Things to do in Budapest and around Budapest: Places to eat

Most foreigners want to try Hungarian Gulash (gulyás) while they are here because this is the traditional food of the herdsmen in the Hungarian plains. Naturally, today most of us are not ranching anymore and we do not eat gulash on a daily basis. But, being a tourist, you really should try it once.

Hungarians express their hospitality by feeding you meat. Most tourist places would give you a large selection of various dishes made of pork, beef and poultry. Many tourists are shocked both visually and metabolically by such quantities of protein. Still, if you like this, the best place would be the restaurant called Fatál (Vaci u. 67). This pessimistic name simply means "Wooden Plate" in Hungarian, but the plates do look fatal. I personally like their Tex-Mex ribs but, again, you are there to eat gulash and other traditional Hungarian food.

In the last couple of years, a number of all you can eat restaurants have opened. I believe that these are perhaps the best places for a visitor because you can see in advance what you are venturing to eat. I prefer the Mongolian Barbeque restaurant (XII. Márvány utca 19a, Tel: 212 1859) which has nothing to do with Mongolia. They have good Hungarian soups and desserts. The only backdraw is the quality of the service but, as a visitor, you should experience this side of Hungary too. Make sure you reserve a talbe over the phone, they can be quite busy.

Another good place is a place called Pasta Dost (Rákóczi út 57) not far from the Keleti railway station. Despite its name, this is not an Italian restaurant. Food is good, drinks included.

And we should not miss perhaps the most celebrated restaurant in town called Gundel Restaurant (XIV, Állatkerti út 2, Tel: 321-3550). It is located near the Zoo in the City Park behind the Heroes Square. They have a Sunday brunch for about $25.- which a good price for such a famous restaurant. They have an unbelievable selection of good desserts.