Downtown Budapest is full of so-called traditional Hungarian restaurants, but unfortunately, not all are truly authentic. Trust us, it’s all about the fine details, like original recipes, special spices, and quality ingredients. We’re happy to give you directions towards the ones that are worth a try if you’re craving Hungarian culinary delicacies . Just make sure you start the tour on an empty stomach and let the feast begin. As the Hungarians say at the table: 'Jó étvágyat!' (Bon appetite).
SIMALIBA Belvárosi Csárda
What’s better than a slice of countryside Hungary in the centre of Budapest? The recently opened SIMALIBA Belváros Csárda offers you just that a few steps from Váci utca. Stepping inside, you’ll find the perfect juxtaposition of rural and downtown vibes with old kitchen utensils hanging above the counter for decoration and Hungarian music playing. Allow yourself to be led by the mouth-watering smell of delicious dishes, like the good old goulash soup, beef tenderloin, or tojásos nokedli (egg dumplings). True to its name, which literally translates to ‘smooth goose’ and also means ‘easy-peasy’, SIMALIBA's menu has a special section dedicated to goose dishes. Be sure to try delicacies like goose liver, crispy goose thigh with red cabbage, or goose gizzard stew. The selection changes seasonally, but you’ll always find at least five goose dishes on offer. The menu was created by a Hungarian Bocuse d'Or Academy chef with more than 30 years of experience who also used his mom’s recipes. Could you possibly need more convincing for a home-cooked meal? The only thing left is to wash it all down with some good Hungarian wine, pálinka (fruit brandy), or fröccs (wine spritz).
Details here.
ARAZ Restaurant
Located in Budapest’s bohemian 7th district, in Dohány utca, Araz Restaurant is where traditional flavours meet surprising twists. In addition to the big classics of Hungarian gastronomy, like beef goulash or catfish paprikash, they cook up excellent international and vegan dishes, as well. The eatery’s chef focuses on sustainability, seasonality, and quality in terms of ingredients: they use farm chicken, homemade pasta, and real paprika spice. In ARAZ, when ordering mangalica bacon with strapachka (potato dumplings with sheep cheese), goose thigh, or fried farm chicken, you can be sure they’re all made from carefully selected ingredients. When it comes to sweet bites, we recommend their somlói galuska (local sponge cake and pudding dessert), which is best accompanied by one of ARAZ’s rich selection of wines, cocktails, or even a shot or two. You can sample ARAZ's à la carte menu from 2:30 pm to 10:30 pm, or feast on their weekly lunch deals at a great price. Alternatively, join their monthly wine-tasting events and keep an eye out for other cultural programs!
Details here.
21 Restaurant
Reimagine the Hungarian cuisine for the 21st century, fit for a healthier diet, place it in the Buda Castle, and you’ll get the essence of 21 Restaurant (21 Magyar Vendéglő). The owners of this place aimed to create a Hungarian restaurant that brings back nostalgic flavours and atmosphere with a new, exciting approach – without clichés. Here, all ingredients come from local sources to retain the characteristics of classic Hungarian dishes, but they’re served in a new way, in a modern guise. Take your pick from farm chicken soup or fish soup with carp fillet, followed by veal stew with creamy egg barley risotto or Hortobágy chicken pancakes with paprikash sauce and sour cream, and you’ll surely get a real taste of Hungary. After such flavoursome mains, 21’s Somlói or Zuki gelato and sorbet are really just icing on the cake. What’s even better, they have a new menu for October, including roasted goose thigh with walnut noodles and orange sauce, as well as goat cheese and pumpkin risotto with pumpkin seeds. Plus, one of the restaurant's favourite desserts is coming back too: plum pie with vanilla ice cream. On 21 Restaurant's wine menu, you’ll only find local Hungarian varieties (and only the best of those), some of which are hard to come by elsewhere.
Details here.
Royal Guard Restaurant & Café
Located at the Buda Castle , the Royal Guard Restaurant & Café gives fin-de-siècle vibes as a tribute to the building’s history: the royal bodyguard used to station there. Today, archive photos cover the walls and the ceiling, offering visitors a glimpse into that era. Yet, the glorious past is not only evoked by the interior design of the place. The restaurant's mission is to commemorate soldiers through food and wine: they present the gastronomic diversity of Hungary with dishes from the soldiers' homeland. The restaurant also experiments with reinterpreting classic dishes for the modern age. That’s how their staple crispy pork knuckle was added to the menu: it arrives to our plate on saber so that it can shine not only in taste but also in display. The meat is roasted for 12 hours at a low temperature, making every bite crumbly and soft. The end result: the meat is crispy on the outside, and juicy within. The knuckle is served with baby potatoes roasted with crispy bacon and fresh spring onions, homemade pickles, and gravy. Whether it's a family dinner or another special occasion, this dish is guaranteed to create lasting memories.
Details here.
Centrál Grand Café & Bar
First opened in 1887, Centrál Grand Café & Bar is one of the oldest coffee houses in Budapest. Those stepping inside are instantly transported back to the golden age of Grand Cafés, soaking up the inspiring atmosphere of a bygone era. Since Centrál reopened its doors two years ago, it has blended its rich literary past with a progressive mindset, creating a friendly and cosy, yet elegant spot. All that is just a few steps away from the Elizabeth Bridge and the bustling shopping streets. The café’s food and drink selection follows Hungarian tradition. Their chicken paprikash evokes the memory of traditional flavours with rich and creamy paprika sauce, nokedli (noodles), and fresh cucumber salad just like Hungarians had it at our grandmothers’ table on Sundays. The dish brings back the warmth of home and the traditions of our country's culinary traditions in every bite. Yet Centrál's dishes are not without a modern spin: they also offer an all-day breakfast and the Centrál Grand Burger, just to name a few.
Details here.
PICK Bistro & Lángos
(Photo: PICK Bistro & Lángos)
When in Hungary, lángos, a crispy deep-fried dough, is a must-try dish. Although the locals mostly eat it at Lake Balaton during summertime, you can find great spots to try it in Budapest, too. In the capital, one of the best spots to taste it is right by the Parliament, the city’s Gothic masterpiece at Kossuth tér. boasts an authentic Hungarian bistro kitchen with good value for money. Nothing tells you better that you’re at the right place for a good lángos than the fact that the bistro has its own lángos menu. You can ask for the classic version, which comes topped with sour cream, garlic, and cheese, or experiment with extra toppings, like salami, chicken paprikash, lecsó, aka Hungarian-style ratatouille, or even cabbage and knuckle. All courtesy of traditional Hungarian gastronomy! For those with a sweet tooth, we recommend the Nutella and banana version. Alternatively, you can order other traditional dishes here, like roasted veal liver with mashed potatoes. You can be sure dishes will come without overcomplication at PICK Bistro. Just the homemade flavours and impeccable quality.
Details here.
Gundel Restaurant
The name Gundel is emblematic in the history of Hungarian gastronomy. The founder, Károly Gundel placed Hungary on the world’s culinary map by blending Hungarian cuisine with French flavours. The legacy of the 130-year-old restaurant has been kept alive ever since with beautifully renovated interiors, a charming bohemian garden, and a timeless atmosphere in the Városliget (City Park). Gundel’s most iconic dish is without doubt the Gundel pancake, which is French-style crêpe filled with a walnut and rum mixture and smothered in a dark chocolate sauce. There’s no better place than this restaurant to taste Gundel pancakes made based on the original recipe. According to this, the dough is made with plenty of eggs to achieve the thickness suitable for the filling, and the walnuts are lightly fried in hot sugar syrup, flavoured with fresh orange peel. The filled pancakes are spread with sweet butter, caramelized until crispy, and topped with melted dark chocolate. Every bite is truly heavenly! If you’d also like to try savoury Hungarian dishes, we recommend Palóc soupwith lamb, Bakony-style beef fillet with cottage cheese dumplings, or Tokaj goose liver.
Details here.
Dobay Confectionary & Bakery
No list of traditional Hungarian dishes is complete without mentioning a few more desserts. Yet, it’s difficult to find cakes and pastries that taste like a Hungarian grandma made them. In Dobay Confectionary & Bakery, you can be sure that what you get is authentic to the last detail. You might have to travel a bit more for these homemade delicacies, but trust us, it’s worth the 30-minute ride to Halásztelek, a nearby town. Especially because the confectionary is located in the beautiful castle park. Alternatively, you can pop in for a sweet bite at one of their other two locations either at Horváth Garden in the 1st district or at BudaPart on Kopaszi-gát. The owners made their 20-year-old dream of opening a pastry shop come true with Dobay, that’s their level of dedication to great desserts. Besides relying on traditional family recipes, they focus on quality ingredients, including wild yeast. Our favourite is their almond-plum zserbó as it puts a creative spin on the traditional recipe which uses walnut and apricot jam for the layered short-crust pastry. Eszterházy cake (vanilla cream layered on walnut sponge cake and topped with fondant) and Rákóczi túrós (shortcrust topped with sweet curd cheese and coated with meringue lattice, often filled with apricot jam) are also worth a bite or two.
Details here.
(Cover photo: SIMALIBA Belvárosi Csárda)
