eating out | thehub.hu | guide to budapest

Margit körút 105 [map]
Buda, II, Moszkva tér (M2, T4/6), 1 min
Cuisine > Hungarian

Rating: 5.1/10

A butcher's shop might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you consider dining out. (Although calling it dining may be pushing it a bit.)

Standing at what can’t really be described as a table - it’s more of a shelf - I'm eating my sausage in what can’t really be described as a civilised manner. I’m reduced to ripping off juicy pieces with my fingers because I didn’t see the plastic cutlery over at the counter. My nearest neighbour’s shelf etiquette is rather more developed, as he makes good use of his pen-knife.

Getting my food in the first place should have been simple enough, since I'd been tipped off about the procedure: you make your choice, take the slip, pay at the till behind you, and then go back to collect your food. However, in reality, it meant reciting the words "sült kolbász" several times, until I realised that the man at the counter understood "sült kolbász" perfectly well and now wanted to know if I was eating in or not. Sausages are something I prefer not to know too much about so I had absolutely no intention of ending up with the more adventurous hurka, available in three varieties: blood (véres), liver (májas) and lung (tüdős.)

There are plenty of other meat options - not too much for the vegetarian - and side dishes are a little limited: bread, mustard and strange looking pickles (savanyúság). The latter are highly recommended if only for the sake of digestion. On this occasion, due to my poor performance at the counter, I had to resort to the bar across the road for the stodgy food antidote and Hungarian cure-all, a shot of Unicum.

Food: 4/10
Service: 4/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value for money: 5.5/10

From Moszkva tér metro or tram stop, walk across the main road and it's there on the corner.
hentes, hentesüzlet, hentesáru, hentesbolt, butcher's, butcher, húsbolt, hús, hus
Andy Sz.

Paulay Ede utca 7 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Deák tér (M1/2/3), 3 min
Cuisine > International

Rating: 8.5/10

When used together, the words 'travel' and 'restaurant', invoke in me a perverse nostalgia for the Little Chef phenomenon: a series of bog-standard restaurants at the side of British motorways. Now, although not a travel restaurant in that sense - Vista is, in fact, a travel agent - I remained skeptical. My expectations, however, were easily surpassed.

Duck with asparagus wrapped in bacon; pike-perch stuffed with spinach; beef steak, Budapest-style... the food doesn’t disappoint, with enough variation to satisfy both the “I want to try something Hungarian” and the “I’m sick of Hungarian cuisine” camps. A main course can cost under 2000 Ft or over 4000 Ft, while an extensive wine-list also varies from the affordable to the ridiculous. Actually, you can check out the menu yourself, if you have the patience, at VistaCafé's fantastically annoying website.

Face to face, Vista is far more helpful. They seem to have imported an attitude alien to Budapest: the customer comes first. Waiters are polite, friendly and enthusiastic about the food and wine... and they smile! Paper place mats ask politely for your comments, so someone is taking customer service very seriously indeed.

Most importantly, Vista feels nothing like a travel restaurant. The main part is open, airy, with plenty of window-tables and a strange ‘evocative’ tableau above the bar: I leave you to judge. The smoking area is more intimate. Altogether, it's pretty sizeable, making it an ideal choice for large groups or last minute decisions.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 8.5/10

No matter how long you're in Budapest for, there are a few places we think you should really check out. So we've created: