Best restaurants in Budapest right now for a tasty trip

Anyone who’s visited this city before will tell you that feasting on Hungarian cuisine is a must when exploring the best restaurants in Budapest. The ubiquitous, straightforward vendéglő (cosy Hungarian inns or restaurants) are dedicated to providing filling, traditional dishes like paprikás csirke (chicken paprikash), pörkölt (meat stew), and somlói galuska, the vanilla, walnut, and cocoa sponge cake trifle born in the 1950s at Gundel, arguably Budapest’s most famous restaurant that traces its roots to 1894.

But one glance at such packed restaurants as Giulia, Opium, and the fast-casual Casa Mexa, and it’s clear that locals relish Italian, Asian, and Mexican cuisine with the same gusto. Luckily, contemporary Budapest pulls off the old and new with equal aplomb. This duality is even captured in the city’s abundance of quality bakeries. A slice of classic caramel-topped Dobos cake ordered at Nandori Cukrászda, for example, still brings as much joy as visits to Mamie’s, David’s Kitchen, and Muci for creations like salted caramel-apple St. Honoré, coffee-fig sponge roll, and lemon meringue, respectively.

Bookings are deservedly constant at the always-clamoured for, elevated Hungarian spots like Rosenstein, Café Kör, Menza, and Gettó Gulyás, and brazen tasting menus are indulged in at one of the city’s seven Michelin-starred establishments. Increasingly, new places are sprouting and seducing open-minded locals. Still, the past is never forgotten in Budapest – Hungarian food is substantial and comforting, and its familiarity will always be relished. Only now, time-honoured restaurants are rubbing shoulders with new openings, infusing a brazen jolt of energy to the city’s culinary scene. Here are the best restaurants in Budapest right now.

Cabrio

Best for: natural wines fortified by imaginative small plates
Dish to order: celeriac carpaccio

It’s easy to lose track of time at Cabrio. The banquette that snakes around the large windows, the loungey music, and the perfect warm lighting are all invitations to stay for a while, and that’s exactly what Benjamin Tenner, Jónás Togay, and Bence Szilágyi want guests to do at their modern European bistro, seemingly plucked from the 11th arrondissement of Paris. Natural wines, increasingly popular in Budapest, are showcased here (try Szilágyi’s own label, Barnag, made in the Balaton uplands), best complemented by thrilling small plates like burnt celeriac carpaccio dressed in a walnut vinaigrette, braised shredded beef cheek atop brioche, and a hefty chocolate crème brûlée from chef Tomi Albrecht of MÓR24.

Address: Vitkovics Mihály u. 3-5, Budapest 1052
Website: cabriobudapest.hu

In Town Hotpot Budapest

Best for: convivial group outings
Dish to order: spicy beef plonked into a two-flavour broth base of spicy and Thai

Budapest has a thriving Chinese community, and it’s centred in far-flung District X. That’s where locals venture to when they crave the fiery Sichuan dishes at Spicy Fish and HeHe Chinese Restaurant, or the excellent hotpot on offer at In Town. In the middle of Chinese-style tables planted underneath dangling lanterns (book a private nook in advance), broths – go for the lime-scented Thai and spicy versions – are ladled into enormous pots. Then, carts roll up with thinly sliced beef (the spicy one is especially delightful), lotus root disks, tangled strands of potato, and all manner of tofu. Thrust them into the bubbling liquids, chat as they cook before invigorating them in sesame-chilli sauces, and pause between rounds with endless cups of chrysanthemum tea.

Address: Jegenye u. 26/9, 1107
Website: instagram.com

Egy Csipet Torta

Aron Erdohati

Egy csipet torta

Best for: confections that taste as divine as they look
Dish to order: kuglóf