Top tapas, meze and snacks to share over Christmas

The younger version of popular Babka restaurant in District XIII, Babka Deli opened its doors this summer with the intention of providing delivery meals in these challenging times. Its prominent sister restaurant is now complemented by its own separate pantry, which can provide us with complete meals, multi-person meze, sassy drinks, unique desserts and other gems. They came up with a sharing concept comprising a selection of three, five and seven meze, the latter enough to feed a small army. In addition, their winter picnic box is perfect for those wanting to enjoy an eggnog and a few bites in the great outdoors over the holidays.

We’ve always treasured the Lebanese and Levantine treats at Byblos, and although we can’t share the dips with each other at the moment, ordering from the restaurant is a great, safe option to keep enjoying these hearty Middle-Eastern dishes despite the crisis. Their selection is mainly comprised of hot and cold meze, chargrilled meat, salads, desserts and lunch offers. For Christmas, the Byblos team have prepared a special holiday menu for eight for 29,000 forints. They’re available on all of the major home delivery services, including Wolt and NetPincér. 

Gastronomia Pomo d'oro is actually a deli with great sandwiches as well as lots of excellent Italian products to choose from, perfect to share with the whole family. They offer carefully prepared salads and pre-assembled cold platters, but true Italian deli enthusiasts should especially enjoy the option to create their own version from 20 different smoked products and cheeses. You shouldn’t miss out on their delicious olives and Italian pasta products, either.

Leila’s Authentic is another Middle-Eastern eatery serving up great meze. They have created a new menu for home delivery, with some overlap with their best-known dishes. You can easily assemble a full holiday feast thanks to their wide selection of hot and cold meze, but they also offer grilled dishes and a range of salads.

Padrón was one of the first restaurants in Budapest to offer authentic tapas. They always beyond the cheese-ham-tortilla triangle to factor in exciting Spanish specialities. Eschewing standard deliveries in the spring shutdown, they started experimenting with a menu in which, with the exception of the desserts, the food was 95% ready, and the rest finished off at home. This method may be familiar to fine restaurants, but only a few in the bistro category have used it so far. For this second wave of the pandemic, they have created a menu designed for direct home delivery. The food is vacuum-packed and you are given precise instructions on how to finish it. Of course, you don’t need any special expertise or utensils for – but the experience is really like sitting down to dinner at Padrón. They arrange deliveries three times a week – details and the full menu on offer can be found on their website.

As a long-established tapas bar, Pata Negra delights customers with simple Spanish croquettes, tomato meatballs, Galician-style octopus and coquilles Saint Jacques, among others. They also have a particularly wide selection of Spanish hams and cheeses – sometimes the simple things are the best things in life – so the whole family can find something to savour. The Spanish red and white wines on offer should enhance the festive atmosphere.

This larger edition of Dobrumba opened towards the end of this summer, and became an instant hit in Buda. Offering traditional cuisines from Cairo to Calcutta, Pingrumba provides shareable meze and individual dishes, a unique combination of Indian and Middle-Eastern flavours. If you share your order with friends or family, keep in mind that a slight kerfuffle might ensue over the goat labneh and the pomegranate chicken liver – all in keeping with the Christmas spirit, of curse.