Eat in Budapest

In spite of the flags hanging above the entrance, Pomo d’Oro does not call any attention in the busy street of the Budapest banking district. From inside it has more character with lot of wood decoration, although it’s very dark at least during the day. But this is not something negative.

They’re proud to be the first to receive the plaque of patronage from the Italian Chef Association.

Review

Durint my sole visit to Pomo D’Oro the service crew was not bad: timing of foods was good although they did not pass my ice cube test (I like drinks with lot of ice so I always have to ask for it or for some extra and usually waiters simply forget about it). But this seems to be normal in Budapest because waiters in Budapest restaurants hardly ever do.

As usual in Italian restaurants in Budapest, starters are relatively expensive but the seafood carpaccio for instance is worth it: their octopus is really an exception in this price category.

Their tomato soup is incomparable to any other tomato soup I’ve ever had.

The main courses on the other hand are very good but not so outstanding. Their strive for good quality is visible, their materials are of good quality and after a single visit I can’t say anything negative about Pomo D’Oro. In my opinion it’s one of the 3 best Italian restaurants in Budapest.

Review

I spent many years in clubs, pubs and rock festivals but I’ve never met such polite punks as I did once and again on A38. Yes, on, because A38 is a boat. Let’s just quote their website about it:

“A38 is the reincarnation of a Ukranian stone-carrier ship. With its inauguration on 30 April 2003, it started a new life on the Danube in Budapest as a cultural venue. Since its opening it has become one of Budapest’s most important venues, and according to artists’ feedback, one of Europe’s coolest clubs.”

It’s cool indeed. And you would not expect such a nice restaurant on this boat which hosts (mostly underground) shows almost 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The restaurant is very bright due to tis huge windows which provides 70% of the walls and a great view to southern Pest and Buda. These days arworks are hanging on these enormous windows. It’s well decorated in a minimalist style with lot of wood and not just the ceiling is very high but there’s also lot of space between the tables.

The waiters used to be the most polite and aloof in the city. That changes but A38 still has one of the best services in town.

The food is made of fresh material but they’re not too original or unique, they wary from medium boring to good. But the whole ambience compensates for it, believe me. The best is going there for a lunch when 80% of the tables are empty, based on my sample of half a dozen visits.

My wife said on our first visit here that it’s like 2-3 interior designers had been working on this restaurant’s interior without seeing each others’ work during its progress. But I believe that if you were brave enough so the building from outside not having scared you away you’ll find everything else either nice or funny. Only one more thing about its appearance: I was much more relieved when I realized that the dozens of kilos of deer horns above each table were made from plastic.

The first restaurant of Italian Michelin-star chef Donatella Zampoli is a wannabe trendy, spacious restaurant still trying to find its target consumers few months after opening.

The service is very polite, sometimes overly, but some waiters are attentive and have a good sense of humor (yes, that’s a dangerous territory, but this time it worked well).

On Sundays it’s a family place with babies and kids, during the week it’s a trendy restaurant and in the evening it’s always full.

They’ve redesigned their menu few weeks ago, prior to that it was an Italian/Mediterranean fusion cuisine. They promised some changes, putting more summer-meals on the menu like salads and we expected price increase. They delivered the latter (10-15% on average) and they even taken some salads out, like the potato salads which my sister really loved. It’s still not expensive, indeed, they have the best value for money pizzas especially on the lower-end segment. And the meals are also well-priced to compete with the Le Roys and alike. At least the design suggests that they aim to conquer some of their customers, whilst also attracting tourist passing by and local residents. Yuppies also discovered the place quickly and I’m very curious what will be the main customer base of Donatella’s.

Their pizzas are simply fantastic; their pastas are good but sometimes disappointing because of the obvious use of frozen material.

The main courses are well seasoned and well created. And well prepared.

More information and details of the meals will follow soon.

I know a lot of people would think it’s pathetic to eat in a shopping mall and I can only agree. But before you judge me, you should know that LeRoy used to be a landmark in the XIIIth district’s gastronomy almost 10 years ago. Now that the original LeRoy no longer exists, they still have some of their classic meals on their menu. As long as their consistency is concerned, these iconic items are like a junk food franchise chain’s flagship products. Their hot chicken wings for instance is the best I’ve ever had in Budapest.

LeRoy is not easy to emotionally connect with (especially since their expansion in the shopping mall world) but they really have a constantly good quality and a funny, though sometimes quite annoying customer base. And it’s accessible, they’re in Buda as well as in Pest in different places but always well located from accessibility point of view. Plus, this particular LeRoy is almost always half-empty.

Review
It was far from love at first sight; I learned liking it though by now. I’m at the peak of my learning curve, to be more precise but I’m not sure about the angle of the next dots. It was triggered initially by a second-hand authentic source’s recommendation. First, the interior did not meet my expectations. Yes, I’m such a shallow person. Then all those rubbishy plastic boxes and plates…Their food must be really exciting, I thought.
I was warned that the service is horrible, which I found very funny instead. I am very sensitive about service quality but I actually enjoy the low-tone speaking of the two waiters and they’re very responsive, polite and sufficiently attentive. Any shy. First you could find this style annoying but you really start enjoying it when you realize that they are not just pretending it.
But their sushi wasn’t really that exceptional. I was always on a budget though, so probably I could have put together a fantastic menu if I wasn’t. Instead, I still tend to go for the bentos. The tempura are usually colder than they should be, but everything else compensate for this. The sashimi is always perfectly fresh, and so are the fishes. The salad is perfectly seasoned and crisp, the mizo soup, well it’s only mizo soup but very tasty. The only degradation is the small piece of fried sausage, served along with the tempura. Or maybe this is just the result of a sophisticated sense of humor?
The funniest thing though is the couple with their child at the table besides us. They’re Asians, dressed smart casual and the lady does not stop chatting on the phone, while the husband does not lose its temper. Suddenly I realize she speaks Hungarian, with a typical eastern accent, trilling. I only notice after her 5th call that she introduces herself “Piroska”. I wish I could bring an British equivalent of this funny name, very rarely used and I haven’t met anyone under 40 named like that. How she became Piroska, I have no clue.
Part of the cuisine staff is Japanese, as proved by the sight of the kitchen separated from the eating hall only by a counter filled with excellent fresh raw material. All other members look equally devoted.

Review

First of all, Heller’s Pub, as well as the other “Pubs” in Budapest, is not Pub. Not just because John Bull’s Pub, Beckett’s and others’ foods exceed most Londoner gastro pubs’ offering, but to me Pub must fulfill 80% of the following requirements:

- A selection of at least 3 ales, including at least 1 bitter
- 80% of the guests are British
- Easy-going atmosphere
- People tend to get drunk
- Majority of guests drinks bier
- Most guests are standing during the evening
- No drink table service
- Guests represent all types of society members in the same place
- Immigrant staff

Today even a flat-screen television is almost obligatory on match days.

According to this classification, Heller’s could be anything but a Pub since it meet none of these requirements.
On the other hand, they offer surprisingly good food and quality has been stable over the last 2 years.
They have wine tasting dinners, very well compiled, at reasonable price.

Review

In brief: confusingly stable quality. And if you scroll down a bit you’ll see that this is a good thing. But Arcade is more than a reliable business lunch place. Although it’s predictable to the point of boredom, somehow it’s always nice to be there. The place is well-known in the expat community’s business section and due to its location and profile it will never attract beck-packers and university students, so let’s just say that Arcade Bistro is a good choice for a risk-free business lunch provided that your guest does not insist eating goulash or paprikáscsirke.

I also like the hosting socialist-realist building as well as the similar style neighbor buildings.

Their wine selection is OK for foreign visitor (i.e. not too many, but relatively good selection served at good temperature), somewhat even experimental (Lisicza).