Hungarikum Bisztró — Restaurant in Budapest

Wanted to visit this place Friday, but it was fully booked, so came in on Sunday lunch time as we were in the parliament area. The lady asked if we had booked, we hadn't, so she went to check if there was a table for us. After a few minutes she found us a table and asked us to come inside. First thing I noticed was how friendly and happy the staff were towards us, now I know this shouldn't be seen as unusual, but in Hungary and the other Eastern European countries that I've visited, its not normal lol The male waiter, the manageress who brought us in and Aneta our waitress were so nice towards me and my daughter, this left such a positive impression on us, even my daughter commented on it. Anyway, we ordered a drink each, my daughter ordered a main and I ordered 2 starters as a main. After a few minutes, Aneta came with some freshly baked bread with a sauce on top and some paprika and some chilli's and gave them to us for free to try out. This was a nice touch, even better was that it tasted really nice. After this our food arrived and it was amazing, it was the best Hungarian food we had had in Budapest, it really was that good. They also give you a small booklet which explains some of the Hungarian language, a recipe for goulash and some information about the staff and the restaurant, I actually took it with me. After the meal, Aneta brought me a bottle of some fruit alcohol, Palinka I think and offered me a shot after my meal saying it was an hungarian custom, anyway I took her offer up, you know being English lol Anyway it came in a really cold shot glass like it had been in the freezer, so I tldrank it and bloody hell it made my eyes water hahaha! Anyway we paid our bill and we were thanked by the staff even as busy as it was. We really enjoyed this meal and experience here, a lot of Hungarian businesses have a lot to learn from these guys in regards to customer service. If I ever visit Budapest again, I'll definitely be coming here again. I highly recommend this place if you're ever in Budapest. Well done to the team at Hungarikum...

Fantastic but expensive - but you get your money's worth. The restaurant clearly has a mission beyond 'serve food, earn money', but wants to make customers leave with a smile.

The starter was free, and went beyond a simple bread; you get normal slices of bread with three Hungarian paprika specialities, which are slightly spicy (except for the red 'cream', that is the kind of spice that fills your entire mouth, be careful!), and you get a specially decorated bread.

On the pictures, you see we ordered a lemonade, and got an entire machine that kept the water carbonated, and a small bottle of - in this case - cherry, to put in the water. Quite fancy!

As for the food, it was perfect. The meat was prepared very well and did not lose any of its flavour when combined with the lesco or the potatoes, the potatoes were delicious

I visited this restaurant in 2024 and thought both the food and service were excellent, but this time, the experience was terrible!

On the evening of February 18, 2025, a waitress wearing a white outfit had a very indifferent attitude. She was the receptionist who greeted us at the front desk. We had made a reservation online, but when we arrived, the waitress told us that we could only choose seats in the middle or on the side and were not allowed to sit near the performance area. I assumed those seats were reserved for VIP guests.

However, five minutes later, I saw two customers walk in without a reservation. I overheard their conversation with the waitress, confirming that they hadn’t booked a table, yet she seated them right in front of the performance stage? Ridiculous! Even the next two walk-in customers were also seated near the stage. So why aren’t reserved guests allowed to sit there? Moreover, even when those two tables were not yet fully occupied, they still had “Reserved” signs on them. This arrangement made the whole experience very disappointing!

As for the food, we ordered bacon and crepes. The bacon this time was overcooked and completely different from what I had the first time—it was so dry, without any juices at all. The meat inside the crepe was extremely salty! I understand that Hungarian cuisine tends to have bold flavors, but honestly, I’ve never had a crepe this salty, even in Hungary. :)

It felt like I walked into the wrong restaurant. I don’t think I’ll be...