Best of Budapest

Even though I’ve never been to Vietnam, I can tell a good pho from a bad one. I’ve been to Thailand, but the experience didn’t add to my ability to distinguish a good tom yum from a bad one. I did, of course, finally learn to detect whether or not the soup was authentic, but this is only important if:

(1) you assume that the only people who try the place after reading your article are people who have already been to the country,
(2) you think that authenticity in food is more important than flavor.

Fortunately 95% of our readers will try this place out without ever having been to Thailand, Vietnam or India (our readership would otherwise be disappointingly small), I’m extremely confident in describing Hai Nam as a really fine bistro.

The biggest problem right off the bat is getting a table. From noon on it’s impossible, so reserve a table or get something to go. You can drop in here at 12:15, and you aren’t going to get a seat. Or you can wait for half an hour. But the food is quickly made and served. My pho was on the table ten minutes after I ordered it.

The soup is in the middle, surrounded by lime, coriander, sprouts, chili sauce, garlic and chili pepper.  It costs HUF 1290 with shank, but HUF 1390 with sirloin. Both prices are perfectly fine since the portion is enormous. This is not just soup. It’s a full meal in a bowl.

Even without seasoning it, it tastes just right. It’s not greasy, and it’s not loaded with flavor enhancer. Then you begin to carefully add the spices sitting next to it and the experience gets better in direct proportion to the amount you put in. After three or four minutes I decided to toss everything into the soup, from the chili sauce to the last drop of lime juice, and since it was still moving, I drowned it in coriander and sliced chili pepper.

And the soup suddenly went from good to fantastic. Maybe it’s no longer Vietnamese when it’s this hot. Maybe it’s a Thai pho, but it can’t be because I wasn’t shedding any tears while I was eating it. But one thing’s for sure: the soup came together in a flavor that worked marvelously. You have to try it someday if you haven’t done so yet. A lot of people, though, have already tried it. The place is fabulously popular, and its popularity is built on the hearty, perfectly balanced soup.

A bit of advice: you can park for free for an hour across from the Allé if you want to reserve a table or get takeaway. Otherwise, it’s hard to find a place to park in the neighborhood.

Thanks to Móni and many others for the recommendation.

Hai Nam pho
Budapest, Október 23-a utca 27.
06-30-529-9969
Mon–Sat: 10:00–21:00
Sun: 10:00–15:00

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

[The original Hungarian article was posted on July 30, 2014]

I was shoveling frozen French fries and a fairly tasteless chunk of breaded meat into my face in the third best restaurant in Frankfurt when I began to have serious doubts about Tripadvisor’s top list. The idea behind the top list is good. Everybody rates the places, and the public decides which is good and which is wretched. This way, at least, you don’t need to rely on dubious top lists and the opinions of idiot experts. I was chewing on a well-intentioned but perfectly lackluster dinner surrounded by a group of American tourists (apparently we look at the same top lists) and decided to try out the best restaurant in Budapest as soon as I got back home.

And here it is:

The place is at Izabella utca 36 (thanks to Edit for the tip). It’s a bit out of the way, but somehow enough foreigners found their way here and hung around long enough to leave a thousand ratings. It was mostly Asian and American tourists sitting in the cozy and friendly room, where there are pencils on the tables, so you can doodle while you’re waiting. The staff is fabulous. Before I get too far into this, let me quickly say that I have rarely encountered a staff as attentive and friendly as the people here. They stop by regularly to see if you need anything and then stand back to keep an eye on things from a respectful distance. They brought around some sparkling elderberry wine and then fresh bread and butter to nibble on.

The magic lasted up until I tasted the bread and butter. Neither was especially exciting. No problem. It was free.

The first course was quick to arrive, and I continued to fidget. The truffle soup was the most saltless thing I have ever eaten. I’ve had desserts that were saltier than that. This problem was easy to fix though, but even after salting it, the soup was by no means revolutionary or overwhelming, though I have to admit it was respectable. So far, Zeller was ahead of the restaurant in Frankfurt in that there was a hint of originality in Zeller’s food. But that was it.

There was a fairly long break following the soup, so I started to draw on the paper in front of me. But I had not lost all hope, and I anxiously waited for Zeller to up its game. Fortunately, the Kolozsvár-style bacon and cabbage was a success:

This was clearly made with care, and it was a very good deal for HUF 2,200. I have to admit, though, that even this was lacking salt, and I can’t for the life of me imagine how they were able to pull it off. They must have a salt pond somewhere out back where they dip the food, but, once again, I was able to help in this. The strong cabbage compensated, and, all in all, the dish worked wonderfully. The bacon was juicy and tender, and crispy on top.

The meal only came to HUF 3,500 and I got a free dessert to boot, so you’re not getting ripped off here. Is this the best restaurant in Budapest? No way. I don’t think the owners want people to think of it this way. Zeller nevertheless has its strengths, and if you judge Hungarian cuisine on the basis of what you experience here, then we have no reason to be ashamed.

Zeller Bistro
Budapest, Izabella utca 36
06-30-651-0880
Tue–Sat: 12:00–15:00, 18:00–23:00

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

The good news is that a new store, Őshonos, recently opened on Radnóti utca where you can pig out on all manner of succulent delights – specially seasoned sausages, bacons, cheeses and nostalgic saveloys and frankfurters.

Őshonos was created by Sándor Kerekes, the Hungarian Grey cattle king, and his wife. The idea is pretty simple. They don’t offer much, but

1. you can sample everything they have, and
2. it’s all made of exceptionally high-quality Hungarian ingredients.

One corner of the tiny shop is devoted to homemade honey, pastas, eggs, syrups and wines, but I’m really interested in their other offerings.

Most of the sausages are made from Sándor Kerekes’s own recipes, sometimes using Hungarian Grey beef and sometimes mangalica pork, but mostly a mixture of the two (the dry beef needs the succulent mangalica). You simply have to try some of these. What they all have in common is that none of them is spoiled by caraway. The salami with dried tomatoes and capers is the Ryan Gosling of the genre, while the version made with crushed red pepper flakes instead of paprika powder is its Jessica Alba. Fantastic stuff.

They also serve buffalo-meat cold cuts made by Dezső Szomori. The beef products come from Pista Borda, a true legend for his frankfurters and saveloys. His stuff is so good that the people in the store remind me to steam the frankfurters, instead of boiling them, to retain the flavor of the marvelous seasoning.

It makes a difference.

The secret, they say, is in this book:

It doesn’t appear to be revolutionary, but fats, by their very nature, aren’t. The people in Őshonos believe that it was possible to get proper bolognas and other cold cuts in the stores just a few decades ago, but the quality started to go downhill when soy and other preservatives and artificial ingredients were added. Nothing needs to be reinvented. It’s enough to go back to the basics with traditional cold cuts, all of which is brilliantly described in the above-mentioned book, which is worth its weight in gold these days and can’t be got for less. But if you can get a hold of it, feel free to improvise. Some dried tomatoes here, some capers there. The most important thing, though, is to abide by the basics.

And all the different kinds of bacon. You’ll go crazy. They’re beautiful, hanging there, the fat dripping down. They melt in your mouth. The hams will knock you out. One bite of one of these, and that’s all she wrote.

The prices are perfectly affordable. A wide selection of real cold cuts goes for HUF 3,000 a kilo. The biggest game can be had for HUF 5–6,000 a kilo, while HUF 2–3,000 will get you a kilo of one of the many kinds of bologna. Even the cheeses are reasonably priced. Try the Etyek Rouge, which can compete with the toughest salamis.

Őshonos
Radnóti Miklós utca 22
06 30-574-7062
Mon–Fri: 10:00–19:00
Sat: 09:00–13:00

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

We have been trying out spas since February, and floating in hot thermal water has made it much easier to bear the otherwise not terribly severe winter this year. We checked out seven places run by Budapest Spa, and it’s now time to summarize our findings.

We started with Király Spa, one of the oldest and cheapest baths in Budapest. Every spring it’s swarming with university students studying in their swimsuits in the inner yard, but even in the winter you are likely to run into a few French coeds. The regular entrance fee is HUF 2400, and a discounted ticket costs HUF 1700. The environment is undeniably retro and Turkish.

It was also in February when we checked out the city’s legendary Széchenyi bath. Wonderful rooms, active social life, young people, old people, all kinds of people. Hungarians playing chess next to English tourists. The Széchenyi is compulsory at least once in a lifetime, possibly more often. Entrance fee: HUF 3800–4800

We went to the Rudas knowing that it had been rated the fourth coolest spa in the world on a very competitive list. There are still men’s days and women’s days here, so you don’t have to put up with all the annoying maniacs of the other sex and you are free to stroll around in a robe from one pool to the other. It’s a beautifully renovated bath with an old-time feel to it. Entrance costs HUF 3000.

The Gellért is another true legend. Try out everything here. It won’t disappoint. The fantastic Zsolnay mosaics, the huge interiors, the natural sunlight, the generous arrangement of space, and the great company make sure that the Gellért is exactly what you would expect on the basis of the photos. Daily entrance fees begin at HUF 4900.

Lukács. Everybody has heard of it, and everybody has passed by it, but not many people know that the place at the Buda end of Margit Bridge is the Lukács Bath. The huge place has many great stories to tell, each of them better than the one before. The stories are replete with all the famous people who have been regular patrons over the past 80 years. Even the famous Hungarian composer, Zoltán Kodály was a regular. He was the only person they ever let swim the pools from side to side instead of end to end. It’s a real hub for intellectuals, just like the cafés on the Grand Boulevard at the turn of the previous century. It’s clean and recently renovated, and there aren’t many tourists around to bother you. Daily entrance fees begin at HUF 3000.

Dandár. There’s no more likable and pleasant bath in the city than the Dandár. Everybody is a regular, at least that’s the way everybody is treated. A small, airy and light space with great plans for the future. The entrance fee starts at HUF 1450, but students can get in for a thousand and relax in the same water people at the Gellért wade in for five times as much.

Dagály. This enormous complex is more than sixty years old and has been a spa for over forty of those years. One of the most popular baths in Budapest, it offers luxuriant tranquility. Dagály is probably the most successful bath at retaining some of the serenity of the beginning of the last century. It’s the kind of thing you only know from old postcards, so you can easily overlook the slightly worn-out furnishings. Ah yes, and the place explodes with flowers every spring. Entrance fee: HUF 2400.

 Budapest Spa was a partner in this series.

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

There are places that are definitely missing in Budapest, but you don’t realize it until they aren’t missing anymore. Deep within the recesses of my mind I’ve always thought that Budapest could really use a bright, well-designed cultural entertainment center with a Mediterranean atmosphere – so a little bit of seashore in downtown Pest, without a sea, that is. But before I saw Mazel Tov, which will be opening this Saturday, I would have been unable to express it so precisely.

Now that I’ve been to the pre-opening reception, I know that after this weekend the city is going to have a place where I will gladly be a regular. This place will get me out of the house even on days when I just want to sit at home and chill.

I pretty much said why this place is good in the first paragraph. There is the design. I love ruin pubs and the fact that we Hungarians gave them to the world, and I am endlessly enthusiastic about hanging out in them, but I have really been missing the kind of uncluttered, civilized and tranquil atmosphere you find at Mazel Tov.

It is also a great idea that this place was designed so that Jews, Muslims and Christians could sit down at the same table without feeling the need to exterminate one another. Mazel Tov is in principle about understanding, awareness and common cultural experience, although there are sure to be those who consider this to be a bastion of the international Jewish conspiracy, but so much the better because they will miss out on the fantastic mint tea and lemonade.

Mazel Tov’s real strength, though, is the food. Its very existence is noteworthy, as is its quality. The Israeli chef prepares dishes that until now have been almost completely unknown in Budapest, and these light Mediterranean flavors mix with the decor, the atmosphere and the enchanting live music to create an absolutely irresistible fusion. András Petruska was playing at the pre-opening, by the way. You should know that he has written a song for each of the stations of the new Metro 4 line (you can click on each one here):

Back to the food, which I sampled in fabulous company, including “Fűszer és Lélek” (Spice and Soul) – a.k.a. Eszter and Segal, the “Chef” himself and one of the best cooks in Hungary – so if, for some reason, insecurity got the best of me, I would have known who to turn to. But I had no reason to feel too insecure because everything on the menu was just right.

The grilled eggplant with tahini (HUF 990) was a perfect prelude to a summer dinner.

The beef kebabs make for a first-class Rorschach test and a fantastic meal as well.

And although it’s hard for me to accept that chicken is food, the grilled chicken here, served with tahini and salad, is simply overwhelming.

So if I get the urge sometime to go out somewhere even though I really shouldn’t, there’s a good chance that if Mazel Tov comes to mind, I will. If I’m not mistaken, this is exactly why the owners created this place, so the fiendish plan, at least in my case, has succeeded.

Mazel Tov
Budapest, Akácfa utca 47
Mon–Thu: 18:00-04:00
Fri: 16:00-04:00
Sat-Sun: 12:00-4:00

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu