Buffalo Steak House — Restaurant in Budapest

RUDE uncooperative staff!!! My table reservation was not found, most likely due to an administrative error. The confusion may have been caused by the fact that I originally made a reservation for 6:00 PM a few days prior, but on the morning of the same day, I changed it to 7:00 PM during a phone call. I realized that getting there from Keleti Railway Station by public transport takes about an hour and involves several transfers. Eventually, they did find the reservation, but I had to insist and convince them that I indeed had one.

My wife is Asian and I am Hungarian, but we were both given menus in Hungarian. I do not even know if they have printed English menus, though I suspect they do. To avoid struggling with translation, we looked up the menu online. We noticed that the prices on the English version were one or two euros higher than on the Hungarian one. I am not sure if those are just indicative prices or if foreign guests are actually charged differently.

The place itself is pleasant, the decor is beautiful, and the restroom was okay.

We ordered a goat cheese salad, a zebra steak with fries, and a blueberry drink, which I ordered for my wife to avoid any language barrier. The waiter asked in a surprised tone, “Just one?” to which I replied yes, and I do not think I should have to explain myself for not being thirsty. I also made it clear that I did not want lemon in the drink and that I would like the steak well done. Two minutes later, he brought the drink with lemon slices. Both of us suffer from histamine intolerance, so I could not drink it either. The waiters seemed visibly overwhelmed and were dropping the menus on the tables without much care, so I decided to wait until the food arrived to raise the issue, which, looking back, was probably a wise decision.

I told the waiter we could not accept the drink because it contained lemon and asked him to take it back. He replied that it was not lemon but lime, although I know the difference. He repeated several times that it was lime, while I kept saying it was lemon. This lemon and lime back and forth continued for a while until he finally took the drink away.

I was hoping at least the steak would be good, but unfortunately, it was only medium, even though I had clearly asked for it well done. Already at the time of ordering, I got the impression that they were not paying attention to any details and did not even write down our specific requests. It felt like they were just going to bring out whatever we ordered, prepared the standard way, and whether we liked it or not would probably not affect the server’s compensation.

In my opinion, the twelve percent service charge does not really encourage customer focused service, because with that included, most guests probably will not leave any additional tip. As a result, the servers may not feel motivated to ensure guest satisfaction.

After we ate what was edible, I asked for a takeaway box so I could bring the steak home, and to avoid any possible accidental contamination, I packed it myself. We finished cooking it later at home, and I liked it, though my wife did not.

The goat cheese was delicious, and the fries were fine for both of us. However, the zebra steak was the main reason we traveled for an hour to get there, meaning two hours total including the return trip, and with just a bit more attention to detail, this place could easily be a four star restaurant. It is a shame that the staff’s indifferent and somewhat uncooperative attitude brings down the overall...

The food wasn't good. I ate maybe 40% of what I have. Zebra Steak was uneatable. Fries was not good at all, grilled vegetable uneatable as well. We thought that maybe dessert would be fine. We ordered chocolate brownie. The brownie was dry and not good also. So the experiance was bad. I wait very long until I get bill. To sum this dreadful experience, in the end I was stuck in the bathroom for at least 10 minutes. I need to scream, and eventually the crew opened the door. I asked them whether it was the first time. They told me it wasn't and they just run away near the bar. Pathetic. I walked towards them and said that it shuldn't be like and it's pathetic. They offered me 30% of refund. When I walked back to my wife and my table, they laughing at loud. Was that really that funny? Childish behaviour or the staff. The waiter gave me money, and I walked away. But later I realised that they once again scammed me. They gave me 60 000. I paid 320 000. So it's less than 20% of refund, but they promised 30%. Absulotely disgusting experience. The crew, food, and reaction to compalin, laughing that I was stuck in the barhroo, because door handle just fall off is just pathetic and childish. No respect towards customer. My wife in the womens bathroom had to hold the door handle as well, because it was also broken. Highly not reccomended. Worst...

It's not everyones cup of tea, I got many recommendations, but it was our second time and still not convinced. We tried burgers and quesadilla this time and it wasn't categorically bad, but just missing any harmony, we found everything is a bit heavy on the meaty side, and the side choleslaw was just sour cream and salad, not sure what happened there, but it had no seasoning either. At least it was something to help fight the burger.

I guess this meatlover thing can be considered a signature style, but in my book it is just unbalanced.

The portions are large enough for most people to ask for takeaway half the plate, for many people that can be a 5 star review on its own.

The wooden plate my food was served on was wobly, and had a blackish discoloration at some place. Not really improved the experience.

The service was nothing special, but it was ok.

I haven't tried the steak, so that can be a different experience, but for the rest of the menu, there are better choices. Not in the neighbourhood tho, not a lot of...