There are always new places opening in booming Budapest. Here are our favourite restaurants and bistros to open over the course of 2019.

2019 was quick out of the blocks as far as fine dining was concerned: Ádám Mede and team set up a whole small gastronomic complex at Laurel – bookstore, café, wine and tapas bar and restaurant in one, with a high-end feel. Norbi Krasznai's amazing cuisine has been on offer at Société since May. At the former Sophie & Ben Garden, Il Giardino brought classic pizzas and pasta to Buda.

Quality Italian cuisine has also come to Akácfa utca: Belli di Mamma excels in traditional fare. Since February, Krisztián Huszár, the most daring chef in the city’s gastronomic scene, has been cooking up a storm at Szirom on Margaret körút with fusion Asian cuisine and an indefatigable Vietnamese beef stew.

The TLV Eatery showcased Israeli flavours on Dob utca with hummus, lamb kebabs and baba ganoush, while famed chef Lajos Takács opened Kobuta, offering fantastic Japanese cuisine in the form of lunch or dinner menus. AUM was one of the greatest culinary experiences of the year, and the Flórián tér unit outlet can be a surreal, fascinating and nourishing gastronomic evening, in Asian garb.

Habsburg style was revived at two venues: the Liszt Restaurant at the Aria Hotel produces its own purified water and sourdough bread to those seeking high-end gastronomy, while Fiaker on focal Madách tér offers a choice of 400 wines. Far from the centre, the excellent Kami Kisvendéglője tries to recreate a bygone age, while the Kovászos Étterem on Kolosy tér allows you to sample fine bistro cuisine thanks to a couple just returned from the UK.

Several all-day brunch/tapas establishments opened in 2019: Pantry Brunch & Coffee was one excellent example, Café Babart in the party quarter was another. At Kalitka Bistro & Shop, you can also pick up sought-after Cargomoda shoes and Art on me clothes. As for breakfast, there’s all-day porridge of all kinds at Fågel by Artizán – Cereal Beast is similar in vein, only slightly more American in approach.

On bustling Bartók Béla út, Bartók – Reggeli. Délben. Este. (‘Morning. Noon. Night.’) sticks to its promise with breakfasts, classic tapas and a great selection of drinks, no matter what time of the day you arrive. On the same street, BÉLA's sibling MITZI opened its doors, with hearty breakfasts and an ever-changing global menu.

Ever-hip Újlipótváros welcomed a new, comfort-food bistro called CinCin, and aficionados of Franco-Hungarian fusion fare beat a path to the Corvin Gastropub on Fő utca, a few streets from a new venture by KIOSK at the Hotel Clark. The beautifully refurbished Párisi Udvar offers lunch, brunch or coffee and cake at the Párisi Passage Café & Brasserie. Another classy outlet downtown, this a mix of the Great Gatsby and post-war Americana, Marty’s sits on Vörösmarty tér.

According to reader feedback, one of the most popular places to open last year was the new spot in the Hotel Rum, SALT, where Szilárd Tóth levels up the flavours of Szatmár to fine dining with fine wines, herbs he grows himself and fermented ingredients.

The year 2019 was also strong on the international cuisine front: Pintxo opened at the end of the year, guiding diners around the Basque Country with the little picks that hold its imaginative regional tapas together. The two brothers who run Byblos brought Levantine treats to Semmelweis utca, the Tongue Tip Restaurant showcased northern China with its spicy soups, and Rim Thanonh Thai Food set up on Dob utca. OSHO transferred its own tasty Oriental soups from Újlipótváros to the heart of the city. Up in Óbuda, Lashka is not so much a restaurant as a pasta workshop – you can even take home fresh examples home with you.

Budapest can now add two more types of global cuisine to its ever-growing roster: Asli runs an authentic Indonesian kitchen, while down on Bartók Béla út, the ONO Poké Bowl Bar serves up this healthy Hawaiian national dish in all its forms.