Diners have always been an integral part of Budapest’s image, the metropolitan life. It’s almost certain that the first of their kind came about near markets and butchers but today the status quo is not so clear-cut and definitely more colorful, fortunately.

1/7

-

A quick lunch that’s also delicious and won’t cost you too much? It’s not at all impossible but it’s not so easy, either, let’s admit. Though it could be, if you come to think of it. Since diners as genre are not a novel phenomenon in Budapest, what’s more, they have a really good and lovable tradition. It’s enough to think about the classic places, the butchers at the Great Market Hall or the little open-air diners selling mostly meat dishes called “lacikonyha” in markets or fairs. You know what I mean, right? Surely enough, the world has evolved a lot and besides the sausages, black pudding and pork rib you can find dishes representing international street food, which is great news. Even more so, if you can have lunch at these places for approximately 1000 HUF.

2/7

Kádár Étkezde (Closed)

1072 Budapest, Klauzál tér 9.

A classic diner, which is a kind of odd-one-out, as it’s not really a diner but it has the most pre-war-times-like, chatty and appetizing atmosphere. Checked tablecloth (with transparent nylon cover on top to keep it clean), determined but jovial quickness and what’s most important: everything is about the food. The menu is decades old but this is a strong point, as well. It brings back the memories of quality, delicious meals consumed at home. You can have tafelspitz, one-course dishes and soups without any trace of hurry, frustration or anxiety. Attention! They’re open between 11 AM and 3 PM and closed on the weekends and from late June to late July there’s a summer break, too. So eat when you can.

Address: Klauzál Square

3/7

Quan Hoa Sen – The exotic

It must be the most widely known Vietnamese soup-place in town. It’s not easy to find for the first time around or for people not so familiar with the suburban neighborhood it’s located in (pull down from the carriegeway leading to the airport at Sárkány Center as shown on the boards and look for building SC-29) but it’s worth the trouble. Our single comment: pho! One of the simplest and most exciting soups all over the world. You can taste this soup, whose eating is virtually a national sport in Vietnam, here and if you happen to suffer from a little snobbery, you can then travel to the Naschmarkt in Vienna to conduct a comparison test.

Address: 79-83 Gyömrői Street

4/7

Daikichi japán kifőzde – The super healthy

You have to spend some time looking for this one, as well, for the first visit, what with being in a basement and too shy to make itself too visible from the outside. Let’s be honest, it’s a plainly fitted underground room with white walls, light tables and benches. There are two different menus: a temporary, home-printed “offer” (containing simpler dishes) and a permanent one with the basic courses of Japanese cuisine. It’s the soup here, as well, you should not miss out on. The password: miso. In Japan (and world-wide, too) it’s considered to be a sort of life-elixir. What’s more, the Japanese claim that two bowls of it cover for the total daily energy consumption of an adult person, not to mention the fact that dashi, the stock containing soybean purée and various seawater fish has a profoundly favorable physiological effect.

Address: 64 Mészáros Street

5/7

Frici papa kifőzdéje

1077 Budapest, Király utca 55.

Now, just like in the case of Kádár you might want to get to speed here, as well, as a maximum of 15 people can eat simultaneously at Frici papa between 11 AM and 9 PM. Also, the place is closed on Sundays. The selection covers mostly freshly fried things, vegetable sauces and home-made cakes but the daily (!) renewed menu contains some more modern dishes, too. They must know something as they have been a fundamental and colorful part of the Budapest restaurants since the spring of 1997. Truth be told, when they started, they resolved to leave behind the features of traditional diners and would rather mix the convenience offered by restaurants with the flavors typical of diners. Boy, did it pay out. The prices are friendly and the atmosphere is not unlike.

Address: 55 Király Street

6/7

Zöld Sziget Ételbár – The well-priced

It has been eight years since this mostly Mediterranean diner operates at Arany János utca, in the heart of the city. The guests who prefer organic food without preservatives can even sit out to the terrace in the yard between spring and fall. Another allure that can’t remain unmentioned is the prices: a simple meal is 960, while a three-course meal costs 1080, and you can have both the small and the big kind. This is quite competitive, right? The dishes represent the classic line, by the way, with such reborn favorites as the loin roll. You must taste the cold plum soup...

Address: 27 Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street

7/7

+1 Rákóczi étterem és kifőzde – The one in the 8th district

Now, a competitor from the famous and infamous district. And an absolute Hungarian-style at that with “Székely” goulash, rice and meat Bácska-style, comb of rooster with bacon and Wiener snitzel. So this is the mecca of calory-lovers in the heart of the 8th district. If you crave for some genuinely Hungarian feeling, like quality Bavarian beer and are curious about what aunt Ica’s gyros plate is like, make sure to take a little detour with tram lines 4 or 6.

Address: 9 Rákóczi Square