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Fortuna Önkiszolgáló
You'll find cheap and fast weekday lunches in the Castle District at this place, a very basic but clean and cheerful self-service restaurant. Reach it via the stairs on the left side as you enter the Fortuna Passage.
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Főzelék Faló
Some people say that this étkezde , which keeps relatively extended hours, is the best in town. It's very convenient to the bars of Liszt Ferenc tér and the music academy, but is always busy and it seems like there's never a place to sit down.
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Frici Papa Kifőzdéje
'Papa Frank's Canteen' is larger and more modern than most étkezde . Excellent főzelék dishes are available.
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Fröhlich
This ancient cake shop and café in the former ghetto makes and sells old Jewish favourites such as flódni , a three-layer cake with apple, walnut and poppy-seed fillings, and kindli , cookies with nuts or poppy seeds.
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Fuji
Above Rózsadomb (the poshest area of Budapest) in district II and on the corner of Zöldlomb utca and Zöldkert út, Fuji is a long way to schlep for sushi, sashimi and sukiyaki. But this is the most authentic Japanese game in town, judging from the repeat clientele who nip in for noodles and more.
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Fülemüle
This quaint Hungarian restaurant that looks like time stood still just before WWII is quite a find in deepest Józsefváros and well worth the search. Dishes mingle Hungarian and international tastes with some old-style Jewish favourites.
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Gasztró Hús-Hentesáru
Opposite the first stop of trams 4 and 6 on the western side of Margaret Bridge, this place with the unappetising name of Gastro Meat and Butcher Products is a traditional butcher's shop serving cooked sausages and roast chicken as a sideline, which is common in Hungary.
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Gerbeaud
This is the most famous of the famous cafés in Budapest - bar none. Founded in 1858, it has been a fashionable meeting place for the city's elite on the northern side of Pest's busiest square since 1870. A visit is mandatory.
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Goa
This new, very well-dressed kid on the block is the place at the 'mo to be seen to be 'A' (as in list). It's the trendiest place in town and the food is very good. The salads are especially recommended.
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Govinda
As well as wholesome salads, soups and desserts, Govinda serves up a daily set menu plate. Run by a Buddhist and blessed by the Dalai Lama when it was first opened, the restaurant is in a basement near Chain Bridge.
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Gresham Kávéház
Hotel coffee shops - even ones that masquerade as proper restaurants and call themselves PPHRs (popular-priced hotel restaurants) in the hospitality trade - don't usually make the grade as far as we are concerned but this one in a stunning newly renovated hotel is worth its weight in majolica tiles. There's live jazz every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
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Han kuk Guan
No-one is going to be able to tell you what a Korean joint is doing way out in district XIV southeast of City Park, but who cares? It's about as authentic as you'll find. Try any of the barbecues or the p'ajon (green onion pancakes) served with seafood.
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Hanna
Housed upstairs in an old school in the Orthodox Synagogue complex, this simple eatery is as soulless as the devil himself, but if you answer to a Higher Authority on matters culinary, it is another option for kosher food at lunchtime only. (On the Sabbath meals are available later but you must pay for them in advance.)
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Három Testvér
Great any time but especially for a late-night snack or post-club bit of blotter, the 'Three Brothers' have branches throughout Pest, including a Szent István körút branch (XIII Szent István körút 20-22) and a Teréz körút branch (VI Teréz körút 60-62).
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Hold utca market
Hold utca market is a central market, though not one of the most colourful or well-stocked.
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Holly
This very popular new étkezde is an excellent place for lunch or an early evening meal. There are daily specials and the menu changes every week.
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Il Treno
With a cheap set menu, a half-dozen branches throughout the city and a thriving takeaway service, 'The Train' (its first branch was opposite Déli train station) is one of the most popular pizzerias in town. Seating at this branch is in the neighbouring Trombitás restaurant or, in warmer months, in a positive oasis of a courtyard off busy Moszkva tér.
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Íz-É Faloda
The 'Drink-Eat Snack Bar' is a clean, modern and very cheap self-service place in the Fény utca market next to the Mammut shopping mall. It has excellent főzelék dishes.
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Kacsa
Kacsa (duck) is a place to go quackers, though you need not restrict yourself to just dishes with a bill. It's a fairly elegant place, with art on the walls and piano music in the evening, so dress appropriately. They dish up fresh ingredients, but stuffy service and pricey wines.
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Kádár
In the heart of the Jewish district, Kádár is probably the most popular and authentic étkezde in town. It closes most of the month of August.
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Kama Sutra
This new arrival is a welcome one indeed: decent curries and tandoor dishes in upbeat surrounds in the very heart of town. Try the samosas and chicken vindaloo. It's definitely a cut above the usual curry-house atmosphere and the perfect place for a meal before moving on for the evening.
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Károlyi Étterem
This place beckons not so much for the food (though it is decent enough) but for its location in the renovated Károly Palace (Károlyi Palota) near ELTE university. It has a wonderful terrace in the palace courtyard open in the warmer months and the menu has lots of options for vegetarians.
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Kárpátia
A veritable palace of fin-de-siècle design dating back 120 years that has to be seen to be believed, the 'Carpathia' serves almost modern Hungarian and Transylvanian specialities in both its restaurant and cheaper pub, and there is a lovely covered garden terrace. This is the place to hear authentic csárdás Gypsy music.
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Kéhli
A rustic but stylish place in Óbuda, Kéhli has some of the best traditional Hungarian food in town. In fact one of Hungary's best-loved writers, the novelist Gyula Krúdy (1878-1933), who lived in nearby Dugovits Titusz tér, moonlighted as a restaurant critic and enjoyed Kéhli's bone marrow on toast as a starter (better than it sounds!) so much he included it in one of his novels.
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Képíró
Using the old word for 'painter', this restaurant is one of the more stylishly appointed eateries in town, with provocative frescoes on the walls and canned jazz. The food is French classical (it gets a red Michelin mention), the service professional and there is a decent selection of vegetarian dishes.
