Margaret's Restaurant & Pub — Restaurant in Budapest

We arrived a bit early for lunch—before noon—and the restaurant was completely empty. Normally, the saying goes “never go into an empty restaurant,” but I decided to give it a shot given its high Google review rating.

Upon arrival, a waiter who was in the middle of his own lunch seated us. I mentioned needing to change my toddler’s nappy, and he kindly guided me to the disabled toilet. However, the experience was a bit odd—the hallway to the toilet was shared with the kitchen and cluttered with beer kegs, making it tricky to navigate, especially with a child.

When I returned to the table, I had to ask for a child seat, which I found surprising—if you see a child, wouldn’t that be a basic thing to offer without being prompted? Anyway, he brought it over. Then he handed us just one menu, which my toddler quickly took over (it had pictures), so I ended up getting up to grab another myself. Maybe I’m being overly picky, but those small touches can add up.

After that, a different server—a very friendly woman—took over and things definitely improved. She handled our food and drink orders with warmth and efficiency.

Now onto the food: the schnitzel was absolutely perfect—crispy, tender, and flavorful. The potato salad it came with was one of the best I’ve had. We also ordered the breaded mushrooms, which were delicious. My child had the duck confit leg. While I personally found the skin a bit soggy and fatty and would have preferred it crispier, my child loved it, so that’s what matters most.

When it came time to pay, I noticed the bill included a service charge, which I was fine with. But then the waiter asked for a tip on the card machine. I asked whether the service fee wasn’t already a tip, and she explained that only part of it was, and I should leave an additional tip. I offered to remove the service charge so I could add a tip via the machine instead, but she just said it was okay and entered 0% tip for me. That felt a little cheeky—almost like a double dip on gratuity.

All in all, while the service had a few rough edges at the start and the tipping situation was a bit awkward, the food was excellent and really carried...

ABSOLUTE HORROR SHOW! Do not dine here under any circumstances!! We went to this restaurant for new years for some lunch, upon entering we stood at the door for over 5 minutes waiting to be seated. Eventually a lady came over asked us what we wanted we asked to sit down so they sat us crammed in between two other tables even though the rest of the restaurant was empty. We had to excuse ourselves to the gentleman sitting beside us as we pushed against their chairs to sit on ours. When we sat down the waiter asked us if we would like some New Years shots for good luck, not thinking twice that this wasn’t complimentary we said yes but realised a couple minutes later that they charge €12 PER shot. I immediately told the waiter to cancel our order but he said it was too late they were poured at the bar, apparently they’ve never heard of pouring it back into the bottle. I had a beef dish, the meat was cold and rubbery could not even finish it. Be careful in Budapest they will charge you for water which is an absolute scam. When we asked for the bill they overcharged me on my meal that I had. The waiter put the bill down and had the card machine in front of me so fast I didn’t have time to see there was a service charge already on it but he asked for a tip on top of that. He took the receipt away before we realised the overcharge we had to go back up to the bar to ask him for it back. Extremely greedy and rude staff at this...

Dear Margaret’s Team,

We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the wonderful experience we had at your restaurant and, in particular, to commend the outstanding service provided by our waitress, Vivien.

As a family visiting Budapest from Germany for the first time, we were truly impressed by Vivien’s warm and professional demeanor. She greeted us with a friendly smile and took the time to explain the menu thoroughly, offering personalized recommendations that suited our tastes perfectly. Her attentiveness was exceptional – always present when needed but never intrusive.

What impressed us the most was Vivien’s patience and kindness in helping us with translations and answering our questions about Hungarian cuisine. She genuinely made an effort to ensure that we had an enjoyable and memorable evening.

Vivien’s positive energy and excellent service elevated our experience at Margaret's. She is undoubtedly a valuable asset to your team, and we are very grateful for her exceptional hospitality.

We wholeheartedly recommend Margaret's and Vivien, and we look forward to dining at your restaurant again on our next visit to...