Burek
Balkan food doesn't seem to be big in Budapest, but we did find this bakery selling Serbian (round) version of delicious burek.
They have a choice of traditional fillings like meat, cheese, spinach with cheese, as well as modern versions like pizza burek or mushroom and ham burek.
Try a traditional version (meat or cheese), which goes very well with yogurt.
They used to have 50 % off promotion after 7 pm, but most of the things are gone before. Nevertheless, this burek place is very cheap so you don't need to be hungry until the promotion.
Location: Pest XIII, Hegedus Gyula u. 20 (just opposite the bus No. 15 stop). Open: Mon-Fri 8:00-19:30, Sat 8:00-13:00. Web: burek.echt.hu
Al Amir
Al Amir is a sort of canteen serving readily prepared food. The plus point is that you get to see the food before ordering. Al Amir is one of the best Middle Eastern places in Budapest with very reasonable food prices.
Location: Pest V, Kossuth Lajos u. 4. Open: daily 11:00-22:00
Hummus Bar
The owner of this tiny vegan place serving falafel, various salads and hummus of course claims that he makes the best falafel in Europe. We can neither confirm nor deny his claim but the falafel we had was pretty good.
We ordered a falafel hummus plate which comes with ten falafel balls, a generous portion of tasty hummus and two pieces of pita bread. We figured that portions at Hummus Bar are so big that one falafel hummus plate is enough for two. If we are very hungry we order a few extra balls of falafel and some salad on the side. Our favourite is Moroccan carrot salad.
Baklavas in Hummus Bar are pretty good too, there is free tea and a selection of bottled fruit juices including mango, which is however a bit too artificial for our taste.
The only complaint we have about Hummus Bar at Kertész utca is that their kitchen is just behind the counter and ventilation very bad so our coats always smell for days after visiting the place.
Location: Pest VII, Kertész utca 39. Open: daily 12:00-24:00. Transport: tram 4-6, Király utca.
There is another branch in Pest V, Alkotmány utca 20. Open: Mon-Thu 10:00-22:00; Fri-Sat 10:00-04:00; Sun 10:00-22:00. Transport: Metro M3, tram 4-6, Nyugati pályaudvar.
Szeráj
Szeráj is a canteen-style Turkish eatery with long opening hours, teeming with customers at any time of the day or night. It's convenient for a quick, acceptable meal.
Their so-called Turkish pizzas seem to be very popular and come with various toppings.
Location: Pest V, Szent István körút 13. Tel.: 311 6690. Open: Sun-Thu 9:00-4:00; Sat-Sun 9:00-5:00