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Stex Alfred
A big, noisy place that's open almost 24 hours, the Stex is just north of the Applied Arts Museum. The extensive menu includes soups, sandwiches, pasta, fish and meat dishes as well as vegetarian selections, eand it transforms into a lively bar late at night. Best of all there's breakfast.
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Sushi An
This tiny sushi bar next to the British embassy in central Pest is great for sushi and sashimi but even better for Japanese sets served with miso soup. But there's not much more room in here than space to swing a cat.
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Szalai
This humble little cake shop in the Northern Inner Town and just north of Parliament probably has the best cherry strudel in the capital (though its cream cakes go down a treat as well).
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Szent Jupát
Szent Jupát is the classic late-night choice for solid Hungarian fare - consider splitting a dish with a friend. It's just north of Moszkva tér and opposite the Fény utca market so within easy striking distance of both Buda and Pest.
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Szeráj
This is a very inexpensive self-service Turkish place for felafels and kebabs, with some 10 varieties on offer. Szeráj is open late.
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Tabáni Terasz
This charming terrace restaurant at the foot of Castle Hill is a modern take on the same on traditional fare, with less calorific Hungarian dishes and an excellent wine selection. The candle-lit cellar is a delight in winter.
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Taiwan
This mammoth Chinese restaurant (think airline hangar - in red) may seem a long way to go for a bit of rice but it's one of the few places in Budapest that does decent dim sum.
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Taverna Pireus Rembetiko
Overlooking a patch of green and facing the Nagycsarnok Great Market, this place serves reasonably priced and pretty authentic Greek fare. Rembetiko is a folk music school and a style of traditional Greek music; there are live performances on Friday and Saturday evening. The courtyard is tempting in summer.
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Toldi Étkezde
This little eatery just west of Fő utca is the place to come if you're in search of Hungarian comfort food at lunchtime (weekdays only). Unusually for this kind of place, there are at least a half-dozen real vegetarian dishes to choose from.
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Tom-George
Let's be honest. What's the point of eating in a place that could be in London or New York when in Budapest? This über-trendy and overdecorated place is the venue of the moment and not an unpleasant spot. It's just that the menu is all over the place - contemporary Hungarian, Argentine steaks and sushi is not fusion it's confusion - and the service is as attitudinous as a film star being IDed.
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Trattoria Toscana
Hard by the Danube, this trattoria serves rustic and very authentic Italian and Tuscan food, including ribollito alla chiantigiana , a hearty vegetable soup stewed with cannelini (white Tuscan beans) and Parmesan cheese. The focaccia is excellent too.
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Troféa Grill
When you really could eat a horse (which might be there somewhere), head for the Troféa. It's an enormous buffet of more than 100 cold and hot dishes over which diners swarm like bees while being observed by the cooks from their kitchen. Considering there's goose liver and salmon on the table (at least for a while) it's good value.
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Új Lanzhou
They say that the 'New Lanzhou' is not as authentic as its miniscule sister-restaurant Lanzhou (VIII Luther utca) over in Pest, but you could have fooled us. This place is also more stylish and closer to the real world so no doubt it will be a winner.
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Új Sípos Halászker
This lovely, very traditional restaurant in Óbuda faces (and, in the warmer weather, has outside seating in) the district's most beautiful square, which is worth the trip in itself. Try the halászlé (fish soup). Service is very good here.
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Vegetarium
A basement restaurant just off Egyetem tér, the Vegetarium, Budapest's (and Hungary's) oldest meat-free restaurant, serves vegetarian and organic food of the old style but there are lots of choices for vegans here too.
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Vogue
This fine old vessel moored off XIII Szent István Park in Újlipótváros and opposite the eastern side of Margaret Island has stunning views south towards Margaret and Chain Bridges and - unusually - you can also take in both sides of the river. The food is Serbian and other South Slav - čevapčiči (spicy meatballs), pljeskavica (spicy meat patties) and ražnjiči (shish kebab) - always grilled and always in large portions.
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Vörös és Fehér
The 'Red and White' is all about wine - Hungarian to be precise - and here you can order from the top of the shelf by the 0.1L to sip and compare. The menu is brief but has come into its own in recent years. It hasn't eclipsed the wine but it certainly plays a greater role than it did. The pork dishes are superb.
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Vörös Postakocsi
What was for over three decades a more than forgettable eatery serving Hungarian stodge and overlooked by all but the bravest or most desperate of diners in Ferencváros has remerged Phoenix-like as a trendy retro Hungarian restaurant. If you want a take on how modern Hungarians think they used to eat when times were tougher (and less health-conscious), visit the 'Red Postal Coach'.
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Wasabi
The sushi conveyor belt has finally arrived in Budapest and has headed straight for Óbuda. There are more than five dozen items to choose from, fish is flown in fresh every other day and the restaurant has minimalist décor and a very cool feel. A winner.
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