Kánaán Bisztró Budapest

If Jules Winfield and Vincent Vega lived in Budapest, had just gotten out of a very intense Bonnie Situation and wished to calm their souls in the way we do things round here, namely by eating a king-sized portion of sumptuous meat soup, they’d most certainly end up in Canaan. Not the biblical land of milk and honey, but almost. Kánaán Bisztró lies rather unassumingly on Csanády street by the stop of trolley bus line 76 -- perfect logistics come evening in case you’ve overindulged in their excellent selection of beers, which include local craft favourites and the almost complete range of Czech brewery Primator.

Kánaán manages the tricky feat of blending the old-world charm of Újlipótváros’s bourgeois tradition with edgier elements of modern pop culture. You can tear into a Wiener Schnitzel under the watchful eyes of Pumpkin and Honey Bunny, while mixing with an eclectic crowd of local usual suspects and foreigners who got sucked in by the easy-going vibe of one of the city’s hippest neighbourhoods. The meat soup is the absolute must - it’s actually the reason why I entered in the first place, drawn by a mouthwatering scent that reminded me of the perfect Transylvanian meat soups of my childhood, but you may also try another regional staple, the Jókai bean soup. As a second course, I’d probably go for the rosé duck, though it might also be wise to ask the waiters for weekly or daily specials, which are often a treat.