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Batthyány tér 5 [map]
Buda, II, Batthyány tér (M2, T18), 2 min
Cuisine > Hungarian

Rating: 5.7/10

If I were a bank manager, and a customer dropped by to ask me for a loan to start up his bizarre chain of 24-HOUR pancake stores, I’d raise an eyebrow.

Maybe I’m too English to be thinking about túrós palacsintá at 2 am, or perhaps I don't quite get the Hungarian passion for pancakes. Either way, the unqualified success of Nagyi Palacsintázója strikes me as more than a little surprising.

There are four branches of ‘Grandma’s Pancakes’ in the city, as well as a ridiculously popular pancake boat (!) which opens during the summer. This simple dish seems to have enormous power to cut across generational boundaries - the first thing I notice when I walk into the Batthyány tér branch is that the customers really do range from eight to eighty.

The second thing I realise is that all the grandmothers are on the wrong side of the counter. Granny’s Pancakes!… it brings to mind a rustic kitchen… a sweet old lady bending over a bowl of pancake batter… an adorable squirrel running along the windowsill… birdsong floating in through an open window. In Batthyány the ‘grandmothers’ all seem to be about twenty and wear football shirts.

The third thing I lay eyes on are the five not-very-rustic microwaves, piled on top of one another behind the cash register. This is the real disappointment here; there's something soggy, rubbery and intrinsically depressing about a pre-prepared version. The temperature of the savoury pancakes is also wildly inconsistent; it's hard to shake the niggling feeling that 'Grandma' might be feeding you something which will give you food poisoning.

So far then, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Nagyi Palacsintázója sounds just a little bit crep-ey. Which begs the question... how can it be so popular?

Well, at approximately 220 ft for a palacsintá or 350 ft for a jacket potato (not in a pancake) there's no denying that it's cheap. The sweet pancakes are not at all bad and what's more, it feels authentically Hungarian - in a lot of countries Nagymama's might be considered unusual, and possibly even, daring. Not only are they brave enough to open all hours, there's also a menu which seems rather experimental. It isn't everywhere, after all, that you can buy Milanoi palacsintá, a dish which basically adds up to pasta... in a pancake.

Food: 5/10
Service: 5/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Value for money: 6.5/10

Take the red line to Batthyány. Go out onto the square and Nagymama's is near the market hall, next to Pizza Marzano. Other branches are here.
Granny's pancakes, Nagmama palacsinta, najmama, palachinta, palacinta, palascinta, pancak.
Andy T.