Top quality and best value for money---but NOT top price. Staff speak good English in all these hotels and restaurants. Click for recommended hotels. |
| Hungarian food, especially in Budapest, is real 'haute cuisine'. This is partly because Hungary was strongly influenced by Turkey centuries ago. It is a long way from the sea, so there is little seafood. But, nearby lakes produce delightful fresh water fish. Look for Halételek (fish dishes), especially Fogas (pike-perch) and Ponty (carp). Halázlé is fisherman's stew. There is often game on the menus, too. Do try a Barack Pálinka (apricot schnapps) as an appetizer before a meal. | ||||
Guidebooks list a lot more restaurants than these, but most that we examined do not look that good. Several, highly recommended in guides, gave poor produce, badly cooked and abominable service. Those below are wonderful, and we tend to visit each twice when we are in Budapest— they are well worth writing home about. They are extremely good value for money, compared with Amsterdam, London, Vienna, New York. They are up to the standard of the best London, Parisian and Viennese restaurants. There are plenty of reasonable, cheap places for a snack lunch. |
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Price Forint, $ |
Opening Hours |
Location |
Phone |
| Rézkakás Not in the Guide books. In a commercial part of Pest, it stands out as, arguably, the best restaurant in the city. Small, elegant, with wide ranging Hungarian menu. Live ‘gypsy’ music. Excellent service, food and wines. |
6000 $ 20 |
Veress Pálné | ||
| Szindbad Szindbad is not the sailor, he was an Hungarian gourmet. You will see a doorway on the street, leading to a basement gentlemen’s club, that has opened its bar and restaurant to anyone. Superb food, wine and service. Lovely arched ceiling, ambience and atmosphere. Hungarian cocktails, excellent meat and fish, imaginatively cooked, wonderful desserts. |
6000 $ 20 |
1200- 2400 Mon-Fri 1800- 2400 Saturday and Sunday |
Márco útca 33 | 332 2966 |
| Kárpátia Interior beautifully furnished with carved wood walls. Pavement terrace, also glass covered terrace in a quiet courtyard at the side. Excellent Hungarian food and wine. Quite close to Váci utca and the Taverna hotel. |
5000- 12500 $ 18- 45 |
Ferenciek tére 7-8 | 317 3596 Fax: 318 0591 |
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| Taverna Large, modern hotel built between two streets, with a nice courtyard where you can drink and eat snacks. Váci utca is the main, pedestrianised shopping street in the middle of Pest, equivalent to Bond Street or Fifth Avenue (with a hint of Soho or Times Square). Very comfortable, attractive rooms. Good breakfasts of hot and cold buffet. Restaurant, nice bar with food. Air-con. |
42000 $ 150 double |
Váci útca 20 | 485 3100 Fax: 485 3111 |
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| Gellért Traditional, large hotel, own thermal swimming pool (very old). On Buda side. Looks out on to the beautiful Erzébet bridge over the Danube. Bars, restaurant. Air-con. |
55000+ $ 200+ double |
Szent Gellért tér 1 | 385 2200 Fax: 166 6631 |
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| Forum Large modern hotel, on the Pest bank of the Danube, with rooms looking out over the river and at Buda. Near the end of the Széchenyi Lánchíd, the Scottish-built chain bridge. Swimming pool on roof. Bars, restaurants, and the only good Viennese coffee house in Budapest (Bécsi Kafféhaz). Excellent service, huge ratio of staff to guests. Air-con. |
115000 $ 400 double |
Apáczai Csere János útca 12-14 | 317 8088 Fax: 117 9808 |
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See also restaurants and hotels in Amsterdam Dublin London Madrid New York Paris Vienna
also some places in England, but not the whole of the country.
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