastry shop where various cakes and sweets can be purchased. Some sell ice cream as well. Limited seating is usually available.
- hentes
- A hentes is technically a butcher's shop, though some of them serve hot sausages on a bun for takeout or for standing-room in-store consumption.
Places to restaurant-shop
Budapest certainly has no shortage of restaurants, and they're spread all throughout the city. If you want a wide selection, however, you may want to confine yourself to the following general areas:
- Váci utca
- This is the main pedestrian zone in Budapest, and runs from Vörösmarty tér down to the market near the Szabadság Híd (Freedom Bridge). The architecture is beautiful, and many restaurants, cafés, and nightclubs are to be found both on the street proper and its various tributaries. Because the area is geared to tourists, expect to pay high prices.
- Belgrád rakpart
- Another pedestrian zone, running along the Pest riverfront between the Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) and Erzsébet Híd (Elizabeth Bridge). Here you'll find outdoor seating for many of the major hotel's restaurants and pubs. Restaurant boats are also a common sight. Prices are even higher than on Váci utca, though many places feature live Gypsy music.
- Ráday utca
- A trendy street running from Kálvin tér to the Petõfi Híd (Petõfi Bridge). Parts of the street are closed off to all vehicles but city buses, making it practically a pedestrian zone. The shops lining the street are almost entirely cafés and restaurants. Again, because of catering to tourists, prices are high, though not quite as high as on Váci utca.
- Liszt Ferenc tér
- This short pedestrian zone is just around the corner from Oktogon. It's famous for its many modern and spacious cafés with indoor and outdoor seating. The establishments here are frequented by locals as much as by tourists.
- Train stations
- In and around the city's three main train stations (Keleti pályaudvar, Nyugati pályaudvar, and Déli pályaudvar), as well as the bus station at Népliget, can be found all a manner of cheap fast-food restaurants and snack bars. Pizza slices, gyros, and burgers don't make for a particularly fancy meal, but can be handy when you're in a hurry or on a budget.
- The castle district
- On the Buda side of the river is a large walled castle district. Numerous courtyard cafés and restaurants can be found inside, though expect to pay accordingly for the atmosphere.
- Malls
- Budapest has a number of large indoor shopping malls; the two largest centrally-located ones are West End City Centre at Nyugati pályaudvar, and Mammut near Moskva tér. Some malls, like West End, contain North American-style food courts with a communal eating area, but all of them contain regular sit-down restaurants and cafés.
Smaller restaurants and bars abound even in areas not specifically catering to tourists. There aren't really any "unsafe" areas in the city, so feel free to go exploring. Be prepared to deal with staff and menus that do not present themselves in English, however. On the plus side, prices can be significantly lower; in some places you can get a full meal for as little as 450 Ft.
Local customs for eating out
North Americans will note several differences between eating out back home and in Budapest:
- When you arrive at a restaurant, you will be expected to seat yourself. Notable exceptions to this rule are the restaurants on Váci utca, whose predatory wait staff will approach anyone who lingers outside and steer them to a table.
- Very few restaurants have non-smoking sections. If smoke bothers you, your best bet is to find a place that has outdoor seating. If you do smoke, please be respectful of others and try to avoid sitting next to tables without smokers.
- After you are seated, the waiter will ask if you would like anything to drink. He will also usually bring a menu, though in some cafés you may actually need to indicate that you intend to eat before you get a menu.
- Water will not be served by default. If you ask for water, you will be given (and charged for) mineral water, unless you specifically ask for tap water. Note that asking for tap water is highly unusual almost everywhere in Europe, and the waiter may be at first reluctant to bring it to you. Tap water is nonetheless quite safe to drink.
- Some Hungarians consider it rude to clink beer glasses when making a toast. If you are drinking beer and wish to toast, tap the bottom of your glass against the surface of the table instead.
- Most restaurants do not provide doggy bags, so don't order more than you can eat. Bear in mind that the soups and salads listed as "appetizers" are often actually meal-sized portions.
- In many restaurants, meals are served "without garnish". This means that side dishes (rice, potatoes, vegetables, etc.) must be purchased separately. Take this into consideration when reviewing posted menus' prices.
- Don't expect much attention from the wait staff apart from that necessary to do business. The waiter is there to take your order, bring your food and your bill, and take your money. He will not refill your drinks, ask if you want dessert, or interrupt you halfway through your meal to ask if "everything's alright". If there is a problem with your meal or you need more food or drink, you'll have to take the initiative.
- The waiter will not bring the bill until you ask for it. The table is yours until you decide to give it up.
- When the waiter brings the bill, he will likely remain at your table while you review it and pay him. A 10% tip is expected, though you're free to leave more if the service was good.
- When paying, it is customary to tell the waiter the total amount you are paying, including the tip, as you hand him your money. This way he will know how much change you are due. Do not leave the payment or the gratuity on the table.
Reviews
Alcatraz Club
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Nyár utca 1 (District VII)
|
| Directions:
| M2 to Astoria; walk east on Rákóczi út and turn left on Nyár utca
|
| Notes:
| Closed Sundays
|
| Review:
| This fantastic theme bar is huge, spanning multiple levels, and is decorated quite realistically like a prison. Steel bars are everywhere. Live pop/rock music is featured. The food is a tad expensive but the portions are absolutely huge; I couldn't finish my Waldorf salad (which was Hungarianized by the addition of huge globs of meat). Cons: the management lets liquor salesmen in to canvass the tables. Between them and the music, don't expect to do much socializing.
|
Arany Bárány Étterem
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Harmincad utca 4 (District V)
|
| Directions:
| M1 to Vörösmarty tér. The restaurant is between Gerbaud and the British Embassy.
|
| Notes:
| The restaurant appears to be closed. It's not clear whether this is permanent or for planned renovations.
|
| Review:
| An excellent restaurant specializing in game dishes (venison, goose, duck, pheasant, wild boar, etc.). Prices for main courses range from 1000 to 4000 Ft. Charming decor.
|
Burger King (Oktogon)
| Rating:
| not recommended
|
| Address:
| Oktogon (District VI)
|
| Directions:
| M1 or streetcar 4 or 6 to Oktogon
|
| Review:
| With all the great authentic Hungarian restaurants out there, it's difficult to say anything nice about Burger King. However, homesick North Americans may want to pop into the franchise at Oktogon, which is said to be the world's largest, just to have a look. The walls are covered with American pop imagery and sports paraphernalia, including portraits of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe and numerous hockey jerseys. The food is precisely what one can expect from Burger King, though a friend of mine who ordered a burger insists the patties are smaller than in Toronto.
|
Gerbaud
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Vörösmarty tér 7 (District V)
|
| Directions:
| M1 to Vörösmarty tér
|
| Notes:
| Open 09:00–21:00
|
| Review:
| Gerbaud is the city's most famous coffee/pastry shop. Situated in an imposing building overlooking one of the city's finest-looking squares, patrons can sit outside and sip coffee while they watch the world go by. Gerbaud is famous for its home-made cakes and desserts; besides what's listed on the menu, have a look at the displays inside to see the day's special offerings. Chocolates and sweets are also available to take home. Prices are rather steep; expect to pay 700 Ft. for coffee and another 700 Ft. for cake. Still, it can be worth it if you stay a few hours and relax; on crowded days you might find yourself sharing your table with some interesting locals or travellers.
|
Gundel
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Állatkerti út 2 (District XIV)
|
| Directions:
| Bus 72 to the Zoo, or M1 to Hõsök tere or Széchenyi Fürdõ
|
| Review:
| Arguably Budapest's most famous restaurant, and no doubt one of the most expensive. Expect to pay upwards of 700 Ft. for each appetizer and dessert, and 4500 Ft. for the main course. Somewhat cheaper set menus are available at certain times; check the signs posted outside. Expect to receive royal treatment, including dishes brought steaming to your table in covered silver platters. The food is excellent, but in my opinion not quite worth the high prices; unless you don't mind paying through the nose for atmosphere, you can probably get victuals of similar quality elsewhere for less. A notable exception to this is their cream of white asparagus soup which, while served in rather minute portions, is simply to die for. I also particularly enjoyed their marzipan tea, of which I asked for a second order, iced and shaken with milk, bubble-tea-style.
|
Kínai Büfé
| Rating:
| not recommended
|
| Address:
| Üllõi út 90-ish (District IX)
|
| Directions:
| M3 to Klinikák
|
| Review:
| This is a small büfé selling Chinese takeout and, in the summer, soft ice cream. Standing-room only for eat-in. I have normally found that the Hungarians are happy and impressed when foreigners make a good effort to speak their language. Knowing the words for "please" and "thank you" will be sure to net you a few smiles; if you can place your order entirely in Hungarian, people will be amazed. Not so at this pitiful excuse for a restaurant. The counter staff is rude and impatient. I placed my order entirely in the local language, but when I had to politely point to the kind of ice cream I wanted because I didn't know the word for "vanilla", I was angrily rebuked. "What's the matter with you? Can't you speak Hungarian?" yelled the cashier (in Hungarian). When I tried to explain that I wasn't fluent, I was met with yet another angry tirade. The establishment's sole other customer attempted to intervene on my behalf, but the cashier simply shoved the ice cream cone in my hand and bade me to leave. I recommend this establishment be avoided by everyone.
|
Kisduna Vendéglõ
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Sobieski János utca 39 (District IX)
|
| Directions:
| M3 or streetcar 24 to Nagyvárad tér; walk northwest on Üllõi út and turn left on Sobieski János utca
|
| Review:
| Primarily a bar, this out-of-the-way establishment has a small room set aside for eating. The decor is interesting, to say the least: Soviet-era paraphernalia abounds, including various Hungarian Socialist Youth artifacts and a life-sized poster of Lenin peeking out behind red balloons. Fearless leader clashes rather nicely with the plethora of Elvis albums nailed to the walls. The food, which you can select from only three or four marginally different daily specials, is rather unremarkable, though dirt-cheap: 500 Ft. will net you a big plate of pörkölt galuskával (pork or beef stew with hand-rolled egg noodles). Go somewhere else for dessert; the palacsinta (crepes) was rather awful.
|
Marriott dessert bar
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Apáczai Csere János utca 4 (District V)
|
| Directions:
| Streetcar 2 stops near the hotel, or take M1 to Vörösmarty tér and walk west towards the river
|
| Review:
| Just inside the hotel's main entrance is a self-service dessert bar. All you can eat for 1295 Ft. There is usually an assortment of cakes, mousses, creampuffs, sauces, and fresh fruit cubes. Most of the desserts are made with a lot of fluffy cream, which can fill you up fast but leave you hungry again a few minutes later. However, since it's all you can eat, no one will mind if you stick around for a few hours and keep refilling your plate. Sandwiches, drinks, and a few hot dishes are also available at inflated prices (e.g., 1200 Ft. for a sandwich).
|
Paracelsus Sörözõ
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Üllõi út 119 (District IX)
|
| Directions:
| M3 or streetcar 24 to Nagyvárad tér
|
| Notes:
| Not to be confused with the Paracelsus Borozó, which is right next door
|
| Review:
| Friendly staff and very interesting decor, with lots of antique documents and artifacts from the 1930s and 1940s. The food is cheap and hearty, with main courses running between 900 and 1500 Ft. I recommend the Viking salad, which comes with a white wine sauce and a delicious sort of minced salmon. Also of note: the breaded camembert with blueberry sauce, and their peach-stuffed turkey breast. My only complaint is that the soup seems to be off more often than on, though of course this won't prevent you from enjoying their fine main courses. This smallish pub is popular with the cigarette-sucking locals, so try to avoid peak hours if you don't like smoke.
|
Pizza Boy Pizzeria
| Rating:
| not recommended
|
| Address:
| Üllõi út 91/B (District IX)
|
| Directions:
| M3 to Klinikák
|
| Review:
| This is a pizzeria that does both dine-in and take-out. Large pizzas are 620 Ft. The food is of good quality and the staff speak some English, but the sanitation standards leave something to be desired. The kitchen is clearly visible from the street, and on more than one occasion I have witnessed a chef with a cold coughing into his hands and then proceeding to roll pizza dough with them. If you order food, make sure you stick around to watch it being prepared.
|
Ráday Drive 911 Restaurant & Café
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Ráday utca 11–13 (District IX)
|
| Directions:
| Bus 15 to the second stop on Ráday utca, or M3 or streetcar 47 or 49 to Kálvin tér
|
| Review:
| One of the many café/restaurants lining Ráday utca, 911 distinguishes itself from the others in offering a selection of pasta dishes at reasonable (for Ráday utca) prices. Think the 1000–2000 Ft. range. I had the salmon spaghetti, and while there was nothing technically wrong with it, it was nothing to write home about. For better pasta in the same price range, see the Ristorante Via Luna.
|
Ristorante Via Luna
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Nagysándor József utca 1 (District V)
|
| Directions:
| M3 to Arany János utca. Walk north on Bajcsy-Zsilinsky út and turn left on Nagysándor József utca.
|
| Notes:
| Open daily 11:00–23:30
|
| Review:
| A pleasant restaurant with a very wide selection of Italian dishes. (The menu reads like a short novel.) Portions for the soups and pastas are extremely generous, so don't order both unless you have lots of room. The meat dishes, though, may leave you hungry unless you order a side. I can heartily recommend the pasta pesce, as well as any of the creamed soups. Prices are very reasonable considering the quality of the food; expect to pay 1000 to 2000 Ft. for most main dishes, with the occasional specialty going for 3000 Ft. Freshly-squeezed orange juice is available.
|
Sir William Pub
| Rating:
| not recommended
|
| Address:
| Ráday utca 9 (District IX)
|
| Directions:
| Bus 15 to the first or second stop on Ráday utca, or M3 or streetcar 47 or 49 to Kálvin tér
|
| Review:
| This restaurant can't decide whether it wants to be English (as its name suggests), Scottish (as the illustrations in its menu suggest) or American (as its George Washington logo suggests). The menu consists almost entirely of turkey and expensive beef dishes. Unfortunately, we had no opportunity to actually sample the food; after waiting forty minutes after our order was placed, we had enough and got up and left. The waitress was kind enough to waive the charge for our drinks. She could not explain to us, however, why it should take forty minutes to bring us soup(!) when only one other table in the restaurant was occupied.
|
Szlovák Sörözõ
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Bihari János utca 17 (District V)
|
| Directions:
| M3 or Streetcar 4 or 6 to Nyugati pályaudvar, then walk along the south side of Szt. István körút and turn left at Bihari János utca.
|
| Review:
| This restaurant offers arguably the best value for your money anywhere in the city. Authentic Hungarian and Slovakian offerings (including some rather interesting organ meat dishes) in a relaxed (if somewhat Spartan) beer-hall atmosphere. Take outside seating if you can get it, as the inside can get a bit smoky. Main courses include garnishes and run from around 600 to 1300 Ft. Various sample platters for two are also available.
|
Tüköry
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Hold utca 15 (District V)
|
| Directions:
| M3 to Arany János utca. Walk down Bank utca and turn right on Hold utca.
|
| Notes:
| Open weekdays only.
|
| Review:
| Charming and very inexpensive restaurant serving traditional Hungarian food. The wait staff is extremely friendly, and will be impressed if you speak a little Hungarian. The steak tartar comes highly recommended; ask the waiter if you've never had it before and he'll demonstrate how it's to be eaten.
|
West End City Centre food court
| Rating:
| recommended
|
| Address:
| Váci út 1–3 (District VI)
|
| Directions:
| M3 or streetcars 4 or 6 to Nyugati pályaudvar
|
| Review:
| West End City Centre is supposedly Europe's largest mall. Unlike your typical North American mall food court, the food served here is actually relatively good. There's a wide selection of ethnic cuisine, including Greek, Mediterranean, Thai, and Hungarian food. Health food, vegetarian dishes, desserts, and (if you must) American-style fast food are also available, all at reasonable prices. Overlooking the eating area is a huge movie screen which is surprisingly not used for advertisements; instead, it features short films from Hungarian filmmakers.
|
Scams and warnings
A scam sometimes reported involves locals on the street (typically attractive young females) approaching tourists to recommend a restaurant. The tourists are led to a restaurant which is to all outward appearances normal. However, the menus contain fine print (in Hungarian only) that the prices are doubled, or tripled, or more, during certain times of the day. When the bill arrives, the hapless guests may be physically intimidated into paying the excessive amount. Therefore always be suspicious of newfound "friends" who are eager to recommend a good place to eat, and check every restaurant's menu carefully for odd-looking fine print.
Others have reported that a few restaurants automatically add the gratuity to the bill. Make sure to check your bill carefully to ensure that you are not double-tipping.
Links
- The Budapest Sun, the city's only surviving English-language newspaper, reportedly reviews new restaurants.
Feedback
The information on this page is provided in the hope that it will be useful. I don't warrant the accuracy of the factual information presented here. Any mistakes brought to my attention will be fixed at my earliest convenience.
If you would like to discuss any of the reviews I've presented here, rather than contacting me directly, consider posting your views on the rec.travel.europe newsgroup on Usenet, and carbon copy me your posting. That way everyone can participate in the discussion. If you don't have direct access to newsgroups through your ISP, you can read and post through Google Groups.
If you enjoyed this web page or found it useful, you may be interested in the other information I've made available on the World Wide Web. Please check out my home page, nothingisreal.com. You can also contact me by e-mail.
