Arriba is a recently opened Mexican fast food restaurant which has rapidly become popular, especially with the yuppie crowd (as far as I observed) and American expats craving for their Tex-Mex fix. The food is very nice – maybe not up to what you’d get in Mexico or some parts of the U.S. (I wouldn’t really know), but certainly the best I or my American friends have ever had in Budapest.

The place operates on the same “pick your own components” system as, say, Subway: you choose the base for you taco or burrito, the type of meat, and hand pick from a selection of various sauces, spices and veggies. The food is accompanied by a very nice selection of drinks, including Horchata (rice milk with cinnamon), Margarita, and various Mexican beers you can only get in maybe two or three places in Budapest.

While Taquerias are traditionally takeaways, Arriba also has plenty of seating on two levels. It’s a delightful place to sit down for you meal, with warm, colourful tables and adorable „faux kitsch” murals that really add to the upbeat vibe. Just be aware that the place can get quite crowded, and you might have no option but to take away your order and eat it elsewhere. Personally, I’ve had good luck so far late in the evening and just after lunchtime.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Arriba Taqueria | Restaurants (Mexican) | Burrito HUF 1100
VI. Teréz körút 25 | Central Pest | +3613740057
Sun – Thu 11:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 11:00 – 02:00

Centrál is a very elegant, old style coffee house and restaurant, a bit on the expensive side, but worth a look if you want to know what Pest was like a hundred years ago.

Thanks to Hungary’s proximity and, let’s say, historical contact with Turkey, coffee culture has always been big around here, but probably never so much so as in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Coffee houses were meeting points of the intellectual elite and the regular haunts of artists and journalists, some of who actually lived in coffee houses. Centrál Kávéház already existed back then, and even though it fulfilled other functions during the communist era, the new management is reaching back to the golden age for inspiration, and as far as looks go, they’re doing a good job.

The place looks exactly as it must have looked back then, and the selection of freely readable newspapers by the entrance is also a fitting touch.

The place is divided into a restaurant area, and a coffee house which is more appropriate for sitting down for a bit of a rest while sipping some tea or coffee. As for the food, it’s always been good when I tried it, but a bit pricey. However, if you want to sit down somewhere in the middle of the day to chat and look at passersby, Centrál has the perfect ambience for that – and a few teas or coffees won’t break the bank.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Centrál Kávéház | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (European) | Main from HUF 1300
Károlyi Mihály utca 9 | Central Pest | +3612662110
07:00 – 00:00 daily

Csiga is a friendly, cozy café and restaurant with really nice cuisine, rather popular with local expats. A very nice place; not too big, but it always has a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere, and is a good place to visit with a not-too-large group of friends.

I can’t say I’ve tried everything on the menu, but what I’ve tasted so far has always been fine. If you’re going to stay in Budapest for a while, it’s worth checking back, as part of the menu – the one on the blackboard on the wall – sometimes changes.

They also have wi-fi, if you need it.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Café Csiga | Bars, Restaurants (Various) | Main dishes HUF 1800
Vásár utca 2 | Central Pest | +3612100885
11:00 – 01:00 daily

Szimpla is hands-down the best known and most popular of Budapest’s “kert”-s(“gardens”) – courtyards of condemned or just abandoned buildings transformed into outdoor summer pubs, originally catering mostly for a young, bohemian clientele. As such, it has all the typical accroutements: crumbling architecture, plain but sturdy benches and tables, beer, totally kooky decor, lots of noise, beer, heavily stickered and graffitied toilets, and beer.

While there are many establishments that follow the same recipe, Szimpla is unique for having its own open-air movie theater, where they often play art movies, sparsely screened documentaries and the like. In recent years, they’ve also covered part of the venue with a roof to let them stay open all year round, and expanded into the upper floor, where you can also get some hot grub with your drinks.

Recently, I’ve heard some friends complain that Szimpla is getting too popular and thus too mainstream these days. Well, maybe that’s true – sometimes the crowd and the noise does get a bit too much for my tastes -, but it’s still more than worth checking out if you’re in town. Loud, friendly, visually lush and exciting; a great place to go when the company you desire is more upbeat than sublime.

Also, it’s one of the very few places in town where you can get cider. Pretty expensive – low-quantity import is bound to be pricey -, but there you have it: if you really, really want the stuff, you can get it here.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Szimpla Kert | Bars, Restaurants (Various) | Beers HUF 500
Kazinczy utca 14 | Central Pest
12:00 – 04:00 daily

Bangla Büfé is a tiny Bangladeshi buffet / restaurant that offers great value for you money. It’s a rather special place, since this cuisine is hardly represented in Budapest at all – at least I couldn’t name another venue, that’s for sure. It’s perhaps very Budapest-like, then, that the (probably) single Bangladeshi place is not some large, swanky restaurant, but rather a tiny, tiled, one-roof affair with only a small handful of tables and an old gas stove in the kitchen.

The menu is rather small – one single page -, but I warmly recommend every single item on it. The food is fresh, always very tasty, and just the right amount: you can have your fill, but you won’t end up overly satiated. For those unfamiliar with Bangladeshi cuisine, there are large photographs of every dish.

There are two notes I must add. One, Bangla Büfé also functions as a takeaway. Two, the cuisine is all Halal – following Islamic law. This is very lucky for you if you happen to be Muslim, but a tiny bit inconvenient for those who like their curry or biryani with beer, as Halal and alcohol do not mix. Still, such a tiny sacrifice is more than worth it at Bangla.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bangla Büfé | Restaurants (Bangladeshi) | Main dishes HUF 1000
Akácfa utca 40 | Central Pest | +3612663674
Sat – Thu 12:00 – 23:00, Fri 14:30 – 23:00

You’re walking on Kazinczy street (where Szimpla (check the Szimpla article) can be found too) and the color strikes you: striking pink and blushing green. Hard to resist the temptation, so you enter the bar which you thought was a candy shop judging by the color.

A welcoming and warm interior, comfortable couches await you and two rabbits appear frequently in different situations as part of the design. Many of you from the region surely remember Bob and Bobek from the Czech cartoon series. They started their day every time with some gymnastics after jumping out of the hat. Czech cartoons were frequent guests on Hungarian television in my childhood.

In such a cheerful place there’s only one thing you can do – smile. And then come food and drinks, daily menu or a la carte.

Bobek has a garden in the backyard for those hot summer nights, which turns into a heated winter-garden when leaves start falling. Don’t panic if there’s no place in the pink-green oasis at the front, just boldly walk by the bar and grab your chance outdoors. Still no place to sit? Come on, then grab a drink, think of the rabbits and keep smiling.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bobek | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants | Ciabatta from HUF 790
Kazinczy utca 53 | Central Pest | +3613220729
Mon – Thu 10:00 – 00:00, Fri 10:00 – 02:00, Sat 11:00 – 02:00

Hungary – and especially Budapest- has a long tradition of coffee houses. Though I guess coffee beans have never been grown anywhere in Central Europe (!), coffee has been ultimately associated with Culture at the heart of Europe.

Hungarian writers from the end of the 19th century till World war II spent most of their time in coffee houses asking the waiters for ink! At that time coffee was even called “fekete leves” which basically means “dark soup”.

Though most of Budapest famous writers cafes had to close during communism – putting an end to this brilliant tradition of coffee as a fuel for writing – some famous cafes reopened such as Centrál Kávéház. And I don’t really know why but in Central Europe I still feel some kind of coffee cosiness, something that I haven’t really found in Paris (no wonder when you see the price of an espresso over there!). For instance, when I lived in Warsaw I used to spend hours in nice cafes, reading the press, meeting people, working…

Alibi cafe is pretty much like that. The design imitates some libraries, the space is intimate and the coffee excellent. The neighborhood is ultimately picturesque too, with the Law faculty nearby, and all those narrow streets full of shops and cafes, so typically “Belvaros” (the city-centre). At Alibi, they also serve pastries and light lunch offers. And yes, you guess, it’s a cool place for breakfast too!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Cafe Alibi | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Hungarian) | Espresso coffee HUF 350
Egyetem tér 4 | Central Pest | +3613174209
08:00 – 23:00 daily

Oh I love Budapest for its butcher shops (and so do Budapest building workers as I noticed)! Not only can you shop there but you can certainly eat, yep! It’s damn cheap and tasty, well… if you’re not vegetarian! Grilled sausage (kolbász), frankfurters, grill chicken, meat-brochettes… at Pinczi’s, just a few meters away from Nyugati railway station, you’re pretty sure you won’t miss the point, anytime during the day till it closes (quite early).

Just do as the Romans do here: eat with your hands from a paper plate heavily recovered with (Hungarian) mustard (nothing to do with the original Dijon product, it tastes more like its American substitute!). Homemade French fries are available if you go there early enough (till 1pm). You can also try all sorts of pickles and have a bite in the super fluffy Magyar bread baked with its own label on it! You can get drinks – including vodka for 160 Ft, never tried it though! – and even wash your hands (you’ll need it!).

Don’t expect too much English to be spoken there but the ladies are nice so just make some gestures to show them what you want!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Pinczi hús hentesáru | Restaurants (Butcher’s meat.) | Meal HUF 700
Teréz körút 60 | Central Pest
Mon 07:00 – 17:00, Tue – Fri 07:00 – 18:00

Táskarádió eszpresszó is a new addition to Budapest’s already busy nightlife (still busy in spite of all…). But don’t expect the place to be too contemporary. It’s pretty much the contrary! The whole point of Táskarádió is to bring back its customers to the Hungarian 60-70′s in a happy, friendly, well-designed and colorful setting.

Retro fashion is a main trend in Budapest for restaurants, clubs, bars and even footwear (!). Sometimes it gets mixed with the ‘ruin pub’ concept, sometimes it stands alone. But it’s quite funny to notice that 400m away from Ibolya, a bar redesigned the retro way, lies Táskarádió eszpresszó.

‘Mobile radio’ (that’s how its name could be translated) has friendly staff – we came last time with a group of 10 friends, arriving one by one and they accommodated us without any problem. It’s decorated with the Pioneer’s 12 commandments (formal youth organization in Communist Hungary), lots of retro radios, cars, TVs, pictures… The food and drinks come also straight from a menu of the ‘happy communist barrack’ period (though the expression needs to be taken carefully as you might know!). So why not trying the Hungarian communist ‘Sprite’ called Traubiszoda? I simply love it.

Big difference with the 70′s though, you get high quality wine and pálinkas (Hungarian traditional alcohol)! The only problem of Táskarádió eszpresszó is that it doesn’t stay open very very late, but it’s a nice place to start with.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Táskarádió eszpresszó | Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Hungarian) | Traubiszoda HUF 380
Papnövelde utca 8 | Central Pest | +3612660413
09:00 – 00:00 daily

In the 6th district, just behind the opera house, there is a peaceful and pleasing pedestrian street full of terraced cafes and restaurants.

I think you will be advised to visit Andrássy Street and the Opera House anyway, so it is worth to look for Hajós Street and stop for a rest, a drink or a meal at Balett Cipő.This restaurant received its name in 1948 after its first owner, who was actually a ballet-girl. Since then the place was renovated of course, it is a bit French, a bit Mediterranean and certainly has a good vibe.

When fair weather arrives it is one of my favorite places, first of all because its terrace is just divine, second, it has a perfect international cuisine, and third, they offer a good wine and palinka selection, and finally the great service. Needless to say this always makes me want to stay.

It is a kind of place where you can go for everything: a quick burger, a meal, or a drinking session. When my friends arrive from abroad and want to have a good meal, Balett Cipő is one those places I surely advise to go. Every first Wednesday of the month is called Thirsty Wednesday, on this day you can order alcohol drinks for half price!

They have a daily menu as well where you can choose from 3 different main dishes. Most dishes I tried (fish or meat) were excellent.

Go here and trust me you won’t be disappointed.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Balett Cipő (Balett Shoe) | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Intern.) | 3 courses HUF 1350
Hajós utca 14 | Central Pest
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 00:00, Sat 12:00 – 00:00, Sun 12:00 – 23:00