8 Best Restaurants in Budapest, Hungary

This old-fashioned bakery--café has a loyal following for some of the lightest, most buttery pastries in Budapest. All the classic Hungarian cakes like rétes (strudel filled with sour cherries, apples, or cheese) and dobos torta (chocolate cream cake with caramel) can be enjoyed here, along with some unique in-house creations. If you find yourself near Széll Kálmán tér on Metro line 2, you can also check out their original (and still active) shop at Fény utca 8, a few minutes' walk from the station.

A classic turn-of-the-20th-century gathering spot for Hungarian writers of the Nyugat (West) magazine, this coffeehouse has endured two wars and a communist closure. For 19th-century grandeur in 21st-century comfort, this popular café can't be beat. Coffees are served on silver trays with glasses of mineral water just as in the old days, but these days they are enjoyed in air-conditioned comfort. The menu includes substantial dishes like hortobágyi palacsinta (meat pancakes with paprika sauce) and borjú paprikás (paprika veal stew) all day. Don't miss the excellent cakes and pastries, on view in a glass display case.

The wicker chairs and café tables of this elegant brasserie, on a quiet and leafy square tucked behind Váci utca, are reminiscent of a scene out of a French movie; the summer terrace is about the prettiest location for lunch in Budapest. At other times of year, visitors can still enjoy the seasonal Hungarian favorites, like sült libacomb (crispy goose leg) in winter and asparagus soup in the spring, in the Parisian bistro-style interior.

This pricey but laid-back, sepia-toned neighborhood tavern is on a hard-to-find street near the Óbuda end of the Árpád Bridge. Practically all the food here arrives in huge servings, which was just the way that Hungarian writer Gyula Krúdy (to whom the restaurant is dedicated) liked it when he was a regular customer. Dishes like the hot pot with marrowbone and toast, or lecsó (a stew with a base of onions, peppers, tomatoes, and paprika) are great comfort food on a cool day, and Romani music livens up the place in the evenings.

There are only three tables and a counter at this tiny homestyle restaurant not far from the basilica. It gets a lunch crowd early and bustles well into the evening with downtown professional types. Dishes Hungarian grandmothers make, including goose-dumpling soup and stuffed cabbage with pork, elicit smiles from most patrons.

Meat lovers will be spoiled for choice at this dedicated steak house specializing in imported Argentine beef, where cuts difficult to find in Hungary (like rib eye and New York strip) are aged and lovingly grilled. Steaks can be ordered by weight and come with classic side dishes like jacket potatoes and creamed spinach. The mostly Hungarian wine list is affordable and well-suited to juicy beef dinners.

Real Italian pizzas made to order in a brick oven attract a hungry business crowd during the week. Weekends find just as many people enjoying pastas like ravioli with Gorgonzola and walnut sauce or the "priest strangler"—homemade pasta in tomato ragout flambéed with Parmesan cheese. It makes quite a spectacular presentation. The seating here has rustic tables on many levels fenced in by wrought iron. Exposed bricks and hanging plants give the place a Tuscan patio feel.

Visiting Italians tell us this popular trattoria feels pretty authentic, with its bustling waiters, rustic interior, and wooden tables filled with families on Sunday. An antipasti bar in front overflows with marinated artichokes, white-bean salad, and other classic Tuscan treats, and there's a well-worn brick pizza oven in back. The extensive menu boasts some of the best fish in town, including several sea bass options. The little understood mozzarella ventigli pasta with San Marzano tomatoes and fresh oregano (homemade cheese-filled ravioli with garlicky tomatoes and lots of oregano) is a dish to die for.