Best of Budapest

To run an exclusive pool room is a serious business that requires lots of care and attention. The ones that set apart from the rest would invest in the best tables and state of the art lighting with the table upholstery kept in top condition complete with a selection of top quality cues at hand.

It's not surprising that only a few can maintain this high standard and the rest is struggling to make the condition of tables and maintenance a priority. On the other hand you don't necessary have to be at the busiest location to be found. A quality pool room will make a name for itself quickly amongst avid players however might leave the ones who don't know the city very well in the unknown. That's where we come in, telling you the best places to play pool in Budapest.

The place that is regularly frequented by professionals and accommodate many official pool games is at:

Gold Center (Address: 11th district Budafoki út 111-113.)

In the upper room there are 22 pool tables, "karambol"collision tables and even rex tables available. The spacious interior and cards tables with an inviting bar area ensures the games spent with much pleasure and in comfort. Located at the Buda side of Rákoczy bridge, it is somewhat out of the center but it's not the end of the world really.

Another hidden gem is: Tajfun (Address: 14th district, Szugló utca 65.)

The building has got two levels, on the first floor there are 6 snooker tables and 11 Centurion snooker tables. On the second floor we can find 14 Brunswick Metro pool tables. This club obviously takes business seriously and made large investments. We can benefit from exciting promotional days when table hire is half price, these are popular and apart from the reduced table prices other customer consumptions brings benefit to the business.

I also like Noire (6th district, Dessewffy utca 8.), though you can start noticing some drop in the standard of maintenance of equipment there. There are 10 Brunsick Century tables and one snooker table only, although the prices are the same as the aforementioned other two.

People frequenting this place tend to be more casual. Let's just say I can't see many gentlemen arriving wearing a bow tie or eager young players clutching their own cue looking for a practice session.

If you want to get to know the authentic side of Budapest, the best bars, restaurants, clubs and events, join our Facebook group where you can find all the information you need.

A couple of years back, wondering around at Ráday street with my wife we lapsed into a fascinating gallery, precisely into a piece of art. There were five ageing women sitting on the Budapest metro, wearing far to much make-up, stuck in the past when they were still youthful and beautiful. On the instant my wife recognised herself and her girl friends in the picture, seeing themselves just as ridicules in sixty years time. We bought five of the picture, one to each of the bevy of girls, and might as well looked around.

Turned out, the pictures were by the Kenya born Marcus Goldson who has British origins and who has been living in Hungary since 1993 and was sitting right across from us at the counter. The artist also served as a shop keeper, you would have never guessed that the modest, cheerful guy is the painter.

We were absorbed in the gallery a little more and we got to like Marcus's work a lot. Has been living in Budapest for nearly 20 year, he knows the what's the deal in town, but he got socialised abroad and because of this to him the interior of a metro carriage, or a laughing group of girls at a bar has a completely different meaning than to us. To refine myself: it doesn't have a different meaning to him, the difference is more dramatical than that. He actually can see them, us, real life. He notices moments of the every-days what we Hungarians would never do just because they are too common to us. Than he combines the naivety of Rousseau, the execution of caricatures and serves it with a pinch of irony. We could take a pique against him, however let's not do that! It does show from his work that he actually likes what we try to veneer. He has real affection towards our bum bags, socks with sandals combo and the doubtful designer goods in the shop windows of the town. Of all things that catch the eye of any tourist, but are no longer conspicuous to us.

Than at the beginning of last year, he closed up his little gallery as the rent was 2000 EUR that is extremely high in Budapest, even thought tourist routes are costly in the city. This is bad news meaning that just like elsewhere globally artists are crowded out of commercially prosperous places. Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, Greenwich Village and SoHo in New-York and now the ninth district of Budapest as well.

At all events Marcus's website is always available, and no-one who wants a taste of impressionist impression of Budapest could wish for a better guide than his pictures.

If you want to get to know the authentic side of Budapest, the best bars, restaurants, clubs and events, join our Facebook group where you can find all the information you need.

Inbetween my hairdresser appointment and an exhibition I had 20 mins to get lunch. Presto was right in the middle between this two spots, so finally it has happened what I was planning for weeks: I had tasted their home made pasta.

This Imbiss has opened its doors only one and half month ago and fits perfectly into the New Budapest-Local Concept: simplicity, a leading Idea, strong focus and demand on fresh or home made ingrediens, good design and authenticity. Just a few years ago this mentality was absolutely missing in Budapest, but now almost every week a new Local like this openes. I would put on the list (not mentioning everyone here) the Halkakas, Szelet Pizza, Bors, Leves. , Cserpes, Cukorka, Pig37 Blitz Grill, Habos Gofri. They are the latest trend.

Without any doubt this new concept is the best thing what could have ever happened to Hungarian gastronomy. Our generation and the older ones had it hard. Decades passed without a leading model, the fundament of quality gastronomy was missing, and now as grown-up we have a lot to catch up. Nowadays the youth in Budapest has a chance to try quality food for affordable prizes, so they will never buy zombiehamburgers made of frozen meet, when they have a choice of carefully prepared sandwiches and yummie home made pastries instead. This generation will demand a big change in gastronomy and make shure that all those monkey-business locals in Budapest, Balaton and all over the country have to close their doors giving the chance for those who puts quality on our plate to become a roaring trade.

We need these Presto-level locals badly! The good news is, that now also in the centre we have a place offering home made pasta for good price. In Presto you can have breakfast or order a pizza (even to take away), but my goal was to try their pasta, so I asked the friendly waitress to recommend me something. She and the cook, who was about to put the fresh pizza into the oven, chose equaly the "gnocchi of the house". This was a gnocchi with Parma Ham and leek in a creamy tomato sauce. Sounded good enough to try and for a price of 1290 Ft I wasn't risking much.

The meal was absolutely fine. I really liked the gnocchi itself. You could feel it hasn't been prepared a year ago, then dried and now boiled, no, this was a fresh, soft and tasty potatoe dumpling. The sauce was a hit: sweet and a bit bitter at the same time, gained character from the ham and tasted fresh from the leek. And eventhough the portion doesn't seem to be big, its absolutely filling. I wasn't hungry until late afternoon.

Presto fits perfectly into the list above. There are few things to develop, I don't think the plastic plate fit here, (not too ecological either), and it would be important to have some wine on the menu, as they match very well with Pasta (but: as per regulation without restroom not possible to get liquorlicence, so first restroom then wine to Presto please!) Still, this place is nice and well positioned, ideal for young Customers.

Presto
Hajós utca 13-15, Budapest, HU.
(30) 686 8019