Traditional Hungarian Restaurant -Budapest

Budapest's Tourist Trap is District V. Spend 2 or 3 hours there to see the shops, then run. Castle Hill and Franz Liszt ter come in second and third on the tourist trap index. Outside of those three tight zones the worse that it gets is 50% Tourist and 50% local. With the excepton of RÉZKAKAS BISTRO and HUNGARIKUM BISTRO which are sort on the fringe of District V, these are all in District VI and VII.

These are all my favorites but the ones in bold are the ones to hit first.

EXCELLENT HUNG / JEWISH ($$)
MACESZ HUSZÁR
District VII, Dob street 26.
+36 1 787 6164
www.maceszhuszar.hu

ALL YOU CAN EAT HUNGARIAN ($$$)
TRÓFEA GRILL
District VI, Kiraly utca. 30-32.
+36 1 878 0522
http://kiraly.trofeagrill.eu/

HUNGARIAN FOOD AND STEAKS . 100 YRS OLD ($$$)
HAXEN KIRALY
District VI, Király str.100.
+36-1-351-6793
http://www.haxen.hu

GOOD GYPSY MUSIC / FOOD ($$$)
RÉZKAKAS BISTRO
District V, Sas utca 3
+36 1 318-0038
http://www.rezkakasbistro.hu

IF CHILI’S OPENED A HUNGARIAN RESTAURANT ($$)
VAKVARJÚ ÉTTEREM
District VI, Paulay Ede utca 7
+ 36 1 268 08 88
www.vakvarju.com/

I NEED! A HAMBURGER . BUY THE CATSUP ACROSS THE STREET ($)
ZING BURGER
District VI, Kiraly Utca 60

OLD WORLD HUNGARIAN FOOD AND ATMOSPHERE ($$)
PAPRIKA ÉTTEREM
District VII, Dózsa György út 72
+36-20-294-79-44
http://www.paprikavendeglo.hu/

NEW IN-PLACE IN TOWN ($$)
HUNGARIKUM BISTRO
District V, Steindl Imre u. 13.
+36 30 661 6244
http://hungarikumbisztro.hu

GOOD HUNGARIAN FOOD ($$)
BELVÁROSI LUGAS
VENDÉGLŐ
District VI, Bajcsy Zsilinszky u.15
+36 1 302 5393
http://lugas-etterem.com/

MY FAVORITE WINE BAR HAS GREAT FOOD. 150 FEET FROM THE APT ($$)
KADARKA BÁR
District VI, Király utca 42
+36 1 266 5094

GOOD BREAKFAST ($$)
CAFÉ VIAN
District VII, Király u. 13
+36 1 878 1350

HUNGARIAN BREAKFAST ($$)
FRAPPANS
District VII, Király u. 15, www.frappans.com
+36 1 798 5030

SWORD FIGHTS & BELLY
DANCERS & GREAT FOOD ($$)
SIR LANCELOT
District VI, Podmaniczky u. 14
www.sirlancelot.hu
+36 1 302 4456

GOOD CHEAP HUNGARIAN ($)
FRICI PAPA KIFŐZDÉJE
District VI, Király u. 55
http://www.fricipapa.hu
+36 1 351 0197

YOU CAME FOR EXOTIC SO EAT GEROGIAN—EXCELLENT ($$)
HACHAPURI
District VI, Andrássy út 3
http://www.hachapuri.com
+36 1 317 5479

UNUSUAL BOOK THEMED FOOD WITH GOOD REVIEWS ($$)
KÖNYVBÁR & RESTAURANT
District VII, Dobb u. 5
booking@konyvbar.hu
+36 20 922 7027

CASH
OTP BANK ATM MACHINE
Király utca 49

PHARMACY
GYÓGYSZERTÁR
(Pharmacies sell only medicines)
Király utca 47

PERSONAL HYGIENE ITEMS
DM STORE
Király utca 34

SPAR GROCERY STORE
Király utca 35

WASH & FOLD LAUNDRY SVC
WASH AND FOLD
Ó utca No. 24

FULL LAUNDRY & DRY CLEANING SERVICES
VAJNÓCZKI LAUNDRY & DRY CLEANING
Szófia utca 7
+36 1 342 3796
Mon thru Fri: 8:00-18:00
Saturday: 8:00-13:00
info@vajnoczkitisztitoszalon.hu

James, thanks for posting that list. I bookmarked two of them. Love the prices at frici papa. I have the feeling that if/when my wife and I visit Budapest it will be one place that we actually eat out most days.

My favorite " I don't want think about where to go place" is Vak Varju or Kadarka. Actually, in good weather you can find me sitting outside a Kadarka most evenings when I am there. Unfortunately that's only 20 to 25 days a year.

any lángos recommendations? i thought the stand in the great market hall was decent, but i'd love to try others.

you hijacked the name of the rail service?

anyway, VakVarju has good lángos .

VAKVARJÚ ÉTTEREM
District VI, Paulay Ede utca 7
+ 36 1 268 08 88
www.vakvarju.com/

for good töltött káposzta try
BELVÁROSI LUGAS VENDÉGLŐ
District VI, Bajcsy Zsilinszky u.15
+36 1 302 5393
http://lugas-etterem.com/

After either, you may want to visit Dr. Judit Seidner who is a cardiologist that works out of the First Med Clinic on Hattyú u. 14 in Buda.

How did I miss this post?? We just returned from Budapest on Monday. I guess we did fine as we didn't have a bad meal the entire trip. Hungarian glühwein was the only thing I'll never try again.

My observations; the bread is better in Austria and Germany than in Hungary. The food was EXCELLENT everywhere in Budapest. If I had to make a minor criticism it would be that some restaurants use a little too much salt. I was a little disappointed that the food was not spicier, with all that paprika and all, but maybe I ordered the wrong things. I still enjoyed everything and food is generally so much better than what you find in the states.

Try Spinoza Cafe in the old Jewish quarter. We ate a couple of times at the food stands in the Central Market.

I was surprised about the food as well. I expected with all the paprika there would be more bite to it. But I come from a part of the world where everything is very spicy hot and just expected the same. Hungarian food is a melding of Austrian/German with a little Ottoman spice added; all tied together with heavy Jewish overtones. An old timer once pointed out that in Budapest all the well to do families had a Jewish Maid/Cook so everyone ate Jewish food.

Budapest has 5 Michelin Star restaurants, 2 Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants and over a dozen Michelin listed restaurants. Not a hard place to get a good meal. In addition, while in Budapest, you can sample some of the food of surrounding countries like Georgian and Russian and Serbian.

James,
Would you say lodging/eating in and around Districts VI & VII are okay to avoid tourist trap? From a previous post you helped me out with, the zone you highlighted I believe covers Elizabeth and Theresa Town in Districts VI & VII as being a good place to stay. I want to make sure I understand the Districts because on the map I can only see VIII and I. You also mentioned we should check out District VIII which we have on our list. :)

Thanks,
A

The border between VI and VII is Kiraly utca, which ends just about at Deak Ferenc ter which is pretty much the center in distance of all of the major sites of Budapest. Budapest is one of those places you go to discover and explore more so than to tick off a list of tourist sites. The Top 10 are scattered over a pretty broad part of town and some of the best experiences lay in-between the top ten sites. Only one part of town is in and of its self a tourist center and that's the lower half of District V. Even that is worth a see, but I don't like it much as a base. So yes, Districts VI and VII are where I would (and do) stay. Because the nature of the tourism in Budapest you will pass other tourists here, but it isn't the focus of tourism. Generally its my preference for convenience while still having contact with Hungarian culture. Most of the good restaurants in the area will have at least 50% of the customers Hungarian and that number goes up the further you distance yourself from Deak Fernec ter. Same with the faces you see on the street. The exceptions might be lower end of Andrassy ut and the Gozsdu Courtyard. But I still love both.

But don't let the fact that every thing is so spread out worry you. Getting around is easy and fun. I just got home last night from a brief trip to Budapest. While I was there the temperatures ranged from -1F to 18F and I had to play tour guide for a relative. So public transportation was critical to keep from freezing my bum off.

From our lodgings near the Opera to the river front (outstanding in the evening) is 1.2km. A 15 minute walk or 10 minutes on the M1 metro. The M1 is the oldest on the continent so just using it ticks off a great experience. Then from the same location to the Great Market Hall, Nearly 2km, but about 15 minutes mostly using the 47/49 Tram line. A great ride that takes you past some of Budapest's great architecture including the Dohany utca Synagogue (Largest and most magnificent in Europe and second largest in the world). Every other top ten site is equally accessible if you position yourself correctly. If you stay in Buda plan on a lot of time walking up and down; just not good for a first visit to Budapest. Great Market Hall to the Parliament Building, nearly 2.5 km, but only 15 minutes on the 2 Tram which with its outstanding river front views, is recognized as one of the top tram rides in the world.