5 Best Restaurants in Budapest, Hungary

Cheap, fresh, and tasty, Duran's open-faced sandwiches are the ideal quick lunch or snack to power your day. Choose from cured meats or smoked fish, local cheese or vegetable spreads, all on sliced soft white baguette. The family dates its baking history to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and its first Budapest sandwich spot to 1968.

You don't need to visit every café in the world to decide that New York Café, often referred to as "the most beautiful café in the world," definitely deserves its title, or at least ranks very high on that list. Located within the luxe Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel and built in Italian Renaissance-style, the interiors feature marble columns, stuccoed angels, and sparkling chandeliers dangling from high ceilings adorned by spectacular frescoes. It's one of the oldest cafés in Budapest, dating back 125 years, and was once a meeting place for struggling artists. The prices have shot up considerably since, but it's still worth visiting to soak up the old-world splendor. During the day, drop in for cake and coffee to appreciate the rich history and decor. Evening visitors might prefer cocktails at the hotel's Poet Bar, overlooking the main café, or a haute cuisine dinner at White Salon---the recently reopened restaurant on the café's upper level---which serves sublime contemporary takes on classic Hungarian cuisine, including Mangalica pork chop and flat-iron steak stew.

Blending Vietnamese informality with professional service and simple, clean, and elegant Scandinavian style, this trendy café on Bartók Béla út offers both light and dark roasted specialty coffees, the must-try Vietnamese coffee, and specialty teas and smoothies. Before you sample the tasty pastries and cakes, be sure to start with a bánh mì sandwich (available in a variety of flavors and sizes, including a vegan version).

There’s always a festive groove at Iguana, the most popular expat restaurant in town, especially with Americans. Tex-Mex nachos, quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas, and jalapeño poppers are tasty and filling, and the setting feels authentic, surrounded by south-of-the-border movie posters. Order pitchers of classic or strawberry margaritas or punchy tequila and mezcal cocktails.

Kispiac Bisztró is a tiny gem of a restaurant (its name means "little market") that specializes in huge portions of fresh roasted meat, sourced straight from nearby market halls. Delicious Mangalica pork chop, wild boar ribs, or the famed grilled duck is the way to go, along with a plate of homemade pickles. Eating here is a bit like being invited home for dinner by the local butcher. There's a lovely street-side terrace in the warmer months, and during winter no more than a couple dozen diners can fit inside at once, so reservations are a must.