District I: Pancakes and other Budapest, Hungary Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Nagyi Palacsintazoja

Fast food - hungarian style. Pancakes, pancakes and more pancakes. Sweet pancakes, savoury pancakes and pancakes stuffed with pancakes. There's a few of them around Budapest, but the one on Batthyany Ter has great views out over the Parliament from the exterior seats.

It's great value, but very heavy and filling, like all Hungarian food. The savoury pancakes could really use some fresh salad to lighten the palate, but that is anathema to Hungarian cooking. Just mix them up as much as you can and add a sweet one to the end of the meal.

They have an English menu, but if you can fathom what "Mexican meat" is, let me know. I assume the Hungarians are at a loss also, as that is the direct translation.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: +36 1 212 48 66
Address: 1015 Budapest, Batthyany ter 5
Directions: Batthyany ter M2 metro station Szentendre HEV terminal tram #19 terminal buses #11,39,60 terminal bus #86 stop On the right of the market hall.

Restaurant Name: Sunny Corner Diner

A smart restaurant with a good range of interesting dishes with a fantastic location, with grand views over the Danube to the Parliament building - fantastic on summer evenings. The food is from all over the place, but tends to focus on spicy dishes, like Indian, Thai and Mexican. It all seems to be uniformly excellent, although a little on the pricy side. But you pay for the location.


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: 1017 Budapest, Bem rakpart 30
Directions: Take the Metro to Batthyany Ter, walk down to the river, and take a left. It's a short walk along the banks of the Danube.
Website: www.sunnycorner.hu
Other Contact: info@sunnycorner.hu

Restaurant Name: Pizza Marzano

Hungarians generally don't make good pizza, but if you are hungering after a slice of Italian pie, then you can't go far wrong with Pizza Marzano. A branch of the same high-quality pizza chain in the UK, Pizza Express, Pizza Marzano is pretty much the same thing.

There are a few branches in Budapest, but this one is on Battyany Ter, overlooking the Danube and the Parliament building. It's huge, the service is good and the prices are reasonable. It's also open when many other places are shut, as we discovered on Christmas day :).


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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Batthyány tér 6
Directions: Take the metro to Batthyány Tér. The restaurant is in the buildings facing the river and overlooking the square.
Website: www.pizzamarzano.hu

Restaurant Name: Szent Jupat

Warning: Extremely Unhealthy Food!

They make no bones about it: it's traditional Hungarian food. Big style. Washed down with litres of Dreher or palinka, the heavy Hungarian food comes on great wooden platters and is served in cozy wood panelled surrounds. The service is great, friendly, knowledgeable and flexible. They are even honest enough to warn you that certain starters and main dishes will be too much for anyone less than Giant Haystacks or a sumo wrestler.

I had a goulash bean soup, followed with cheese pancakes that were fried, and then deep fried in batter, and served three deep on top of a large serving of deep fried potatoes. If that wasn't enough carbohydrate, there was a serving of rice to go with it. Potatoes, rice, pancakes and batter. Oh, and a small token serving of salad.

I was full just looking at it, but it did taste very good. You might just want to make sure you have enough hunger and space in the stomach before entering this demanding restaurant.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 212-2923
Address: 1024 Budapest, Dekan Utca 3, (Retek utca 16) D.II
Directions: Near the Mammut shopping mall. Take the metro to Moscow Square.
Website: http://www.stjupat.hu/

Restaurant Name: The Garden

A wonderful location, with great service, amazing food, and a impressive decor. Cool outside under the trees in summer, warm inside during the winter, this place is an all-season restaurant with some of the tastiest food I've eaten anywhere. The location on Varosmajor park takes you away from all the hussle and bustle of city center Budapest, without actually physically removing you from it.

It's probably at the top end of the Budapest food chain, and has prices to match, but it's not just a place to be seen, it's a place to enjoy great food.


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 225-1259
Address: Szamos utca 2/b
Directions: It can be hard to find, being inside the park itself, but take the metro to Moskva Ter, walk down Csaba, and then right down Maros utca, and it should be on your right near the tennis courts.

Restaurant Name: Mexicanos

For a small restaurant, tucked inside a giant shopping mall, and looking for all the world like a chain restaurant, I wasn't expecting much from this place. But the bean chili I ordered was better than anything I'd eaten at any Mexican restaurant in Germany in the last few years. I'm not sure it was 100% authentic, and probably fall short of American standards, but it was very tasty and surprisingly spicy for this part of the world.

It's not particularly cheap, at around 10 euros for a main dish, but it's worth the price.


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Theme: Mexican
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Mammut II, second floor
Directions: Take the metro or a tram to Moscow Square.

Restaurant Name: Marxim Pizzéria és Söröző

This is a very popular pizzeria with the locals, especially young people and students. It's a great place for a beer and pizza before you hit the town, and possibly the best Hungarian style pizza you can eat anywhere in the city. Although Hungarian style pizza isn't a lot to shout about, and the sight of peas on any pizza should be enough to turn off the most ardent pizza fan, this one is actually worth a try.

The pizzas are all quaintly named, and fit in with the "Marxist" style of the pizzeria. They are all big, filling, tasty and cheap.

It's all cozy and comfortably down market, but it also a bar (sorozo) with a poor ventilation system. If you come in the evening you will be under a blanket of smoke.


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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: Kisrókus utca 23
Directions: From Moscow Square, walk up Feny Utca, past the two Mammut shopping malls, and then take a left Kis Rokus utca at the t-junction.

Restaurant Name: Mama Rosa Pizzeria

This is a pleasant pizzeria in a cozy cellar just off the Moscow Square on the Buda side of the river. It serves up big and tasty pizzas with a Hungarian edge. Like all Hungarian food seems to be, the pizzas are a bit on the heavy side, but they are filling and cheap at between 2-4 euros each. They also have a vast array of toppings, including chili beans. I've had better pizzas, but the place is certainly worth checking out, and is recommended by the Lonely Planet guide.

Open 11am - 11pm.


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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 2013456
Address: I Ostrom Utca 31
Directions: Walk past Burger King from Moscow Square and the pizzeria is on the left side of I Ostrom Utca.

Restaurant Name: Iguana Bar & Grill

Considered by many to be the best Mexican in Hungary, this is, for me, easily one of the best restaurants in the capital. Quality food, with lots of options, including tasty vegetarian ones. Original ideas, house specialities and a choice of spice levels means that everyone can find something they will enjoy. The service is also very efficient and friendly.

It's very popular, and gets extremely crowded in the evenings. You'll want to book ahead after 7pm and weekends. But it's open all day, and you can find plenty of empty tables outside peak times, say 4pm.


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Theme: Mexican
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: +36 1 331 4352
Address: 1054 Budapest, Zoltan u. 16
Directions: Take M2 to Kossuth Lajos ter (parliament). Walk south along Nador utca, and then take a left down Zoltan utca.
Website: www.iguana.hu

Restaurant Name: Mokka Bar

This is one of the classiest restaraunts in Budapest. It's a place that is hugely popular with the expat crowd, so you might want to reserve ahead. It serves up very high quality food, in cosy rooms with pleasant ethnic decor. The menu is very imaginative, and mixes up dishes and food from around the world, like a Dutch cheese tempura or an Argentinean steak with a red curry chick pea mousse. The food is presented beautifully and elegantly, with a real eye for color and composition.

As with Budapest in general, the prices are very reasonable by European standards. Mains are generally in the region of 10 to 20 euros. The only downside was the service, which while excellent, was perhaps a little too hard sell with the optional extras.


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Address: Sas. u 4.
Directions: M1, M2, M3, Deák Ferenc tér. Round the corner from St. Steven's basilica.
Website: http://www.mokkarestaurant.hu/