Andante Borpatika (Wine Bar)
Nestled in a beautifully restored historical building, this smoke-free wine bar offers carefully selected Hungarian wines. The wines such as Pinot Noir or Domaine Mondivin Cabernet Franc from one of the owners, the famous Hungarian wine producer Zsolt Tiffán, is of good value. Patrons can enjoy their wines with some good Hungarian cold cuts, assorted local cheese or even Amedei chocolates (well, these are from Tuscany).
In the summer the tables spill out to the sidewalk. Even if you are a solo traveller you will very unlikely feel out of place, as you will have a fantastic view of the Danube and the chain bridge to enjoy.
Location: Buda I, Bem rakpart 2, Open: every day 16:00-24:00. Web: www.andante-borpatika.hu
Frici Papa Kifozdeje
Frici Papa Kifozdeje is no-frills, very cheap eatery with a daily lunch menu. Paprikás, be it chicken, pork, beef or mushrooms, is good here. Ki Jevi Pulykamell (turkey stuffed with cheese) and Rántott Camembert Áfonyaval (deep fried Camembert cheese with sweet blueberry sauce) are also safe bets. The potatoes of your choice or rice is to be ordered separately.
Arany galuska (spongy brioche served with vanilla sauce) and Somloi Galuska (sponge cake with walnut, raisins, chocolate sauce and whipped cream) stand out of the desserts selection.
Regular menu is available in English, but the daily menu only in Hungarian. A few of the waiters speak limited English, but that's helpful enough, and most of them are friendly.
Despite that Frici Papa is open until evening, the daily dishes are not fresh by dinner time. So if you want to have dinner there, it's best to order something that can't be precooked.
Location: Pest VII, Király u. 55. Tel. 351 0197. Open: Mon-Sat 11:00-21:00.
Kádár Étkezde
Kádár Étkezde is a small, no fuss, eat-and-go Jewish place which has become a real Budapest institution. Good home-style Hungarian and Jewish lunch is served here from 11am onwards and by 1.30pm most of the dishes from the daily menu are gone. The a la carte menu is available in English and French, the daily menu however is only in Hungarian. The cashier speaks a little English and if he is not too busy, he’ll be happy to help you ordering from the daily menu.
Sertés porkolt galuskaval (pork stewed with mild paprikas & cream, served with Hungarian gnocchi) is available every day and is one of the best in town.
Liba vagdalt burgonya püré (goose meatloaf served with mashed potato, available on Saturdays only) is another favourite of ours.
Sólet (a typical Jewish dish made of beans and barley, available on Saturdays only) is good, too.
Töltött paprika sós burgonya (paprika stuffed with minced pork & rice, served with boiled potatoes) is good value for money, although the sauce is a tad too sweet to our liking.
For desserts, you won't be disappointed with Arany galuska borhabbal (spongy brioche served with vanilla sauce, made perfect with a dash of unknown alcohol, available on Saturdays only).
Location: Pest VII, Klauzal tér 9. Tel. 321-3622. Open: Tue-Sat 11:30-15:30.
Kispipa Vendéglo
Kispipa Vendéglo is famed as being the first private restaurant in Pest. It’s a very touristy place serving unremarkable food. Be careful with the bill - we were overcharged (exorbitant 400 HUF/1dl) for the average house wine, which was (very conveniently) not in the menu. Also, Kispipa Vendéglo seems to be the only restaurant in the whole Budapest charging 10% for the service without stating this anywhere in the menu. We tried turkey and cod fish, which were rather dry and not fresh. The cheese stuffed inside the turkey was tasteless. The only plus point about the food is that it was not too salty.
Live piano music was too loud for such a small place, the pianist however was good.
We are mentioning Kispipa Vendéglo here only because it is aggressively recommended by many tourist guides and hotels, but in our opinion you can give it a miss.
Location: Pest VII, Akácfa u. 28. Tel.: 342-3969. Open: Mon-Sat 12:00-01:00.
Klassz
Considering location/food quality/price ratio, Klassz is almost too good to be true. Located at prime location on the most famous Budapest's boulevard, Klassz serves a small, but good selection of Hungarian and international dishes at very reasonable prices. They lose out on service quality as it varies from very friendly to chillingly cold, but we can swallow that as long as the cook does his job properly. So far we have never been disappointed.
Our top choice is roast lamb with vegetables, the latter being nice and crunchy, never overcooked. Grilled pork with a vegetable pancake is delicious as well. From the dessert section, we like the refreshing local curd-cheese pudding with lemon. Menu changes according to the season.
Location: Pest VI, Andrássy út 41. Transport: M1, Opera or Oktogon. Open: Mon-Sat 11:30-23:00; Sun 11:30-18:00.
Maligán Borétterem
Maligán Borétterem is a jewel hidden underground somehow out of the way in the old Buda (Óbuda), offering more than 400 types of Hungarian wines. You can taste most of the wines in 4cl measurements, which is good in case you would like to try an expensive wine without spending a fortune for the whole bottle. The Tokaj Kikelet Kesoi Furmint which we tried upon recommendation by the sommelier was unforgettable.
All the dishes we tried here were skilfully prepared and fresh.
Hortobagyi Palacsinta Rola (minced beef rolled in a pancake, served with special sauce) was a hearty starter that could be a meal itself.
Must try and our absololute favourite is the Mangalica és Marha Nyárs (special pork & beef skewers served with lecsó sauce and baked potatoes with sour cream). The only flaw was the food being too salty, so tell the waiter if you would like to have your food prepared with less salt.
Our favourite dessert remains the white chocolate soufle with strawberry sauce.
Service is very professional. We were pleasantly surprised when sharing the main dish, it was served in 2 separate plates without asking for it.
Location: Buda III, Lajos u. 38. Tel.: 240 9010. Open: Mon-Sat 12:00-23:00. Web: www.maligan.hu
Márványmenyasszony Vendéglö
Life Gypsy band adds to the warm farmhouse atmosphere of this typical Hungarian restaurant behind the castle hill. Good traditional cuisine, such as deep fried pork stuffed with blue cheese, minced chicken pancake in paprika sauce, turkey breast filled with plum in almond sauce can be enjoyed in a lovely courtyard during summer. Very good value, especially the good red house wine, wich costed only HUF 300/3 dl when we visited.
Services vary from professional to very friendly (depending on who serves you).
Location: Buda I, Márvány u. 6. Tel.: 487 3090. Open: daily 12:00-24:00. Web: marvany.kertvendeglo.hu