After visiting the shiny cities of Switzerland and the shiny city of Vienna, Budapest was noticeably less shiny–a bit more run down, lots more street noise. But I also felt that Budapest was more friendly, more welcoming, more accessible, more energetic. I loved it. It was abundant in good eats with good views, making for some magical experiences. Chews and views. Sights and bites. Let me give you my top three and then some! (And let me know in the comments if you have any great rhymes!)
3. Gelarto Rosa by St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Our first order of business upon arriving in Budapest was exchanging our euros for forints; many shops accept both euros and forints, but I think it’s still best to have a good amount of forints on you. Our Airbnb host recommended a few currency exchange offices, and of course we decided to go to the one closest to a gelato shop.
In addition to being nearby a currency exchange office, Gelarto Rosa was also right across St. Stephen’s Cathedral. It wasn’t the best gelato we had on the trip (Amorino in Switzerland was the best!), but it was still pretty good, and they had unique flavour combinations and the prettiest roses (prettier than Amorino’s).
Also in the area were a bunch of restaurants, Elisabeth Square (where the Budapest Eye ferris wheel is and where the Free Walking Tours start), and Liberty Square.
2. Dunacorso Restaurant by the Danube River across Buda Castle
One night, we had a late dinner at Dunacorso Restaurant, timing it just so that our meal would coincide with the sunset and Buda Castle lighting up. We munched away on the terrace whilst a quartet played just a few feet from us. I had beef tenderloin with crispy onions and fried potatoes, Hungarian lemonade, and an ice coffee for dessert.
When we finished our meal, my parents and I busied ourselves with photos, whilst my brothers teamed up for a Pokémon Raid. We strolled along the promenade, getting a good look at Buda Castle, Chain Bridge, Matthias Church, and Gellért Hill.
1. Panoramia Cafe at Buda Castle
Imagine making your way up Castle Hill, walking by Matthias Church, walking by the two young men busking in front of the St. Stephen Statue, settling down on a terrace right next to Fisherman’s Bastion, overlooking Parliament across the Danube River, munching on beef goulash and chimney cakes, sipping on Hungarian lemonade and ice coffee. Downright dreamy! I was surprised to see so many negative reviews of Panoramia Cafe on Trip Advisor, mostly saying it’s a pricey tourist trap, which, not wrong, but I had a great time.
Honourable mention: Csendes Vintage Bar
If you’re in Budapest, you gotta visit a ruin bar! I don’t drink so I wasn’t sure whether or not that would end up happening for me, but we stumbled upon Csendes Vintage Bar whilst looking for lunch, and found that it was also a cafe. I don’t know if many ruin bars are also part cafe, but this one was. I had myself some Hungarian lemonade (of course) and a goat cheese burger.
I had half a mind to feature Csendes in its own post, but my Budapest recap wouldn’t have felt complete without it here!
More eats
Massolit Bookstore & Cafe: I was drawn in by the shopfront. How could I resist books and coffee? The coffee was alright, but the interior was nice and cosy. I have their little flyer stuck up on my wall at home now!
Gulyás Étterem: This restaurant serves traditional Hungarian food and was very close to our Airbnb. I had my first beef goulash of the trip here, and was hoping to order the langos on their menu, but we came in right when they opened for the day and they weren’t prepped for the langos yet, so I didn’t end up trying any langos on this trip. Danny had ribs, which were good. Ken’s chicken didn’t have much flavour, so I asked the waiter, “Do you have any salt?” and he replied, “Yeah, we’re a restaurant! Of course we have salt! We have salt, pepper, food, water!” He was a funny dude. But I also couldn’t come back for the langos and show my face again haha. Jkk.
Buddies Burger: This restaurant was right next to Gulyás. The burgers were pretty good. The fries were alright. The onion rings were a little burnt but I kinda liked ’em like that. My brothers liked Buddies Burger more than Gulyás.
Vinikli: This cafe was right by our Airbnb, so we came down for breakfast one day. The chocolate cake was a little dry. The Hungarian lemonade wasn’t sweet or cold enough. The coffee was okay. But look at how they served my iced latte! Very cool. Good work space.
Bubble tea: There were a surprising amount of bubble tea shops in Budapest, and one store even accepted RMB and WeChat Pay! But all the shops we came across were run by white people and mostly specialised in fruity teas with popping bubbles and jelly, not milk tea with tapioca. If they had tapioca, it wasn’t good. Same for the milk tea. But nonetheless, I satisfied myself with the fruity teas and jelly.
Bangkok Thai Étterem: This Thai restaurant was really good! I had pad thai, like I always do. The Thai tea was good too.
Budapest Baristas: Another cafe right by our Airbnb. Average coffee but good work space!
Comme Chez Soi: This was the fanciest restaurant we went to. I had their signature spaghetti with mushroom and goose liver fillets. IT WAS SO GOOD AND SO DECADENT AND SO MUCH. I only ate half of it because it was hot out and the spaghetti was hot and we had to eat quickly because we slid into an opening before a reservation so I was a little stressed but oh my god it was so delicious and luxurious. I did take the other half home though.
Gerlóczy Cafe: This cafe was pretty fancy too. We came for lunch and dessert, but it’s best for its desserts (according to my parents’ research of other people’s reviews). I had a salad with prosciutto and goat cheese, and for dessert, we all shared creme brulee and chocolate lava cake.
PS: budapest snapshots, vienna travel diary, switzerland travel diary