Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts
Pest, VII, Király utca (T4/6), 5 min
Cuisine > Bengali/Bangladeshi
Rating: 8.0/10
There's something distinctly odd about seeing a map of Hungary next to a photo of Mecca's Holy Mosque but such is the decoration in Bangla Bufe. As the name suggests, this isn't an Indian restaurant - there's space inside for ten, at a push - but neither is it strictly a 'bufe'.
The city is littered with buffet-style take-aways. The kind of places that cook a load of food at lunch-time and then slowly run out as the day wears on. So go to a standard buffet at 10pm and you're likely to find it closed, or touting the hardier of leftovers.
Thankfully, Bangla Bufe is not of this ilk. It opens until 11pm and the food is fresh and cooked while you're there. Perhaps a modest selection of dishes is what makes this possible: 4 curries, 3 biryanis and a spicy Jhal Goru - that's the mains summed up in one breath. (Full menu here.) The current owner describes it as Bengali home cooking, and seems proud to be bringing a little taste of it to Budapest.
Sitting at a table, looking up at a TV that redefines my notion of fuzzy, I let my eyes drift downwards past the hatstand, to the fire extinguisher that tries to hide behind it. If you're looking for refinement, Bangla isn't your Bufe. But should you eat in, you'll find the service friendly, almost homely, something that's in short supply in Budapest.
Our first taste of the food arrived in the form of some impressive-looking papaddums, a notch above the average, although a chutney dip or two would have worked wonders. A couple of Wizbit-shaped samosas were a more complete starter and great value at 390Ft a pair. For mains, the beef curry and a chicken biryani fought each other for our favours, and the curry won by a mile - a rich, gingery flavour, and not too mild either. (Hungarian tastes usually drive the spice levels down, in my experience, and I'm usually too chicken to ask for a strong one, in case it blows my head off.) For refreshment, while there's no alcohol, there is Mango Lassi.
Bangla Bufe fills a nice niche, especially if you're missing the decent selection of affordable 'Indian' restaurants back home. If you're just in the mood for a curry rather than an evening out, Bangla Bufe will sate your appetite, and at a price that will put it at the top of your list the next time you get the urge.
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Value for money: 9/10
Bangla Bufe isn't in the most obvious location. Walk down Akácfa utca from Király utca, and you'll spot it on your right after a 2-minute walk.
Andy Sz.
The city is littered with buffet-style take-aways. The kind of places that cook a load of food at lunch-time and then slowly run out as the day wears on. So go to a standard buffet at 10pm and you're likely to find it closed, or touting the hardier of leftovers.
Thankfully, Bangla Bufe is not of this ilk. It opens until 11pm and the food is fresh and cooked while you're there. Perhaps a modest selection of dishes is what makes this possible: 4 curries, 3 biryanis and a spicy Jhal Goru - that's the mains summed up in one breath. (Full menu here.) The current owner describes it as Bengali home cooking, and seems proud to be bringing a little taste of it to Budapest.
Sitting at a table, looking up at a TV that redefines my notion of fuzzy, I let my eyes drift downwards past the hatstand, to the fire extinguisher that tries to hide behind it. If you're looking for refinement, Bangla isn't your Bufe. But should you eat in, you'll find the service friendly, almost homely, something that's in short supply in Budapest.
Our first taste of the food arrived in the form of some impressive-looking papaddums, a notch above the average, although a chutney dip or two would have worked wonders. A couple of Wizbit-shaped samosas were a more complete starter and great value at 390Ft a pair. For mains, the beef curry and a chicken biryani fought each other for our favours, and the curry won by a mile - a rich, gingery flavour, and not too mild either. (Hungarian tastes usually drive the spice levels down, in my experience, and I'm usually too chicken to ask for a strong one, in case it blows my head off.) For refreshment, while there's no alcohol, there is Mango Lassi.
Bangla Bufe fills a nice niche, especially if you're missing the decent selection of affordable 'Indian' restaurants back home. If you're just in the mood for a curry rather than an evening out, Bangla Bufe will sate your appetite, and at a price that will put it at the top of your list the next time you get the urge.
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Value for money: 9/10
Bangla Bufe isn't in the most obvious location. Walk down Akácfa utca from Király utca, and you'll spot it on your right after a 2-minute walk.
Andy Sz.
Wesselényi utca 49, [map]Pest, VII, Wesselényi utca (T 4,6), 2 min
Cuisine > Indian
Rating: 7.8/10
Raining, hungry. The 74 trolleybus splashes grubby puddles onto the pavements of Wesselényi utca. Grey, dreary. That is, until I step into Kohinoor, the curryhouse at number 49.
Romantic Hindi pop serenades me as I tuck into my lentil soup, and I start to feel warmer, better. My mains arrive and it seems that even the 'small plate' is going to be plenty. On today's lunch menu is chicken dopiaza and vegetable masala, served with rice and naan. It tastes good and is certainly freshly made – the naan bread burns my fingers and the onions in my dopiaza are still nicely crunchy. Not a bit spicy mind you, but tasty nonetheless.
It isn't busy, but then it is a rainy Monday lunchtime during Ramadan... so fair enough. Flipping through the full menu it looks like there are plenty of meat dishes under 2000Ft, and vegetarian mains are around half that price. What with extras, I'd say an evening meal is likely to set you back around 3000Ft. Best value though is to come at lunchtime and feast for as little as 900Ft - this is all it costs for a 'small' plate and I was struggling to finish the last few bites of naan.
After a Pakistani tea (with milk and cardamom) I chat with Melinda, the Pakisztáni/Magyar waitress, who moaned about one of the customers being grumpy and rude. That really gets on her nerves, just so you know. They do home delivery too, in case you are always rude and don't want to worry about annoying Melinda in person.
After paying, I venture back out into the monochrome streets of autumnal Budapest. It's still raining, but armed with my belly full of curry I am winter-proof.
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Value for money: 8/10 (lunch set)
Lucy F.
It isn't busy, but then it is a rainy Monday lunchtime during Ramadan... so fair enough. Flipping through the full menu it looks like there are plenty of meat dishes under 2000Ft, and vegetarian mains are around half that price. What with extras, I'd say an evening meal is likely to set you back around 3000Ft. Best value though is to come at lunchtime and feast for as little as 900Ft - this is all it costs for a 'small' plate and I was struggling to finish the last few bites of naan.
After a Pakistani tea (with milk and cardamom) I chat with Melinda, the Pakisztáni/Magyar waitress, who moaned about one of the customers being grumpy and rude. That really gets on her nerves, just so you know. They do home delivery too, in case you are always rude and don't want to worry about annoying Melinda in person.
After paying, I venture back out into the monochrome streets of autumnal Budapest. It's still raining, but armed with my belly full of curry I am winter-proof.
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Value for money: 8/10 (lunch set)
Lucy F.
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:
Click on the logo above, or in the right-hand menu in any of the sections: bars & cafes; eating out; or sightseeing, to find our list of unmissables. Or just keep your eyes peeled for the tag.
If there's anywhere you think we've overlooked, please let us know.
Andy T.
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