Aside from a few nice restaurants and a few tourist traps, Budapest’s dazzling Castle District has little to offer when it comes to dining and drinking, particularly for those seeking someplace with relatively low prices. Providing a nice alternative to expensive eateries and supermarket-supplied feasts partaken on a park bench, three young guys decided to open a unique new establishment at Szentháromság Square that offers pre-packed takeaway meals and guidance for visitors to find the area’s best picnic spots, where anyone can devour delicious drinks and snacks amid a picturesque view.

It all started when three guys attended a seminar together at the University of Technology and Economics, and after finishing their studies somehow became reacquainted again, and decided to open the most unusual eatery of the Castle District, Teteje, which is not exactly a café, nor a street-food spot, but rather an eatery and picnic provider in one. Their aim is to entice everyone up to the BudaCastle, and turn the area into a place where people not only go for the museums, the library, or for sightseeing, but also to enjoy the breathtaking panorama and to turn off the world for awhile. To achieve this, they provide all necessary picnic equipment, such as blankets, packages filled with goods from local producers, syrups, lemonades, and fröccs.

We find this concept adorable, so we decided to check Teteje out for ourselves. The small unit is found about 20 steps to the right from the towering central monument of Szentháromság Square; the Teteje signs are easily spotted here, even though the terrace is truly tiny due to its location by a cultural heritage sight. They do not operate fully as a regular café, but in case someone doesn’t feel like wandering too far for a picnic, they can still devour their treats inside or on the terrace.

The design is simple, but the decorations are remarkable; the labels of the syrup bottles and the paper bags are cute, and the picnic-location map is really practical, featuring the best alfresco-dining destinations of the Castle District, showing how frequented the different areas are, how picturesque the view is, and around what time warm rays of sunshine hit that certain spot. The Teteje trend is to choose a pre-packed package of goods (available from 1,200 HUF, with additional dips for 400 HUF, sausage and ham for 400 HUF/portion, and cheese that costs 500 HUF/portion), pick a drink (we recommend the hippophae syrup), or fröccs (half a liter of homemade soda costs 500 HUF, 1 dl of wine is 300 HUF, and 1 dl of fizzy water costs 50 HUF), take a blanket, and find a suitable spot where you can stay however long you wish – just don't forget to return the blanket afterwards.If you follow the map, you can devour your snacks amid an environment that differs from anything that downtown has to offer; you can gaze at people strolling on the square, tourists almost poking out their eyes out with selfie sticks, or elderly couples holding hands. During weekends, they entice everyone to the terrace with acoustic concerts. This is Teteje – simple, and for that reason, wonderful.