Budapest - Restaurants
 

Can you recommend some nice restaurants for dinner in Budapest. We would like to try local cuisine and toward the casual side. Can you tell us some details about the food and atmosphere please? We will be in Budapest in the end of June, prior to a riverboat cruise.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ern-europe.cfm

If you scroll down to the August 2 entry, I've mentioned a couple of places we ate at.

A few years ago my friend and I had Hungarian Goulash for lunch at the Museum restaurant. It was excellent but I cannot see the times for lunch anymore on their website http://www.muzeumkavehaz.hu/?page=kezdolap
The old world ambiance was what we desired and we noticed many locals also dined there for lunch. Loved this restaurant and would go back again. Good luck.

We liked Toscana located by the river and recommended it to friends who dined there recently and they liked it as well. There is a small restaurant that the name translates to Little Cuckoo that had great Hungarian food and a unique atmosphere. It is on a tiny street about two blocks from the Margrit Island (Pest side). Not too hard to find but you can google the name and find a map.

Thank you all very much for your advice.

Little cuckoo is next to my apartment... It is kiskakoo and is on Poszonyi street.

Sorry... Not sure what my iPad just did... But here is the link:

http://www.kiskakukk.hu

The sign alone is worth the trip. Not my favorite restaurant for food, but very good. I love the street, neighborhood and old world ambiance.

Trattoria Toscana is our "go to" restaurant. Lovely staff who have worked there for years.

Kadar in the Jewish neighborhood is good. Menza on Liszt Ferenc Ter is nice. Cafe Kor on SAS (pronounced shash) is an old standby. Just past Kiskakuk on Poszonyi, on the corner, is a classic Hungarian restaurant ( I forget the name). It has green checked table clothes. And there is a great Thai place behind the opera (forget that name too! But it is on Jokai and starts with a p!)

Most all of these need reservations.

Ok... I will stop... I always spell the street name wrong, it is Pozsonyi ( Hungarian for Bratislava).

Others may recommend nice restaurants near the castle, but I find them overpriced.

Do not miss drinks and view at Spoon Café. My favorite stop before head back to hotel every night.

http://www.spoonrestaurants.hu

We stay at the Hotel Gerloczy when in Budapest. It's also a restaurant and the food is so good that we could eat every meal here. They post the specials in both Magyar and English on chalk boards each day, and Friday is fish fry day.

http://www.gerloczy.hu/

Pjk

Another source for good restaurant and other information is Carlyn Banfalvi's blog. Just google her. She is an american who lives in Budapest and writes about food and wine and also gives food tours.

Hmm.. I'll have to google her also, Laurie_Ann. I am also an American living n Budapest (but not blogging about where to eat!).

Since most of my friends are Hungarians, the locals places we frequent are in neighborhoods outside where most tourists would ever venture.

CAFE KOR had excellent food and the restaurant was small with great atmosphere. Reservations are a must, as it is small and had received many reviews, so popular.

Another vote for the restaurant in Hotel Gerloczy. It was called the GERLOCZY CAFE. A Great stop for breakfast. The staff is extremely friendly.
SPOON Cafe docked on the River was excellent for dinner, and the crowd when we were there is very cosmopolitan and chic.

We disliked Menza...didn't like the food or the service, however it was very busy and popular. ENJOY BUDAPEST.

Thank you very much for your many restaurant suggestions!

Let me through one more out, the Hunyadi Etterem ---> http://www.hunyadietterem.hu/

It's just across the Chain Bridge and up the Hunyadi Ter about 1/2 mile. Bus #16 makes a stop just before or just after it. It gets mixed reviews but it's one of the restaurants we have gone to on each of our three visits to Budapest. You can read the menu on the web page. And they do not take credit cards.

Pjk

Just a tip someone gave me before I went to Budapest in 2012: Sample the lemonades in each restaurant and/or cafe. They all seem to have their own. I must have tried 9 or 10 during my 5 day visit.

We ate twice at TG Piccolino, an Italian place that had the best tiramisu. It was packed with locals the second time we went (the first night we just ate after a night tour of the city... the place was almost closing!)

Another thing we enjoyed was sitting down for a drink at a bar located in front of St Stephen's Basilica (I believe it was Cafe Negro). LOVED the atmosphere in the square... saw families strolling by, people hanging out, and lots of people enjoying drinks past midnight.

Oh, I should add we went to the New York Cafe. It was stunning, the atmosphere was wonderful, the place was very busy for lunch on Saturday. Had goulash, a green apple lemonade (recommended by the waiter), a piece of black forest cake and a cappuccino and it cost well over $50. OUCH. I found eating in Budapest very cheap compared to most other European cities I've visited, but it's all about where you choose to eat.

http://www.newyorkcafe.hu/bemutatkozas?lang=en

Our concierge suggested we try the Trofea grill; your hotel can tell you how to get there. It offers AYCE, of very well prepared, in many case cooked-to-order, Hungarian food. This gives the visitor the opportunity to try many different Hungarian entrees (and starters, and desserts) for the price of one dinner. We had excellent meals there, and as I recall, wine was included.

http://kiraly.trofeagrill.eu/en

SUGGESTION: BE SURE TO GO TO THE WONDERFUL CENTRAL MARKET!!!!
It is a huge building and if you are into food and seeing local markets, products...it is a special experience in Budapest. There is a large food hall with all types of bakeries, salami, sausages, local buters.

Walls of PAPRIKA!!!!! DUCK & G00SE is amazing in BUDAPEST.

It was fantastic in all restaurants that I tried it.

On the second floor there is a "food hall" type of situation where you can pick up different "to go" items and eat them there. We did not do that as it was not so comfortable for us.
Trend Girl

Bookmark for upcoming trip!