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The NH Concierge’s Tips
Not everyone knows, but when you go to Budapest, you don't just have to enjoy its monuments and tourist attractions to enjoy the best experience. It is also necessary to take your time to delight your palate by enjoying the food in Budapest, which is a unique explosion of flavors.
We will start by talking about the Lángos, a Hungarian specialty that you can taste at many of the restaurants in Budapest, because, being so demanded and popular, it is unforgivable that it is not part of the menu.
It is a dish consisting of bread fried in oil, which is prepared using fresh yeast mixed with a base of flour. Additionally, the pasta is prepared with sugar, milk, and salt. In some places an alternative recipe is used that uses eggs and yogurt in the dough, giving it a distinctive flavor.
Similarly, the dough can be prepared with or without cooked potatoes. On the other hand, being such a simple dish in its preparation, it can be found in a lot of fast-food stations in Budapest or can be prepared easily at home.
It should be noted that, although it can be eaten without any kind of accompaniment, the most common is to eat the Lángos anointed with garlic butter, garlic, jam, tomato, cheese or sour cream. Even in some establishments, chocolate is used for bathing.
Gulyás or Gulash, as it is also known, is another of those Hungarian dishes that you will not want to miss during your holiday in Budapest, as its intense flavor expresses the best of Hungarian cuisine.
It consists of a soup whose main ingredient is rye meat, although in exceptional cases it is replaced by horse meat. It contains peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic and onions. As an accompaniment, bread is added.
As a bizarre detail, you should know that “gulyás” is the word used to refer to the shepherds who cared for livestock in the Great Hungarian Plain.
Internationally, the Rakkot Krumpli is one of the most famous Hungarian dishes. It consists of a casserole in layers where each of the ingredients is served in overlapping slices. Its ingredients are potatoes, smoked sausage, hard eggs, roasted bread, and sour cream.
As for the preparation, the potatoes are peeled and subsequently cut into slices, then cooked in water with salt. Afterward, they are mixed with the sour cream and placed in a baking pan for the oven in which the hard eggs are cut into slices and the layers of smoked sausage are added. Then the whole mixture is sprinkled with roasted bread.
Finally, everything is baked until it has a crispy texture on top. Given its characteristics, it can be consumed as a garnish or main dish.
This is another quite popular dish, to the point that you can probably find it in most (if not all) restaurants in the Hotels in Budapest. It consists of a mixture of vegetables and meat, which usually includes onions, peppers, tomatoes, eggs, and mainly spinach.
The meat used can be of goat, pig, horse, or even vegetable origin, as there is a vegetarian version of the Töltött káposzta. In this respect, the preparation is somewhat versatile, as in some places additional ingredients are even added to it, such as garlic, sauces, ginger, and cheese.
The way to serve it can be through different garnishes, including bread, tortillas, sour cream, and yogurt. For those looking for a more complete meal, it is also a good idea to serve it with soup or a fresh salad. It is worth noting that, if you travel with children, it is a good dish for them, because of its versatility when it comes the time to prepare it, something that makes it a perfect dish to suit every taste.
The chicken paprikash is part of the food in Budapest that succeeds in arousing your appetite by just seeing it. It is a chicken dough bathed in a majestic chili sauce of creamy texture. It has chicken, peppers, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, and garlic among its main ingredients.
As for the preparation, put the chicken in a pot with garlic and onion, and subsequently add the tomato, sour cream, garlic, and pepper. Then cook at low heat until the sauce acquires a thick texture and the chicken a mild one.
When ready, it is served hot and in the company of bread, pasta, or rice, according to taste. Given its great popularity, which extends beyond Hungary, it will not be difficult for you to find it on the menu of any of the restaurants in Budapest.
Kürtőskalács is one of the sweetest dishes we will mention in this compilation of the best food you will find in Budapest. It is a dessert that is cooked on a cylinder, which is attached to a pinch to the fire.
To give it its sweet taste, the pasta is powdered with nuts, sugar, or cinnamon, giving it a rather intense flavor. It is quite popular among both children and adults. Moreover, its reputation transcends the borders of Hungary.
In other countries, however, it is known under other names. For example, in Germany, it is called Baumstriezel and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it is known as Trdelnik or Trdlo. It is no wonder that it is so popular and appreciated, so we assure you that you will not want to miss the sweet explosion of flavor it can cause.
Let us now mention a genuine specialty of Budapest, high-end food for the finest palates. The Hortobágyi palacsinta is used as the base of the Palatschinken, a type of crepe of Hungarian origin.
It is filled with chopped meat and cooked with onions, tejföl sauce, and peppers. The meat with which it is filled can be chicken, calf, or pig. In any case, it is a culinary delight that is appreciated by both tourists and the citizens of Budapest.
More than a dish, Főzelék is a group of thick vegetable dishes typical of the Budapest cuisine. However, they have the peculiarity that they do not become a stew or a soup. Instead, the vegetables are cooked, usually on a slow fire.
It can be a good choice for vegetarians looking for food in Budapest, as in most cases meat is not included among the ingredients, although yes, egg is included. However, the ingredients may also include sour cream and sausages.
The ingredients that make up a daily part of the Főzelék are spinach, carrots, peaches, lentils, and cabbage, among other ingredients. Being such a complete dish, it can be served as the main dish but occasionally it is styled to be used as a garnish.
It is worth noting that it is not only a delicious meal that you can find in most restaurants in Budapest, but also a rather nutritious dish due to the properties of all the vegetables with which it is prepared.
Pörkölt is one of the oldest Hungarian dishes you can taste in Budapest, since its origins date back to the late 19th century, when it was born as a variant of the goulash soup.
It consists of a meat stew very similar to a typical stew, which is prepared using beef or pork, combined with peppers, onions, and tomatoes to improve its texture.
Spices such as salt, laurel, and pepper are also used. Additionally, to give its characteristic flavor, pork butter or oil is used to cook the meat.
During your visit to Budapest, it is the perfect dish for a family meal or a meeting of friends and can be accompanied by fresh salads, bread, potatoes, or pasta according to your taste. That is, it adapts very easily to every person.
Finally, we will mention a rather peculiar dish. And if you have been very attentive to the most common ingredients in Hungarian cuisine, you will have noticed that pepper is usually present. However, it does not in any case do so at the level of the Paprikás csirke.
Because of this, it is considered the perfect dish for those who enjoy the taste of Hungarian sweet pepper. This is combined with chicken, onions, tomatoes, peppers, sour cream, and flour and cream to create it.
Since it is quite popular, it is possible to try it in many restaurants in Budapest, among which we recommend the Pest-Buda Bistro and the Szaletly.
It’s not enough to know what is the best traditional food you can taste in Budapest as a tourist, you also need to know which restaurants serve it. There are so many restaurants in this city that deciding without a good guide can be complicated.
That’s why we’re here to help direct you only to the qualified establishments so you can taste the best food prepared by the best chefs in Budapest.
Restaurant Rosenstein, or Rosenstein Vendéglő as it is also known, opens our list by being one of the establishments most prominent by a peculiarity that contains its foods since its emergence: the Jewish touch.
In other words, although it is a restaurant of traditional Hungarian cuisine, all its dishes contain certain influences of Jewish cuisine in its preparation. As a result, the gastronomic experience you can taste here is unique in Budapest, a feature to which much of its popularity is attributed.
In addition, the atmosphere of the place is quite welcoming, with customer service that always emphasizes kindness. On the other hand, their dishes use the meat of smoked pork, goose, or duck, another feature that causes the taste and texture to be different.
Even the restaurant has a privileged location a bit away from the center of Budapest. Because of this, it is a quiet space, where you can relax and be away from the cosmopolitan hustle while enjoying your food.
You should not be fooled by the name of Café Kör, here you will not have to limit yourself to drinking a good coffee, but you will be able to taste a wide variety of Hungarian dishes, among which stands its bull goulash.
One of the best features of this cafe is its warm and classic decoration, which transports you to an extreme state of tranquility. Therefore, it is perfect for coming in the company of friends or family and enjoying the meal with a good conversation.
Do you like retro-style restaurants? If so, the Menza is a restaurant you won’t want to miss if you want to try traditional food in Budapest. With its bustling courtyard and peculiar decoration, you may not be as quiet as those of the previous recommendations, but it is also an excellent place to eat if you prefer the lively environments.
It is worth noting that it also has a very varied menu, where you can try some dishes that we have already recommended such as the Gulash soup, and others that, although we do not consider essential, are also interesting recommendations, such as palócleves, kacsahúsos pásztorpite and sütőtökös répatorta.
Finally, we recommend Szaletly because it is a modern design option, where each dish is prepared with fresh ingredients, giving priority to the quality of the same.
It should also be noted that modernity here is not only reflected in its architecture but also in its approach to sustainability. Therefore, it can be a good option to attend if you are interested in supporting eco-friendly establishments.
You can have the opportunity to experience a delicious tourist adventure with all the food in Budapest that you can taste. Therefore, we invite you to make a gastronomic tour through the best restaurants in the city on your next visit so that you can enjoy all these dishes.
The NH Budapest City hotel is in the Újlipótváros business district on the Pest side of the river. Some of Budapest’s star attractions are right on the doorstep, and the nearby metro station whisks you to more tourist hotspots.
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