We didn’t invent the term: the lunch menu of Bestia is called the “half-legal pub lunch”, which could either refer to the fact that having lunch at an American-style steak-and-beer joint is extremely cool, or that adventurous patrons can wash down their two-course lunch with a complementary glass of beer (2 dl). Guests have six starters and seven entrées to choose from, including the local version of the traditional goulash soup and refreshing salads and spreads, all of which are available to order for dinner as well. The Liptauer with bunny-hop beer and the duck rillettes that we sampled were amazing, and fit right into the strong, homestyle cuisine Bestia offers. Some of the other lunch options are Pest-style sausages, Asian chicken salad, Cajun chicken with vegetables, beef “bestrami”, and crispy pork pancetta with cabbage salad. Roasted in a rotisserie until absolutely tender, the Cajun chicken was perhaps the spiciest, smokiest, and most wonderfully indulgent lunch dish we’ve ever had, and we can attest to the fact that the beer served with it adds a great kick to the mix. You can order the lunch menu until 4pm.
Price: two dishes & beer – 2,200 forints + service charge
Type of menu: customizable
Situated in busy Egyetem Square, Code Zero has a refined air that makes it seem like a great place for business lunches or partner meetings over delectable culinary creations. The restaurant is the local version of the Csopak grill of the same name. The dinner menu comprises grilled meat or fish with salad and side dishes in both places, but the lunch menu is different: the Budapest eatery offers two appetizers, two entrées, and a dessert. We loved the fried goat cheese with beetroot and the grilled rolled chicken thighs with polenta cream. The latter dish was paired with kimchi, which seemed a strange combination, but the polenta was so silky we didn’t mind at all. The portions are what you’d expect in a lunch menu, but you won’t leave hungry after a three-course meal.
Price: two dishes – 1,690 forints, three dishes – 2,190 forints
Type of menu: customizable Code Zero Budapest
Address: Budapest 1056, Papnövelde utca 10
Opening times: Monday-Sunday 11am-midnight
There are plenty of reasons to love
Esca: Budapest’s only studio restaurant adds a special flair to the emerging Dohány Street area, and the cozy-sized eatery boasts a chef – Gábor Fehér – who can manipulate flavors and ingredients like no one else. You can always count on the lunch menu here regardless of whether you want to grab a bite with colleagues, friends, or business partners. The menus always include two appetizers, three main dishes, and two desserts, and often feature such premium elements as truffles, frutti di mare, or meats of the highest possible quality. The lunch menu we tried consisted of super-light leek velouté, smoked salmon straight from Copenhagen with a more traditionally seasoned potato salad, and a vanilla-strawberry dessert cup, which had a creamy, velvety texture that we’d never experienced before.
Price: two courses – 2,250 forints, three courses – 2,550 forints
Type of menu: customizable UPDATE: From the beginning of 2016, the restaurant serves dinner only, and opens at 5 in the afternoon.
We were surprised to learn that EXTRA on Klauzál Street has a lunch special that puts the pub on the list of downtown’s must-try establishments. We were skeptical when we saw that their midday menu was priced at an unbeatable 990 forints, but it piqued our interest quite a bit that this pleasant new-wave ruin pub, a stylish spot amid Budapest’s vibrant party district, is fast becoming a firm favorite among young people working in nearby office buildings. Since WLB HQ is based in the area, we decided we had to give it a try, and what we got was the kind of homestyle Hungarian cooking we all love so much. Instead of velouté, consommé, or espuma, the selection features popular dishes like chicken broth, noodles, and stews. The cream of potato soup with bacon chips was just as good as the roasted chicken legs with parsley potatoes that came after, and we left the premises fully satisfied with the portions and the flavors. The quality-price ratio here is pretty amazing.
Price: two dishes – 990 forints
Type of menu: fixed dishes
