Two hour lunch cruise on Bateaux Parisiens, wine included, €50-70 per person. We chose the €70 option and had a table at the front of the boat, good quality food, good wine, excellent service and serenaded. What more do you want?
Quai below the Eiffel Tower; www.bateauxparisiens.com/english/fr_dejeuner.html
This branch of the Four Seasons opened about a year ago in the recently renovated Gresham Palace. The renovation is spectacular, and its one of the most impressive buildings in Budapest both inside and out. You don’t have to be staying there to enjoy the wonderful bar, café and restaurant. It is a great place to have a nice cup of tea and sit down after exploring the castle district and Chain Bridge.
Roosevelt Tér 5-6
For those of you who venture to the edge of the the Pest inner circle, you'll find a reward in the form of Stex, a cafe/bar/pub/restaurant.
Open from 8am till 6am you can get a good breakfast there, there's a cheap daily lunch menu and it's good for a coffee any time of the day.
But it's in the evening that Stex really comes into its own. There's good, cheap beer and a friendly, bustling atmosphere. A full menu of hearty Hungarian-esque food makes this ideal for a pub-type supper. The wooden plate of mixed grill, to be shared between two, is a rewarding challenge. Good wine menu too (with some Hungarian wines: definitely worth trying), if you fancy splashing out a bit. And, if you're feeling really classy, there's a cigar menu.
A curious thing about Stex is that it's very big, but still intimate. It's almost always getting along towards full, but you can still always find a table.
You can watch the football - but the place is big enough that you don't have to. You can play snooker or darts, and there’s a casino attached
And, by the way, remember to pronounce it “Shtecks”.
Corner of József krt and Baross utca (Tram 4-6, Baross utca stop)
Lovely piece of fried dough (looks like a large flattened doughnut) best served with sour cream (tejföl), cheese (sajt) and garlic (fokhagyma). Perfect Hungarian street food.
At any of the markets in Budapest - Feny Utca market near Moszkva tér, Lehel tér market etc. Just look for stall with a Langos sign
This is an old market hall close to Liberty Bridge, not far from Kalvin ter tube station. Shopping can be an experience and the architecture is of exceptional value. Most vendors remember that Margaret Thatcher visited the market in 1984, but this should not be seen as argument against a visit. Next door you will find the neo-renaissance building of the economics faculty.
Vámház körút; nearest metro: Kálvin tér; trams: No 2, 47, 49 at Fovam ter
Two great restaurants in downtown Pest. Both cheap and with great menus. The Boheme is on Paulay Ede Utca and does massive portions of great food. The Kiskacsa is on the corner of Kazinsky and Dob Utca, just in the Jewish part of town and specializes, as the name would suggest, in duck. It also lets you throw dice at the end of the meal to get a freebie. I've never won it but it adds to the fun.
Fabulous Italian restaurant, specialising in seafood and Neapolitain cuisine. A wee bit of heaven on Dalry Road, with a warm welcome from chef Rosario. Hard to beat, and getting well known these days, so booking ahead is a good idea. A la carte is available but it's hard to see past the specials.
Dalry Road - three minutes walk from Haymarket Station
Relax after a walk in the beautiful hillside or start your day with a big glass full of delicious curd served with as much runny honey as you want
Situated on the little main road through Ella just where the bus drops you off
A lively bar / restaurant / cafe right on the beach with extremely friendly staff serving amazing tuna steak with chips, great big pots of tea and mmmm lemon juice. Beach parties on Saturday nights - buy a bottle of Arrack and enjoy the spectacular sunset.
Just walk down the beach to where all the people are!
Restaurant/bar that serves large reasonably priced Hungarian fare with a decent wine menu. Also has a good range of vegetarian options. Another retro-styled place with a good second-hand shop next door.
IX. Raday utca 39; within walking distance of Ferenc Korut Metro station
Excellent restaurant with traditional Hungarian dishes, decent prices, good service, and a great wine list. It's in the courtyard of the restored Károly Mansion, and has nice outdoor seating. When I was there, there was a play being performed next door, so we got free dinner theatre as a bonus. It has vegetarian choices as well.
V. Károlyi Mihályi utca;
Cyrano is a sophisticated restaurant in the heart of Budapest. With an interior that wouldn't look out of place in Wallpaper*, it sets the scene for an elegant dining experience. The food is superb, with an emphasis on seasonal market produce cooked in a classic style. Good value.
Kristóf tér 7-8, District V; tel: 1 266 3096
If you want the nearest thing in Petersburg to a genuine British pub, Dickens is the best bet. It opened up in 2005, and has a variety of British beers on tap (last time I went these included Bombadier and Spitfire), and also does really good food. Best "full English" in town by a long, long way; although the competition is hardly stiff, this is worth trying. Be warned - it's huge. The bar serves food from early morning, but there's also a restaurant that serves from noon to midnight.
There's another Dickens Pub in Riga, so you could do a mini-tour. Although why you'd come to the Baltic to go to a British pub may need some explaining.
118 Naberezhnaya Reki Fontanka (Fontanka River Embankment), open daily from 8 am; tel 380 7888; nearest metro: Sennaya Ploshchad/Sadovaya
The Monro i think is famous for its weird food like ostrich, welsh buffalo but they now have a Pudding Club which is held every Monday! ]
The Monro is famous for weird food, such as ostrich and Welsh buffalo, but they now have a Pudding Club which is held every Monday.
The head chef and his team create the most amazing puddings I've ever seen and you get a light main course plus three desserts for just a tenner.
You've got to try it as it’s such a laugh - the restaurant atmosphere is superb as you can feel the anticipation as each pud is brought to your table.
It's so cool and I'm glad I joined it.
The Monro, 92 Duke Street, Liverpool, L1 5AG
Try their pudding club website first:
The Owl Restaurant next to the zoo. Staffed entirely by women, and providing traditional Hungarian fare. Very reasonable prices, excellent value for money, and generous portion sizes.
By the city zoo, near the National Gallery
This was excellent value for money - getting free travel on trams, buses, metro - plus free entry to the zoo, museums etc and discount at other places including restaurants. It comes with a booklet detailing all offers.
We got ours at the hotel, they can also be bought at the airport and the stations.
A wonderful restaurant and hotel set right on the beautiful golden sands of Pantai Cenang. The food is delicious with a great fusion of Asian and European tastes. The cocktails are fantastic. I especially recommend the jug of frozen Margharita. Perfect to watch the sun go down. This place is so beautiful, afterwards I strolled out to the beach with my girlfriend and proposed to her. We are getting married in Malaysia this year!
Pantai Cenang07000 Langkawi Kedah Malaysia
Budapest is divided into two parts. Buda is the smarter residential area on the south of the river. The main attraction here is the castle district, which you can get to via a tiny funicular railway from the Buda side of the Chain Bridge. Don't eat up here, it costs the earth.
Pest is the busy happening side, where real people live and all the best restaurants are. The city centre is surrounded by a wide main road known as the korut (which means circle, or something). Near the river is the more expensive touristy part, including Vaci Utca, which is a street with all the designer shops and tourist trap cafes. Also nearby is Vorosmarty Ter, a pretty square that is frankly better visited in winter.
The main boulevard is called Andrassy Ut, starting at Ferenciek Ter and finishing at Hosok Tere (Heroes' Square). If you walk along Andrassy, you will find Liszt Ferenc Ter which has very good restaurants, if a little pricey. There's an Italian called Pompei (sic) which does onion soup in a roll - recommended. Incidentally, soup in Hungary is usually pretty hefty and you won't want a second course. Try the jokai bean soup and the tarragon chicken soup as well.
After Liszt Ter is Oktogon, which is a big intersection featuring Burger King and McDonald’s. There is also a nice restaurant called Grand Cafe Oktogon, where I have had a lot of nice food.
thehungaryyears.blogspot.com/ is written by an expat in Budapest who often talks about restaurants, bars, and general local colour
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