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Best Lists in Budapest

Posted by (Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest) on

Best Television Chef Restaurants in Budapest
This isnt my sort of thing, but I thought someone might be interested. I know we have a few closet 5-star travelers on the forum.
For those of you into television cook restaurants, Budapest has two.
- Spago by Wolfgang Puck at the stunning Matild Palace Hotel.
- Gordon Ramsey Bar and Grill at the newly opened Dorothea Hotel. (The
restaurant will open in the Summer of 2026)

Michelin Star and Bib Gourmand Restaurants
And while I don’t eat at restaurants that use tweezers to put the food on the plate, it is worth noting the https://guide.michelin.com/hu/en/selection/hungary/restaurants/1-star-michelin/2-stars-michelin/bib-gourmand
Two Star
- Platán Gourmet, Tata, Hungary
- Stand
One Star
- Costes
- Babel
- Salt
- Pajta, Őriszentpéter, Hungary
- Rumour
- Essencia
- Borkonyha Winekitchen
- 42, Esztergom, Hungary
Bib Gourmand
- 13 restaurants in Hungary including N28 Wine and Kitchen
Selected Restaurants
- 55 restaurants in Hungary including, Spago, Faustos, Stand25 Bistro,
Felix

Michelin Key Hotels in Budapest
Michelin also rates hotels. Apparently, the rating is on the quality of the facility and the service and not its convenience for tourism, as only the W Hotel is ideally situated for most tourism. Runners up on location are Verno, Dorothea, Four Seasons. https://guide.michelin.com/hu/en/article/travel/all-the-michelin-key-hotels-in-hungary
Two Key Hotels
- Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace https://images.trvl-media.com/lodging/1000000/980000/975000/974901/12234375.jpg?impolicy=resizecrop&rw=575&rh=575&ra=fill
- Matild Palace https://resizer.otstatic.com/v3/photos/48236141-3?width=752&height=752&webp=true
One Key Hotels
- Anantara New York Palace https://static.prod.r53.tablethotels.com/media/hotels/slideshow_images_staged/large/1383562.jpg
- Dorothea Hotel
- Hotel Clark
- Kimpton Bem
- Kozmo Hotel Suites & Spa
- Párisi Udvar Hotel https://welovebudapest.com/i/2d/parisi-udvar-20211025-hirling-balint-011.jpg
- Verno House
- W Budapest https://www.designscene.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/W-Budapest-Photo-%C2%A9DSCENE-12-730x973.webp
One Key hotels outside of Budapest
- BOTANIQ Castle of Tura, Tura
- Hotel Petit Bois, Balatonfüred
- Platán Manor, Tata

Best Bars in Budapest. This list is a strange mix of upscale and rustic. Two that I know and enjoy are Kadarka Wine Bar and Kisüzem https://www.cntraveller.com/article/best-bars-in-budapest

Posted by
4856 posts

I am going to bookmark this even though we have no immediate plans to visit Budapest again soon. But, hey, you never know.
I love Wolfgang Puck’s food.

Posted by
2200 posts

Apparently, the rating is on the quality of the facility and the service and not its convenience for tourism, as only the W Hotel is ideally situated for most tourism.

Mr. E. with public transportation wouldn't most of these hotels be convenient for tourism? Many of these hotels have some pretty reasonable rates even in the summer.

That's the beauty of visiting Hungary, Poland, etc. You can stay at great 4-5 star hotels for very reasonable prices.

Posted by
24644 posts

Threadwear, admittedly I pound on location maybe too much. It’s just that there are a few areas that just work so nice and just about every price range is represented in those areas that I have trouble saying the inconvenience of the other areas is worth the particular hotel located in them. But when someone wants to stay at a pace like the Matild Palace, man I get it. That place is freeking gorgeous and so full of history …
One check on the location is how far it is away from Deak Ferenc ter. Most everything worth seeing in Pest is within 10 minutes of Deak Ferenc ter by tram or on foot or on the M1 metro. The M1 is the one exception to “don’t use the underground to go sightseeing”.

Anything in District V (most of these hotels) is suspect, as the people who return to Budapest are the ones that experience something other than the tourist culture. District V only exists to serve tourists. Most Hungarian culture is hard to find there. But there are exceptions.

This is an amazing city, pick any hotel and you can make it work. Never a need to go home disappointed. I want everyone who visits to enjoy it as much as I do, and sometimes I get to anal and worry too much.

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