Budapest Restaurant Tips by Ewingjr98

Tarnok Cafe

After stopping at the tourist information stand at Fisherman's Bastion (Tarnok 9-11), we walked across the street to a neat little grocery store, then grabbed a few seats at a touristy cafe. We sat next to the windows enjoying our cappuccino while studying our new maps and watching the traffic go by. The place was full of tourists, even in the off season. I heard more English spoken at this one cafe than the rest of our trip combined.

Address: Tarnok 14

Comparison: more expensive than average

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Local

Old Man's Music Pub

Our most expensive meal of the entire trip was easily our dinner the second night in Budapest. This was also the most food, and perhaps the best food as well, so it was worth the money. We had read about Old Man's Music Pub somewhere, so we decided try it for dinner on a Sunday night. Old Man's is known for its live music every night of the week, but we were also hoping to find dinner...and did we ever!

We started with a few local shots the waiter brought us, then quickly converted to beer. For an appetizer we decided to try the fried duck...little did we know the smallest portion was about 1/2 a duck! By itself, the duck could've been our entire meal, but it came with potatoes and all kinds of tasty fresh fruits from strawberries to pineapples. After the awesome duck, we each had hefty main courses of beer chicken and goulash. Our total bill ran a hefty 15,430 HUF(70 USD!!!)...and they don't take Visa or American Express! I had to go outside and find an ATM to pay the bill.

Old Man's is a huge restaurant with several bars, a dance floor, and a stage. It has a very big following, even on a Sunday night when we visited. The crowd is a good mix of locals and expats, but I doubt too many tourists make it to this somewhat secluded spot. The live music ranges from jazz to rock to pop & soul. Established in 1996, it has earned honors as Budapest's Best Pub, Best Music Club, and Best Live Entertainment over the past several years.

Address: Acakfa utca 13

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: Take the Metro to Blaha Jujza Ter. Head west (toward city center/away from Keleti Station) 1/2 block and Acakfa will be on your right. Turn onto this street and go 2-3 blocks. Old Man's is on your right, with just a small, dimly lit sign.

Phone: 322-7645

Price: US$31-40

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.oldmans.hu/

Mesterek Konyhaja - near the market hall

For breakfast the second morning (Sunday) we planned to try some things at the Market Hall. Being Sunday, the market was closed, so we were out of luck. We wandered around the area, but not much was open being that we were still early at about 1030. We saw a few places that looked promising, but none opened until 1100. After grabbing a few drinks in the Kalvin Ter metro station, we walked back toward the market hall, Just as the clock struck 1100, we were standing in front of a place called Mesterek Konyhaja...it looked good, so we stepped inside.

This is a nice, modern restaurant with a very friendly staff. For decorations, the walls have dried corn, peppers, and garlic. We enjoyed coffee (300 HUF), Gellerthegyi mineral water (240 HUF), chicken ragout soup (300 HUF), stuffed cabbage with dumplings (1150 HUF), and beef stew with gnocchi-type noodles (1150 HUF) for a grand total of just 3140 HUF (14.50 USD). The main dishes were some of the largest meals of the trip and were very satisfying. I have never seen as big a pile of beef as was in my spicy beef stew and the gnocchi were superb.

Address: Pipa utca 2/b

Comparison: less expensive than average

Phone: 216 23 01

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Turotaska Parfekterah

Turotaska Parfekterah is a busy, fast-food style bakery and cafe. It is located near Ferenciek Tere, on the street that takes you to the bridge, right along the Pedestrian streets, so it is a high-traffic area. When you enter the restaurant, you can check the menu, but you must pay before you pick up your food, making it hard for us non-Hungarian speakers. We picked out some neat little pastry snacks that are folded into a hollow square, then dusted with powdered sugar. Somehow we communicated this to the cashier and we ended up with exactly what we wanted. After receiving our food, we stood along the windows and watched the people pass by as we ate.

Address: Sajto Ut

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: Near Vaci utca and Ferenciek Tere

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Fekete Szakall Etterem

Fekete Szakall Etterem very roughly translates into "Black Beard Restaurant." This is the place we plopped into on our first night in Budapest. After a rough start to the day which gave us a bad impression of the city, dinner didn't help things. We finally found this decent-looking place along Dohany U near Astoria Station and the Synagogue. We walked in and the first thing we noticed was complete silence--no conversations, no music, no kitchen noises, just deathly silence. We sat near the door, ordered a few beers and looked over the menu. After what seemed like forever, I finally waived the waitress over and we placed our orders for food "cooked in front of you" as the menu claimed. When it came out already cooked, I had a funny feeling they weren't going to re-cook it in front of us. After we ate, we waited and waited for 20 minutes with no sign of the waitress. Finally I walked to the bar, where she was in deep discussion with some dude, and asked for our bill. She brought it to the table then disappeared again.... for another 20 minutes. Finally I walked up to the bar and paid so we could leave.

The food was surprisingly good, despite some of the worst service I have ever seen in Europe. And she kindly added 400 HUF service charge to the bill to rub it in. Beers were 220 HUF for a small and 380 HUF for a large. Our meals cost between 1,000 and 2,000 HUF each for a grand total of 3,950 HUF (a relatively inexpensive 18 USD).

Address: 1074, Budapest, Doh?ny u. 5/b

Comparison: about average

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 2

Theme: Local

Princess Food Stand -- Eating cheap

For our first few hours in Budapest we wandered trying to get our bearings. After looking for recommended restaurants in the area which all seemed to be closed, we ended up at Szena Ter and Moszkva Ter north of Castle Hill. Here we ducked into the entrance of the somewhat-sleazy Moszkva Ter metro station and picked up a few meat-filled rolls at a neat little food stand. They tasted like little sausage or pepperoni rolls, were pretty filling, and cost just 180 HUF each (0.83 USD). The little shop was called Princess.

Comparison: least expensive

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Local

Cheap breakfast at the Market Hall!

Our last morning in Budapest, we went to the Market Hall, to see the sights and find what we hoped would be a cheap breakfast. Both were better than expected. The market hall was impressive, even early in the morning as they were just opening. We found drinks and freshly baked loaves of slightly sweet breads at a few of the booths near the main entrance. Our breakfast cost just 403 HUF (1.85 USD) and it was superb... it took us half the morning just to finish it all!

Address: Vamhaz Krt.

Comparison: least expensive

Directions: From Kalvin Ter metro station, walk west toward the bridge, the market hall is on the left, just before the river.

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local