Eat in Budapest

I’d been complaining a lot about Budapest restaurants not having been keen to offer customers decent meals at affordable prices in these turbulent economic environment. I finally found a couple of good choices in different parts of the town which I now would like to share with you.

Csalogány 26 has probably been offering their daily lunch menu for some time but I never noticed (I paid full price in the evening). I recently tasted their pork medalion which was simply fantastic plus they have a house’s wine which was quite good as well (a  simple but acceptable cuvée  from Malatinszky’s of Villány) for only HUF 200/100 cl. Check out their weekly lunch menu here but note that it’s quite unreliable since items tend to change by when you get there.

In the east bank of river Danube, Borbíróság decided to give a 50% discount for those who download their voucher from their website. Borbíróság may not be the best restaurant in town but it has a cosy atmosphere and a decent wine cellar. It’s also ideally located for those visiting the Vásárcsarnok or work in the neighborhood but they’re tired of the usual suspects of Ráday utca.

Noir et L’Or has a business lunch menu for HUF 990 for 2 courses and that’s quite fair: food is simplistic but well made and fresh and the service is polite. The interior is a bit cheaper answer to Donatella’s Kitchen the opposite side of the road, but the golden putto heads are a little bit over the edge to my taste. But it’s not only the interior design: as Donatella’s getting more and more expensive, Noir et L’Or’s getting to be a more and more viable option to many. They also have some good, rare wines such as Ráspi Irsai Olivér and Máté cuvée for instance.

Their Sunday Gluttonous day with its 50% off offer is a good alternative to Sunday Brunches.

Being a highly ranked restaurant and located in the very center of the city, Onyx restaurant represents a more luxurious option. With their lunch menu however, Onyx targets those who would like to break their daily monotony by a 45 minutes lunch. If 2 courses+coffee wouldn’t be served within that time period, the lunch’s on the house!

Now it’s official. There can be no doubt that Costes is de facto the best restaurant in Budapest and in the whole country.

Unfortunately Costes will close soon, or at least I’d bet heavily on this if I could. Much to my sadness, I must say, since Costes is by far the best restaurant in Hungary. Why? Let me see:

-         It runs a creative, trend-setting cuisine that has no peer in Hungary

-         It uses excellent materials, including a carefully made selection of Hungarian wines

-         It has a stylish, modern, although too smart atmosphere, good interior design

Anyone thinking about trying out Costes should consider the business lunch which is a more affordable option to Á la carte. The tasting menus are excellent and the food pairing’s almost perfect. 2 complaints I had: i) Chateau Kajmád Cabernet Sauvignon paired with a fish course was very strange. Ii) I’m not a local patriot or anything but offering Port Tawney for dessert…

I have no idea how Costes managed to bring here a Portuguese chef, indeed such a good one. Head Chef Miguel Rocha Vieira had previously worked in Maison Pic and prior to that, in El Bulli. It’s not that I know any of these but some of you may. The empresarios behind Costes are making the utmost to call the attention of Michelin Guide and GaultMillau’s, and Mr. Rocha Vieira’s keeping Costes on the right track if you ask me.

Here’s one of the Tasting Menus (my favorite, by wine pairing too), click to see them all:

M is a small cosy bistro in downtown Budapest overshadowed by the busy Liszt Ferenc square and Király utca, not to mention the establishments of Andrássy street. Located in the shadowy Kertész street on appr. 70 square meters and with a facade of 3 meters it’s completely undetectable and still visited by tourists. In spite of this it’s a quiet place run by food-enthusiast friends without any formal culinary education and visited by young students and artist as well as by French and Anglo-Saxonic tourists. With a capacity of around 35 people it’s often full but as opposed to Klassz on Andrássy street, here you can make a reservation. If you’re lucky you can experience one of their theme days like their Jewish weekend this fall.

The food is decent home-made style International and Hungarian made of perfectly fresh material. And this is one of the key aspects of M, the other one being the charming, friendly atmosphere created by the poor illumination and the handicraft wallpaper decoration covering the entire space. The prices are reasonable, even tourists on a budget will be satisfied with the bill.

They have a short wine selection of the lower-medium segment.

In spite of a snobbish name, Bábel is a modestly snobbish place. It’s interior reflects the current modern trend in Budapest gastronomy widely used in places like Donatella’s Kitchen, Tom George and many more.

I went there for a business lunch and stayed there until 18.30 without noticing that the usiness lunch place close at 16.00 for two hours until reopening as a chic trendy restaurant at 18.00. Part of the crew were very polite and attentive but still I’m afraid we were only allowed to stay because we were drinking non stop.

The food was delicious, although the fois gras mousse with baby beetroot salad (EUR 9.8) had such a small portion of mousse that is outrageous even by high-end gastronomy standards. But it was amazingly light and fresh, although not to be compared with Ráspi’s fois gras mousse (I’ll post about it soon).

The filet of trout with cauliflower and pearl barly risotto (EUR 9.6) was not just wonderfully good looking but also very tasty: thin slices of fish perfectly firm (or soft, from another angle) and very well spiced, although many may think it had too much spicy on it (I’m not one of them).

Their wine recommendation (Chateau Kajmád Cabernet Sauvignon 2006) wasn’t the best especially considering that we picked a far more sophisticated St. Andrea Áldás Cuvée (2006) before. But it was alright, we finished off the whole Áldás cuvée and then just ordered glasses of Cabernet wihch they opened in front of our eyes (a major achievement in Hungarian hospitality).

The restaurant is perfectly located ta the end of váci street just 100 meters from Fővámtér ’s touristic market.

More information: http://www.babeldelicate.hu/

Let’s start with the facts: Csalogány 26 restaurant is ugly. Now, keep reading.

Ideally hidden from the tourist trails and businesses in one of the ugliest areas of the 1st district, Csalogány 26 mostly attracts people who would like to eat well. The slightly pretentious service is in contrast with the honestly ugly, although new interior. You wouldn’t guess from that that Csalogány 26 was recently chosen one of Hungary’s top 10 restaurants.

Their wine list suggests good taste and I’d say that you can pair relatively well with most items on the short and frequently changing menu. I scored at first: Ráspi’s Sauvignon Blanc from 2007 is truly amazing. About the wine, please see the full review and other here.

The shrimp carpaccio with wasabi and mango sauce was fresh and tiny. The service guys new exactly when was appropriate to offer more wine (we only ordered one glass each of us (2) but ended finishing off a whole bottle).

It was sort if interesting to see on a plasma screen how the chef was preparing my fish, which was btw wonderfully cooked, spiced and served.

The goat cheese cream was very tasty and lightweight but the plum ice cream didn’t taste plum at all.

The bread which is served abundantly during and in between courses was fresh and excellent.

I paid HUF 5 500 for the 3 courses and it was well worth it.

Advance booking is recommended.

It’s a top pick for everyone, but only because of the food. Location is poor, interior is ugly and service staff is mixed.

It’s been more than 2 years ago when I read the first acknowledgements about Momotaro Ramen which captured my imagination through its originality and good value aspects, according to the late matula.hu fanzine. 2 years used to be more than sufficient with Budapest standards to experience major degradation in food and service and general quality decrease in any restaurant in Budapest but I have good news: despite some minor faults Momotaro Ramen is still an authentic place to eat relatively quickly.

The interior remained unchanged since the socialist era and the service is a bit old-fashioned too (in Hungary it means harsh).

Portions are huge, the only disappointment was frozen sea-food mix used for the soup.

Due to its quality, location and affordability I’d recommend this place to tourists and locals, those who are looking for authenticity in eastern cuisine. 

It’s been so long (a year) since I read the first good review about Klassz that I was concerned that it already may have become  much worse as it usually happens with most restaurants in Budapest: after a lightspeed take-off you don’t have to wait long for a sharp downturn in quality.

Klassz is located on Andrássy street, the trendiest avenue of Pest with new designer stores popping up every month now. It’s so perfectly located that becoming a tourist trap was to be guaranteed. Moreover, Klassz started well and I was surprised that they still don’t take table reservations which indicates that they’re expecting tourist visitors mostly. On this sunny September weekday the restaurant was half empty and to my surprise it only got almost full due to some tourists who just run into the restaurant without any consciousness.

Review

The interior design is tastefully trendy, even funny and the space is surprisingly small. Although it has high ceiling, the  entrance-side wall is a huge window so it’s quite bright and the decoration is nice. The waitresses are polite, responsive and the menu is short enough (and it’s printed on paper) to take fast decisions.

Foie gras is a must on the menu in touristic areas and I happen to like it, and as a starter it was quite worth the HUF 1 800 or so (it came with cabbage with honey dressing), it’s sufficiently big to fill your stomach for even an hour. But the main course arrives relatively fast. I asked the duck breast medium done and my business partner the tuna „pink” and we got them like that. Apart from the lemon risotto which did not taste lemon at all the duck was very good but not reaching the excellence of the starter.

After a light breakfast and the 2 courses above I felt completely full so I couldn’t taste the desserts, but I’ll be back for sure. The coffee was beautifully served (they have nice machine and grinder on a central „stage”). This restaurant is a must for everyone: couples, friends, business partners and tourists alike. Excellent value for money.

Many believe that Hungarians are wannabe Mediterraneans. I really doubt it. Except for our passion for summer maybe, there’s little in common with any of the people around the Mediterranean– and this is particularly true as long as food is concerned (Pizza doesn’t count).

To start with, for me Mediterranean food requires fresh, good ingredients. If you’ve ever been to Hungary, you know what I’m talking about. Located 300 meters from the city’s largest market, Pata Negra definitely should have no handicap on this field. Indeed, even seafood is fresh.

After a short downfall following the hype a year after its launch, Pata Negra is back with good food, easy-going but attentive service and great atmosphere. There are few new courses on the menu and weekly/monthly specials on the board.

Nowadays you don’t need to book a table: the 4th underground line’s construction area is just 2 meters from its entrance the no way any tourist would find the place in the surrounding chaos.

After so many poorly run fake mediterranean places Budapest still has its authentic, charming tapas bar with good food, service and last but not least, wines. 

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.