(Editor’s note: While far-right authoritarian Victor Orbán was prime minister, Dispatches only occasionally covered Hungary. With Orbán voted out of office, we see a bright future as an expat destinations. Though Hungary is in the European Union, the currency is the Forint, not the euro. You can see a converter here. )
Coming to Hungary and skipping local cuisine is like going to the opera with earplugs: you can still enjoy the show, but you won’t get the full experience.
Hungarians take their food incredibly seriously — that was one of the first lessons I learned after marrying into a Hungarian family. They’re very precise about what they eat, in which order and on which occasion; they get nostalgic about certain dishes and always make sure you’re so nice and full that you won’t be able to eat anything for the next couple of weeks. Hungarian cuisine reflects this attitude: it’s generous, hearty and always made with love.
Over the past few years, I’ve happened to spend quite a lot of time in Budapest on family visits and somehow naturally developed a bucket list of Hungarian dishes I have to eat to make each trip complete. Some of them, together with my top three places in Budapest to try them, are included in this very biased column.
Parasztkonyha
Imagine having a Hungarian grandma and visiting her in a traditional village house filled with charming little artefacts from the past century. That’s the kind of feeling you get at Parasztkonyha in the heart of Budapest.
What to order:
- Goulash (a rich beef soupy stew with vegetables and plenty of paprika)
- Pörkölt (a thick meat stew cooked with onions and paprika, served with nokedli (tiny egg dumplings) or boiled potatoes)
- Hortobágyi palacsinta (meat-stuffed crepes)
- Töltött káposzta (cabbage stuffed with meat)
You can see the menu and prices here.
Retro Lángos
Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 25, 1065
A place specialising in a single Hungarian dish: lángos. It’s a deep-fried flatbread, usually topped with garlic, sour cream and grated cheese, but at Retro Lángos you can try it with all imaginable variations and toppings.
The reason I chose this particular spot and recommend it to all my friends is that it can accommodate all kinds of dietary restrictions, from dairy to gluten, and still deliver the authentic taste.
What to order:
- Lángos with vegan cheese and sour cream (an all-time classic that’s kinder to your stomach; deep-fried doe is delicious but heavy, and having it with vegan alternatives to cheese and sour cream make the dish feel lighter.)
Here’s the Retro Lángos website.
Here’s the menu (in English) with prices.
Nagycsarnok
Vámház körút 1–3, 1093 Budapest
A Neo-Gothic central market hall where locals do their grocery shopping and tourists indulge in Hungarian street food. It’s also a perfect place to stock up on Hungarian delicacies.
What to order:
– Hungarian sausage (very different from American hot dog: the sausage contains plenty of paprika (what else) and is served with sauerkraut)
What to buy at the market:
- Smoked paprika
- Lavender honey
- Erős Pista (an iconic Hungarian chili paste made from crushed hot paprika)
- Hungarian salami (compared to other salamis it has a unique taste thanks to – guess what – paprika)
This is only a small part of Hungarian cuisine, so don’t be afraid to venture beyond the list, especially since Budapest these days easily accommodates dietary restrictions. Jó étvágyat!
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Read more about Hungary here in Dispatches’ archives.
See more from Oxana here.
Oxana Skibun
Oxana Skibun is a fashion and lifestyle editor who has crafted her stories for print and digital media outlets across Europe, the Middle East and Russia. Raised in Moscow, she now lives in Amsterdam, where she continues writing for international audiences.
