From deliciously filling pastries to stew bars, and from restaurant lunch specials to food trucks, here are the best places in Budapest
to enjoy simple Hungarian food and drink at wallet-friendly prices. 

by Anna J. Kutor

Despite the growing number of Michelin-starred restaurants,
Budapest is more like a well-fixed and laid-back auntie of a city, who will
feed you up with plenty of hearty, flavor-packed meals. There’s a diverse range
of cuisines and enough calories to fuel an extended weekend of explorations on
foot, which can all be savored without spending big bucks. Sometimes that
means seeking off-the-tourist-track places, while at other times it depends on
the time of day or even the time of year that you dine. And keep in mind,
thanks to the favorable exchange rates you can lock in before traveling, even
an elegant restaurant meal will cost you much less than you would expect.

Bakeries and pastry shops are a good place to carbo-load on
fruity pastries, breads and basic sandwiches throughout the day. Chains like
Lipóti Pékség, Pék-Snack, Princess and Fornetti are chains selling a wide
assortment of freshly-baked goodies for a few hundred forints each.

If you know anything about food in Hungary, you’ll know
that soups (gulyás, fisherman’s soup, creamy mushroom soup, etc.) and desserts
(Dobos cake, fruity rétes, palacsinta, etc.) are daily part of the diet. While
neither of these are usually healthy dining options, but family stories and
secrets are shared, affairs embarked on over a steamy bowl of soup/creamy cake
and they definitely shouldn’t be missed.

Soups, even at restaurants, are relatively inexpensive
(think 400-800 HUF), but creative soup bars (LINK) have sprung up all around
Budapest, offering seasonal and healthy soups on a budget. The best place to
kick of your soup adventures is Leves. (1053
Budapest, Vámház krt. 14), a hole-in-the-wall bar just off of Kálvin Tér that
serves a daily-changing menu of soups in a cup. Further afield, in the urban
jungle of the 8th district is another petite soup bar called Levesgyár (Soup Factory, 1082 Budapest,
Horváth Mihály tér 16). It’s worth seeking out not only for its filling and
delicious soups (of which the there are 4-5 warm and cold options, including
best-sellers like apple-potato créme soup, mango, apple-mint and Raffaello
soup) for less than 500 HUF, but also their well-made sandwiches and affordable
menu combos. On the Buda side, Soupway (1111 Budapest, Karinthy Frigyes út 18) feeds the masses with their take-away treats, ranging from creamy eggplant, heavy
bean and ham or inventive citrusy cottage cheese soup.

For a more substantial meal to satisfy lunchtime hunger,
head for one of the many főzelék 
(pottage or stew) bars scattered around town. A typical home-style
Hungarian meal made from almost any type of vegetable, főzelék is usual a main
meal served with meat or boiled eggs. A popular chain of pottage bars is Főzelékfaló Ételbár, with
tourist-friendly outlets in Nagymező Utca and Ferenciek Tere, where customers
with a sharp eye for good value will always find hot bowls of stews made from
spinach, Swiss chard, squash, lentils, potatoes, green peas, beans and salad.
For a more upmarket, hipster version that’s still affordable is Hokedli Pottage Bar on Nagymező Utca,
where vegetarians and meat eaters can dine together on cleverly prepared bowls
of green pea stew with arugula and ginger, bacon-infused Brussels sprout stew
and potato stew with sun-dried tomatoes and cream cheese.

Other lunchtime hotspots are known as étkezde or kifőzde,
no-frills, low-price, what-to-see-is-what-you-get type of places serving
every-day Hungarian food. Meals at an étkezde are as close to home-style
Hungarian cooking as you can find, with the regularly changing menu options
including several hearty soups, stews, roasted, fried or stuffed meats, pasta
dishes and a variety of pickled vegetables, and perhaps a few dessert choices.
It’s a sure value for your forint, but you’ll need cash to pay as cards are not
accepted. Time has stood still at Kádár
Étkezde (1072 Budapest, Klauzál tér 9), a Jewish district institution
featuring red-white chequered tablecloths topped with plastic covers,
wall-to-wall photographs of local celebrities dining, slow service and menu
with highlights such as stuffed peppers, sólet (cholent) and fried bone marrow
with noodles. Stationed right across from an old market, Rákóczi Kifőzde (1084 Budapest, Rákóczi tér 9) is another place
named after a national war hero where profits take a back seat to providing
good food at good prices - the tasty offering here including game dishes,
stews, hot and cold soups and some seriously delicious sweet options.

Students and cash-strapped workers in need of a cheap lunch
hotfoot it to nearby menza’s, humble cafeterias that are usually associated
with a local institution - such as a university, charity or religious center. Stoczek Mezna (1111 Budapest, Stoczek
utca 1-3) in the Budapest University of Technology and Economics is a real
student canteen with generous portions at bargain-basement prices, starting
with the breakfast menus and extending to the stew-and-meat heavy lunch options
(for less than 800 HUF). Aula Restaurant
(1088, Budapest Rákóczi út 5) in the
main hall of the ELTE University Faculty of Humanities has mid-size portions of
nourishing, home-style food that range from soups to fried meats, stews to
pickled vegetables. The desserts are worth saving room for, as the tradition
fruity-filled pastries, strudels and jam-filled donuts are true crowd-pleasers.

Many higher-end restaurants have lunch specials that
present a new option for travelers to stretch their food budget on the road. Pesti Disznó (1063 Budapest, Nagymező
utca 19) is best described as a Hungarian tapas bar serving
a massive selection of pork-based dishes that pair well with the fine selection
of domestic wine. The daily lunch special, for 1190 HUF, is a two-course meal
usually on the lighter side, featuring a soup and traditional mains.  Meaty dude food also takes a center stage for
the lunch specials at Laci!Konyha!
(1133 Budapest, Hegedűs Gyula utca 56), where the two-course
offering costs 2200 HUF, but there’s a vegetarian and seafood option for
health-conscious clientele as well. For higher-end nosh in a swish setting on
the Buda side, it doesn’t get more affordable than Csalogány 26 (1015 Budapest, Csalogány utca 26). The menu here is founded on sound regional ingredients,
top quality and chef flourishes (rabbit hache with green pea puree, duck soup
with semolina dumplings, scallops with asparagus risotto) and while that might
sound pretentious, the two-course lunch menu for 2500 HUF is a steal.

For a filling bite on-the-go, try lángos, a fried
sour-dough bread with various toppings, Hungary’s unofficial street food
ambassador. Look for special kiosks and small stands in markets selling these
plate-sized treats, traditionally topped with sour cream, shredded cheese and a
good dose of garlic. Street food as such is still in its infancy in Budapest but
a expanding line-up of pop-ups and market appearances means that there’s always
a food truck
to explore for the budget traveler. Case in point is the previously unused plot
of land next to the ever-popular Szimpla Kert ruin bar on Kazinczy Street that
is now home to Karaván Street Food
Courtyard (1076 Budapest, Kazinczy utca 18). Within the confines of a
heated tent, hungry crowds will find a dozen different trucks and containers
dishing up gourmet burgers and sandwiches from indigenous mangalica meat
(Mangalica és Társa), fried cheese dishes (Paneer), curry wursts and sausages
(Berlin Kanteen) and creative pasta dishes (Pasta Station).