Tucked amid the foothills of Buda, Hegyvidék isn’t the most central shopping center of the city, but that’s not what makes it a special place. Instead, it’s a sophisticated and reliable point where, despite its relatively small size, we can find everything we need, all in exclusive quality. The store shelves are packed with premium products such as Cavalli vodka, crocodile-skin shoes, and organic Hungarian cosmetics. The center’s selection of eateries is also remarkable – including Budapest’s Michelin-starred Tanti restaurant.
Let’s start at the beginning. The Hegyvidék Shopping Center opened in the fall of 2012, and became one of the most popular shopping centers of Buda since then. After all, several things make visitors feel important here, like the huge lenticular artwork of Gyula Várnai in the central part of the building, or the silk wallpaper in the bathrooms. The stores were carefully selected, resulting in a unique mix with outstanding quality and, accordingly, higher prices – but here, customers definitely get what they pay for.
On the mezzanine floor, we can find services necessary for everyday life, while the ground floor is home to fashion, culture hubs, and restaurants. In terms of fashion, we can shop at Vathy’s Corner, offering brands like Canali, a.testoni, Laack, or the Versace Collection, or the store Lovely You Kids Fashion, selling beautiful children’s clothing. But we can also browse through the tailored suits, jackets, Emanuel Berg shirts, and personal selection of Schiffer Upper Class, or the Italian, Canadian, and French shoes, elegant dresses, and accessories of the recently opened Vincze Shoes and Fashion.
As for eating, we can expect dishes recommended by the Michelin Guide instead of the usual fast-food stands. This is the location of Tanti, which received a Michelin star for the second time this year, and yet here we can even enjoy a lunch special. Reduced-gluten pastas and steaks are prepared in the open kitchen of Na’Pasta Bistro, which gets its meats from Mészársteak (see below) and prepares them at no additional cost. Szervusz Bistro is a nice choice as well, as guests come for lunch even from the Pest side of the city. Fortunately, these places have terraces as well, where we can eat our chosen dishes accompanied by twittering birds.
And thus we arrived to the favorite floor of many, hidden beneath the surface: the gourmet-style gastro section. Here we can find the city’s popular butcher, Józsi Gál, who has customers coming to the shopping center all the way from Szentendre. In addition to domestic meat, MészárSteak offers Australian and South American products, as well. Next to them is the counter of Vörös Homár, stacked with mussels, octopus, and other fresh seafood, some of which they also prepare on the spot. They have the city’s best fish and chips – moreover, soon they will transform their present unit into a fish bistro and open a separate fish shop a few steps away.
Sticking with the coastal atmosphere, we cannot just walk past the Mediterranean delicatessen Delizia Gourmet & More, the selection of which features exclusive products like the world’s most expensive ham (Pata Negra), tangerine jam, and Dutch biscuits. The skilled salesclerks are ready to help customers however they can, even if that something is putting together our own sandwich from ingredients from the store. On this floor, we can also find a store of Bortársaság and a Swiss artisanal chocolate shop, the Swiss Selection, with handmade sweets from unique, fresh chocolate – if we can still eat after sampling the restaurants and shops on the upper floors.
