I’m so thrilled to finally be getting to this post. Budapest was the last leg of our big Christmas trip. A couple of months have gone by and I’ve had time to let the memories steep and time to reflect on the menus I wish I’d ordered more from. Of Prague, Athens and Budapest, I think I can confidently say that Budapest was my favorite city. Budapest felt familiar in its edgy culture, with a widely varied range of activities to do, things to see and try.

The food scene was so massive and exciting, we already want to return just to hit those restaurants we never stopped in. I’m still kicking myself for not sampling more traditional Hungarian cuisine after how out of this world the chicken paprika and goulash were. At the same time, we had numerous opportunities at every turn to try cuisines we had never seen before, shops specializing in fried cheese menu items, unique Asian cafes and food court style centers housing an even wider selection inside. It was, at times, too difficult to decide and even overwhelming. What a great problem to have when two foodies are on vacation, right?!

While I’m certain that we only scratched the surface, here are my 12 Essential Budapest Food Experiences:

1. Goulash

This is not to be confused with the goulash of Prague which I wrote about in my Essential Prague Food Experiences post. Hungarian Goulash, in my experience was a thinner soup made with paprika and pieces of delicious, tender beef. It’s a bowl of savory. It’s the typical item you’ll see splattered across every menu. If you’re not vegetarian, it truly is the best option. After just a few minutes of sightseeing in January, you’ll be looking forward to your next indoor warm up. And you’ll be praying that it involves hot soup. I think Jeff and I stopped every hour and a half for at least a cup of coffee on our journey through Budapest. Goulash was the best treat after trekking through those freezing winds. We tried it at Korhely where they served it with a hot, fluffy, greasy langosh! For less than the equivalent of 5 euros, it was an amazing experience.

2. The Great Market Hall

The Market in Budapest was fantastic. As in any city, the market halls demonstrate the following:

• What produce is abundant in the local region
• Just how similar all of the cigarette smoking, quick to smile, and jolly the butchers are
• That you won’t find a better deal or selection on food-related souveniers in other parts of the city

Budapest’s Central Market Hall, to my delight offered piles of wax peppers, exceptionally unique sweets, such as flavored honeys and chocolates, and last but certainly not least, a fantastic array of paprika products. I’ll elaborate more on that later, but you should know that the Central Market Hall is in a great location. It was maybe a 25 minute walk from where we stayed in the Jewish Quarter, but still near to everything exciting, including one of the iconic bridges.

3. Chicken Paprika

I’ll never forget the taste of this meal. I remember exclaiming to Jeff the moment I tried the first bite. At a traditional Hungarian bistro, I was fortunate enough to finally sample a generous serving of paprika chicken with cheese curd dumplings. The paprika chicken was tender, shreddable, and one of the most flavorful items I’ve ever experiences. The paprika came in the form of a dark, salt gravy. The cheese curds were equally as indulgent and somewhat new to me. No description will do those justice. What I can tell you is that I’d easily pay a weeks’ worth of dining out just to have it again.

4. Hummus Bar

We read about Hummus Bar in advance and happened to stumble upon it our first day in Budapest. While we weren’t sure yet how to scope out the right Hungarian spots, it was a good, light meal.

We tried a classic falafel hummus bowl which had great seasonings and a yogurt sauce to compliment it. Additionally, we ordered a gorgeous shakshuka – yet another piping hot dish that will prep you to return out into the cold weather. We could barely hold off on any of the pita they bring you before the meal – meant to be consumed with the actual dishes we ordered, no doubt, it was still fantastic on its own.

Hummus Bar was quick, cheap and easy to find numerous vegetarian items on their menu. This was great for Jeff. For me, I was happy to find something a little on the lighter side after all of the desserts and fried breads we had been trying up until this point. Why don’t we have a Hummus Bar in Richmond, Virginia??

5. ALL paprika EVERYTHING

Hungary’s trademark contribution to the culinary community is without a doubt paprika. It showed. On menu items everywhere, from traditional to experimental, vegetarian to hearty meat dishes and in snacks and souvenier stalls. You must try anything and everything paprika when in Budapest. Jeff and I were also thrilled to find this spicy paprika pepper paste, Pista. Pista is a sauce, or paste, made from coarsely minced hot paprika and salt. The Hungarian bistro we dined in offered it on the table, so we knew it was a local signature condiment. If you love spicy – find it.

6. Craft Beer Bars

Something we loved about Budapest is that it reminded us a bit of our home base, Richmond, Virginia. One of the things Budapest had in common with most hip cities was the craft beer scene. We visited Hops Craft Beer Bar and Hopaholic in the Jewish Quarter.

If you love craft brews, visiting one of these spots is a great way to get a feel for the local taste in beer and the locals in general! It’s always a good feeling to overhear laughter and loud, hop-fueled conversations (though probably in a foreign language!) as if you were home. I strongly recommend Hops because they had a good variety within only about 5 or 6 taps, but a bitchin’ bottle selection as well.

7. Ruin Pubs

If you haven’t heard of the ruin pubs in advance – you’ve probably failed to do your digging through Budapest travel guides. We were dying to check these out in the weeks approaching our visit. Jeff and I both have a sweet spot for underground, renegade places to party with an anything-goes-atmosphere, given our connections with rave culture.

These ruin pubs, which largely reside in the Jewish Quarter, are essentially pubs recycled from decrepit buildings which were never restored to their pre-WWII state. Someone had the brilliant idea of setting up shop in these buildings and using old, funky, colorful gadgets and forsaken furniture to make something of the spaces. Probably the most well known ruin pub is Szimpla Kert. Szimpla Kert housed 6? 7? 8? rooms of varied, thrift madness. The only way to describe it is a multi-level maze of deco’d out party palace spaces + vintage museum + junkyard + graffiti pit all rolled up into one boozy grunge wonderland. To understand what I mean, know that the photos for this essential experience are all of the same ruin pub – Szimpla Kert.

Like all things hip and underground, the word is out about ruin pubs. Everyone and their tourist mother was visiting Szimpla Kert and snapping photos – myself included! I couldn’t help sharing this with my artsy grunge Richmond crowd. Despite the foreigner invasion and awe, it was a fantastic, nearly overstimulating experience for anyone into visual art or thrifting! Go, drink, sit on a questionable piece of furniture and marvel at how dope Budapest is.

8. Ramenka & Ramen

Remember that thing I said about wanting soup in Budapest because of the weather? Yeah, I wasn’t joking. Ramenka was a ramen spot across from Szimpla Kert that offered a small menu, but was perfect. I tried the Ramenka bowl which was a pork-based bowl. It was delicious. The second photo is from another Asian restaurant nearby (damn me for not remembering the name!) which had a massive menu of options. That’s right, we dined on ramen more than once in Budapest – the truth is, Budapest is was such an eclectic city offering so much more than just tradition. The variety of cuisines was too varied to stick to Hungarian food the entire time.

9. Langosh

You probably read about langosh in my previous post about Prague. We delighted in seeing some of the same items, such as langosh in both cities. While we only saw langosh in the Christmas markets’ food vendors of Prague, we encountered this deep fried dough snack in brick and mortar chain shops all around Budapest! We learned quickly that langosh, mainly made from yeast, flour and water, was of Hungarian origin, as it was offered with most traditional Hungarian meals we encountered. It was the perfect addition to my goulash, but also a hearty, hot vegetarian snack when topped with sour cream and cheese for Jeff.

Think savory doughnut dough, but in flatbread fashion with the assortment of toppings. Upon pulling it out of the fryer, they typically brush it with garlicky sauce or garlic oil. Other toppings include tartar sauce, small bacon bits or ham, ketchup and even onion. It reminded me a lot of the pfannkuchen I tried in Berlin. Read about that here!

10. Chimney Cakes

Another treat we savored in both Budapest and Prague, chimney cakes, or Kürtőskalács, are also of Hungarian origin and can be found in parts of Romania. These are cone-shaped doughs, roasted over a spit, coated in either sugar, coconut, nuts, sprinkles etc and then often filled with a sauce like Nutella. Many places offer the option of filling it with ice cream as well! That’s certainly the most instagrammable option, though it does have an unusual effect on the dough. If I could try it again, I’d hold the ice cream and savor the hot dough as you pull it apart.

We finally tried it at Fragola, a six-seat cafe near St. Stephen’s Basilica after climbing to the top and working up an appetite.

11. Gozdu Market

This place was a wild intro to Budapest. Upon arriving to the city, it was after dark, we were starving and overwhelmed with choices. We shot right into Gozsdu only to be offered about 20 more options. This doorway from a main street in central Pest lead you to an open air alley with restaurants crowding you on both sides. It was a lively location with karaoke and loud music blasting from each doorway.

We settled on one place that wasn’t closing down or overly crowded just yet. It was a plain, very American menu, so nothing special, but sustenance, which was all we needed at that moment. There’s more to this experience than that… nearing the end of our meal, we were relaxing at a center table in the restaurant. Next thing I know, I see a big, beautiful, bare booty scamper behind Jeff. I nearly choked on my last french fry, as Jeff alarmed, reads my face to ask what I just saw. Apparently, the side of the restaurant behind Jeff becomes a clothing-optional cocktail bar after a certain hour. We had no idea. I’m cracking up to myself as I type this story out. It was hysterical and a great introduction to how unpredictable and awesome Budapest was.

12. American Restaurants

I know it sounds wild, but the pizza, burgers and BBQ were in full supply throughout Budapest. American food was clearly a hit in this city and upon our indecisiveness (and catching a whiff of the outdoor smoker at Fat Mama), we decided to go for it. After all, we’ve been in Spain for 6 months at this point. I was overdue for some BBQ. Fat Mama was PHENOMENAL.

Especially if you’re not an American, but you’re in Budapest, this is a great place to try some high quality BBQ. I got the chef-recommended BBQ pulled pork burger with crunchy bacon bites, jalapeno cheese sauce and fries (could I be any more of a Virginian?) Jeff actually tried the mascarpone-spinach gnocchi. Also amazing. They had a wonderful atmosphere and live music that night. AND our server was so friendly. It really felt like home. I wish I could return to try more of the menu items. If you come here, do it on an empty stomach and take a gaze peek over the counter when you walk in, where you see the cooks roasting and arranging everything with a smiles on their faces.