Dining in Budapest

Overview

In the days after Budapest's liberation from communism, restaurant owners faced an interesting dilemma.  They wanted to entice tourists with their rich and varied cuisine, but they also wanted to ensure that their heavy and spicy foods were suitable for more delicate palettes. 

There are still places that serve calorie bombed food swimming in pork fat, but these are slowly becoming a minority. Healthy oils are now the norm for cooking, and although the menu is still heavily tilted in favor of meat in all its forms, there is hope for the vegetarian medical tourism traveler.  The variety of vegetarian fare is unlike other European capitals, but is a marked change from when vegetarians in Budapest had to eat raw fruits and veggies from the food markets to survive.  

Local Cuisine

The one item that will be featured in every restaurant menu is goulash, but not all local cuisine is as spicy and heavy as this national stew (or is it a soup?).  There are noodle dishes that are less well known, and the easy availability of meat and fresh produce from nearby villages makes for some very delicious time honored recipes like pan fried goose liver, fish soup with chunks of fish swimming, and fruit stuffed pheasant. Avoid seafood on your medical tourism vacation - the city is landlocked, and any “fresh” catch from the seas is likely to be many hours old. There’s a widely available and delicious variety of local river fish, instead.   

Know your Lingo

The word etterem is most often used to denote restaurants, although you will find eateries with names like csarda and etkezde.  Snack bars are in ready supply in public areas, and they offer the medical tourism traveler a cheap way to dine, without the comfort. Kocsmas are also good for a quick and inexpensive meal. 

Cafes and Teahouses

The city has a thriving café culture, and if you can’t afford Paris, Budapest is the place to soak up some coffee over scintillating conversation.  As liberalization brings in new trends, teahouses have sprung up about town, and these are popular with the younger crowd.  The patisseries here serve enough sweet treats to sate the most rabid sugar cravings.  Most popular are the strudels, kremes, and Ischler (jam filled cookies). 

Most menus will be printed in English, but if you find the hysterical translations are unreadable, simply head to one of the international restaurants in the city.  Indian, Thai, Italian, Spanish…they are all here. 

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