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.

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).