we are looking for a nearby, convenient, but atmospheric(of course) good food, maybe just snack, maybe dinner pre/post opera in budapest on a sunday.

can you help?

i am sure i can get a good rec at hotel, but i enjoy the personal feedback from all of you.
anyone???

A couple of blocks north from the Opera, on the other side of Andrassy St., is the chandeliered and mirrored Muvesz Cafe, good for pastries and coffees, I didn't notice if they had other meal-type offerings. There are numerous (and good) restaurants along Andrassy between the Opera and the Oktogon, and also on Liszt Ferenc Square, on the right before you reach the Oktogon. Go for a stroll up the tree-lined sidewalks and pick out one that looks good to you!

thank you.
might as well try a place someone has liked, although i agree.. there must be so much to choose from..

We were there pretty much as budget travelers, so gravitated to the cheaper, simpler restaurants, but noticed many other more stylish, "atmospheric" ones in that area. They all display menus outside (in English), and most have large windows so you can see what they're like inside without having to go in. The Operetta and other theaters are also in this area, so there are lots of people around at night, looking for places to eat.

The small subway (you'll see the yellow "Foldalatti" signs) runs under Andrassy Blvd., and there's a stop right outside the Opera which will take you to Vorosmarty ter (near the famous Gerbeaud) at the upper end of Vaci Utca, another area of restaurants, possibly the tourist epicenter of Pest. Or if you take the subway in the opposite direction to City Park (Varosliget), you'll get close to Gundel's, reputed to be the best restaurant in the city (but expensive).

So, sorry I can't pinpoint *the* place to go after the opera (I'd still recommend Muvesz, if it's just a cafe you want), although I think it would be hard to be disappointed with the selections along Andrassy and in Liszt Ferenc Square, if you don't mind taking 10-15 minutes to walk up the street from the opera and do a little restaurant "window-shopping".

The Belcanto is a restaurant nearby where the waiting staff sing arias, & which seemed like *the* place to go - unfortunately it was fully booked when we went. www.belcanto.hu.

Abszint, at Andrassy 34, is very hip but you would have to check their hours -- dining either before or after a longish opera could be tricky.

French-inspired but you will find Hungarian delicacies -- goose liver, for example.

Their website is www.abszint.hu but it does not give hours.

As they advertise themselves as Kavezo es etterem, they will serve either a snack OR a full meal.

We were on a gastronomic holiday in Budapest last year. Visited a no. of restaurants including Gundel ( recommended for ambience, service and an expensive meal ). For the best food in Budapest, you must visit KEHLI's at Buda. It is not part of the tourist itinery but was suggested to us by the Olympic chief of Hungary. We loved the food and ambience and cannot wait to get back there. It is nowhere near the opera, but I couldnt let you pass up on a place like Kehli,s !!

New York Kávéház is one of the most beautiful in Europe.

Sorry, I don't have the address other than to remember it was on a major boulevard, and I don't know where it is in relation to the opera.

thanks so much for the food rec's. never had heard of kehli's and will definitely see if we can fit in in .. also had wanted to go to belcanto if they do lunch.
and.. knew about n.y. coffee house.. have to do some map placing.. which i am finding tedious and just will ask concierge to help me.

( i have dial-up internet still.. and maps that you need a magnifying glass to see.. so..)
i know it will be a fab trip, thanks to all the support here.

hope i can throw in some tidbits when i get back.. although it will probably be spin-off of all previously posted!

Just a short walk south (I think) from the operahouse and off a side street is the restaurant Al ahambra serving good Moroccan food, and it is open after the opera as I discovered last September.

I'll look up the address in my notes and post later.

The New York Coffeehouse has been closed for reconstruction since last year, I don't think it's due to open again until toward the end of this year, but you can check when you get to Budapest. They were giving tours of it, I think, but the cafe was definitely closed.

Another restaurant just up the street from the Opera that has great reviews is Vörös és Fehér. And I checked the location of the Mûvész Kávéház (cafe/pastry shop)-- it's in the first block north of the Opera, across the street.

pls tell me how you got the address of the coffee house and mapped it?

thanks for all the suggestions.

Yes we went to Voros es Feher two years ago and had the best meal we had during our stay.This is very close to the opera if I remember correctly.

The April nat geographic traveler magazine has a good artcile that describes the New York Kavehaz; I inferred that it is now open. If not, it must be the longest reno in history as it was under active renovation when I was last there in April 2004.

The article said that part of the wear and tear on the site was due to a Russian tank careening into it in 1956.

It is nowhere near the Opera, alas. I could give you the address if I could find my guide to Budapest. Does Nagy Korut sound right, anyone??

Don't remember the address, but it was closed for renovation when I was there - which was Christmas, either 2000 or 2001 !!

Because I have a big presentation to our Minister to make today and because I am sick with apprehension about it -- and the decision we are asking him to take -- I have decided, instead of refining my pitch as I should, to research the Kavehaz issue and post on Fodors:

Here goes. From Nat Geog traveler April issue:

New York Cafe in the Boscolo Hotel Budapest. Erzebet Korut (Elizabeth Blvd) 9-1
322-3849
www.boscolohotels.com
Closed for renovations - Scheduled to re-open in April

Be the first to try it and post here!!

I "mapped" it by looking at a map in my DK guidebook and comparing the address with the address of the Opera House.

The New York Kávéház is on the Nagykörút (also called Grand Blvd., Great Ring Rd., etc.). From the Opera take the metro (yellow line from across the street from the Opera) to the Oktogon (1 stop – or a 10-min. walk) then catch the 4 or 6 tram southeast-bound to the Wesselenyi stop (my guess is about two stops). I would check first to see if it's fully reopened.

thanks for all your trouble.. and tedgale.. how did the presentation turn out?

off tomorrow and will post as soon as we are back. hope we can get organized enought to fit in a lot of the great suggestions.

Thanks for the inquiry.

We briefed from around 5:30 to 7 pm which is quite long.

The Minister was kinda hostile at first but mellowed as he got more intellectually engaged -- a state, I daresay, that his political staff lacks the mental equipment ever to achieve.

We got what we needed in the end.

Check out the Central Kavehaz, too, if you have a chance. It features prominently in the above magazine article and is a favourite of mine:

Address: 5th district, Karolyi Mihaly utca 9.
Phone: +36 1 266 21 10
Directions: Near Ferenciek ter, at the Pest end of the Erzebet Bridge (metro M3, buses 5 7 7express 7A 8 15 78 112 173express).
Website: http://www.centralkavehaz.hu