Must-see restaurants in Hungary

  • Spinoza Café

    Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter

    This attractive cafe-restaurant includes a theatre where klezmer (Jewish folk music) concerts are staged at 7pm on Fridays (4900Ft concert only, 12,000Ft…

  • 21 Magyar Vendéglő

    Castle District

    This place with a less-than-inspiring name ('21 Hungarian Restaurant') has some wonderfully innovative modern takes on traditional Hungarian dishes such…

  • Pavillon de Paris

    Castle District

    A regular haunt of staff from the French Institute across the road (who should know la cuisine française), the Pavillon is housed in a wonderful old…

  • Mazel Tov

    Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter

    An Israeli restaurant with an enormous courtyard that comes into its own in the warmer months, 'Good Luck' serves lots of grilled meats like merguez…

  • Két Szerecsen

    Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter

    The menu inside this vaulted bistro is that of an ambitious coffee house that's turned its hand to imaginative international cuisine – you can find…

  • Marcello

    Budapest

    A long-time favourite with students from the nearby university since it opened almost three decades ago, this family-owned operation just down the road…

  • Exterior of Menza restaurant.

    Menza

    Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter

    This stylish restaurant on one of Budapest’s more lively squares takes its name from the Hungarian for a school canteen – something it is anything but. It…

  • Czakó Kert

    Budapest

    This charming rustic self-service cafe set in a historic barn and garden offers tempting breakfasts (750Ft to 1590Ft), cakes and ice cream. Midday two-…

  • Flat White

    Óbuda & Buda Hills

    This new-wave cafe does excellent speciality coffee, most notably its namesake flat white. Beyond its coffee and tea collection, you'll find breakfast…

  • Urban Betyár Restaurant

    Budapest

    Mixing up modern design with vintage folklore and village antiques in its museum, Urban Betyár also merges Hungarian tradition with a contemporary flair…

  • Baltazár Grill & Wine Bar

    Castle District

    Free-range chicken, sea bass, juicy rib eyes and burgers sizzle on the charcoal grill at this excellent restaurant. Hungarian classics are also well…

  • Dunapark

    Budapest

    Built in 1938 as a cinema, this art deco place with a lovely upstairs gallery, outdoor terrace and views of Szent István Park is a fine restaurant serving…

  • Halkakas Halbistró

    Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter

    A charming 'fish bistro' now in the heart of the Jewish Quarter after a long stint off lower Váci utca, this place serves fresh, simple and great-value…

  • Hauer Cukrászda és Kávéház

    Budapest

    This historic (and enormous) confectionery first opened in 1899 but changed names and direction after WWII and only regained its former fin-de-siècle…

  • Vegan Love

    Budapest

    Vegan fast (sorry, street) food doesn't get much better than at this hole-in-the-wall eatery on up-and-coming IX Bartók Béla út. Try the likes of sweet…

  • African Buffet

    Budapest

    We love the food, the colourful decor and and the warm welcome at this little African oasis just round the corner from the Rákóczi tér market. It’s family…

  • M Restaurant

    Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter

    A small, romantic spot with a laid-back vibe, brown-paper-bag decor and a short but very well thought-out menu of Hungarian dishes with a French twist…

  • Sarki Fűszeres

    Budapest

    This delightful retro-style cafe on tree-lined Pozsonyi út is the perfect place for brunch, a late breakfast, a specialty coffee or just a quick sandwich…

  • Vapiano

    Óbuda & Buda Hills

    This branch of the popular pizza, risotto and pasta bar is a welcome addition to Óbuda’s dining scene. Probably not the most memorable meal of your life,…

  • Macska

    Budapest

    'Cat' is a peculiar little cafe-bar, with veggie and vegan dishes like enchiladas and quesadillas on the menu. Eclectic decor, chilled atmosphere and good…

  • Eat & Meet

    Budapest

    For authentic Hungarian home cooking, Eat & Meet lives up to the label. Zsuzska (Suzie) Goldbach and her family open their apartment on the Danube to…

  • Belvárosi Piac

    Budapest

    What used to be called the Hold utca Market has been given a total facelift. It remains a true-blue purveyor of meat and produce, but we come here for the…

  • Most Kortárs Bistro

    Budapest

    This place with the mouthful of a name is a restaurant-bistro-cafe-bar with a ‘lived-in’ look that clearly wants to be everything to everyone. And it…

  • Liberté

    Budapest

    Established in 1902 (but not at this location), Liberté looks and feels more like a cafe and bar than a restaurant, and that's what people seem to use it…

  • Costes

    Budapest

    The first restaurant in Hungary to gain a Michelin star, Costes is the carefully orchestrated high-end dining experience you might expect with head chef…

  • Első Pesti Rétesház

    Budapest

    It may be a bit overdone, with 'olde-worlde' counters, painted plates stuck on the walls and old letters and curios embedded in Plexiglas, but the 'First…

  • Építész Pince

    Budapest

    This basement restaurant behind the Hungarian National Museum is stunningly designed, and why wouldn’t it be? It’s in the neoclassical headquarters of the…

  • Zóna

    Castle District

    Where the beautiful set eat and sup, Zóna is as much an architectural triumph as a foodie magnet. The menu is succinct and nicely executed; we…

  • Baricska Csárda

    Lake Balaton & Southern Transdanubia

    If you are going to eat typical Hungarian fare, let it be here, under the trellises covered in creeping vines and among the vineyards. The setting is…

  • Paris Budapest Restaurant

    Budapest

    One of Budapest's loveliest restaurants hides inside the Sofitel Budapest Hotel. The decor is minimalist, the service some of the best we've come across…

  • Hanoi Xua

    Budapest

    A little out of the way, but handy for the Hungarian Natural History Museum and the Népliget bus station, this spacious, functional-looking restaurant has…

  • Pata Negra

    Óbuda & Buda Hills

    ‘Black Foot’ (a type of Spanish cured ham) is a lovely Spanish tapas bar and restaurant that serves such standards as calamares a la romana (fried…

  • Nobu

    Budapest

    Budapest knew it had arrived when a branch of the favourite canteen of the London glitterati opened here. As elsewhere, Nobu is minimalist in decor and…

  • Padrón

    Budapest

    An authentic slice of Spain in the backstreets of Budapest, Padrón is passionately run by well-informed staff and expertly trained chefs. There's a great…

  • Vadkörte

    Danube Bend & Western Transdanubia

    This adorable country inn at tiny Kondorfa, in the heart of Őrség National Park, has an excellent restaurant serving hearty seasonal cuisine with a strong…

  • Arany Kaviár Étterem

    Castle District

    With stellar service and beautiful presentation, the 'Golden Caviar’ serves Russian food like you've never seen it. We can't fault the flavours – the home…

  • Magyar QTR

    Budapest

    It's difficult not to love this bistro for its excellent Hungarian wine selection (more than 100 vintages from five regions), the food and the fabulous…

  • Onyx

    Budapest

    This Michelin-starred eatery adjacent to (and owned by) Gerbeaud has taken it upon its own lofty shoulders to modernise Hungarian cuisine, and its six…

  • Bacchus

    Keszthely

    Oenophiles and foodies should head straight to this restaurant and wine mecca, which serves simple but lovingly prepared Hungarian fare including local…

  • Paletta Bistró

    Budapest

    This new kid on the block in Southern Pest – a transplant from Keszthely on the Balaton – has a lakeside vibe, with whitewashed clapboard terrace, lots of…

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