Budapest – recommendations
Discussion
t1grm said:
I’m in Budapest next weekend. Anyone got any recommendations of places to eat and go out in the evenings? I want to avoid the Brit stag-night scene if possible and go for something a bit more up market
ha ha avoid me then as i'm in budapest next weekend on a stag!! i went before and i think it was called leroys where we had a nice meal etc.
My search found this straight away, there is tons more if you Google:
Look them up on the web. Forewarned is forearmed. Typical: 2 attractive girls come up to you in the street and say "remember us from last night in the such and such bar" you don't but they are attractive so you go along with it. They suggest you go for a drink and you think "why not". They order 2 XOs you get to pay over £100 and a few big guys with short haircuts make discussion futile. The bigger and better version is when they entice you out for a meal, usually on the pretext of a "birthday", this one can easily cost you over £1,000. You have been warned. I have seen loads of suckers falling for these. There is an upstairs restaurant along the main strip with a glass lift going up to it. You can watch the sheep going to the slaughter. The funny one is if you play along a bit and then tell them their scam, they will accuse you of not being a Gentleman. As if they qualify for being a Lady!
Look them up on the web. Forewarned is forearmed. Typical: 2 attractive girls come up to you in the street and say "remember us from last night in the such and such bar" you don't but they are attractive so you go along with it. They suggest you go for a drink and you think "why not". They order 2 XOs you get to pay over £100 and a few big guys with short haircuts make discussion futile. The bigger and better version is when they entice you out for a meal, usually on the pretext of a "birthday", this one can easily cost you over £1,000. You have been warned. I have seen loads of suckers falling for these. There is an upstairs restaurant along the main strip with a glass lift going up to it. You can watch the sheep going to the slaughter. The funny one is if you play along a bit and then tell them their scam, they will accuse you of not being a Gentleman. As if they qualify for being a Lady!
bruciebabe said:
I suggest you go to the previous thread on this exact topic.
I assumed you were talking about a PH thread?
As for the scam I don't think I'm likley to fall for that one after being in numerous lap dancing bars across Europe and watching clients pay 500 EUR plus for a bottle of champange and have a pretty girl sit on their lap for 20 mins!
Needless to say I can't remember the names of any of the places I've eaten at as thery're all called something like Nyrkzblkrpyts which doesn't stick in the mind. Useful, eh? There was a proper gastronomic place at the south east end of Vaci Ut (pedestrianised up market shopping area near the river) whose name escapes me, but I suspect Vaci Ut gets a bit rowdy so if you wanted to go on somewhere after the food, maybe not so good. There are plenty of good places to eat in the Jewish quarter (in the blocks east of the southern end of Andrassy Utca). I've just wandered along till I found somewhere that looked OK in the past and not been dissapointed in that area. There are some cool bars along Jokai Ter (same area, same street as the Liszt Institute I think) and on Andrassy Utca itself at the end of that terrace.
If you're going to need to recover from a big night out, take your swimming trunks and go to the public open air and steam baths in the park at the north east end of Andrassy Utca (the boulevarde mentioned above, runs from the centre of town by the river out to the national square and park at its north east). Hotel staff will be able to tell you what the baths are called. Real experience. The bath staff think they are the KGB, there is a cool whirlpool thing to play in, you can swim properly if you feel like it, or poach in the hot baths, or die in the steam rooms. You can get a beer and a snack, and admire the young Hungarian girls ... and also wonder what the hell goes wrong when you look at the older Hungarian women.
The old town up by the cathedral is worth a visit. Great views back across the Danube. Some bits of it looked like a tourist rip off, but there's probably good stuff up there too.
Obviously its a generalisation, but the Hungarians are proud of their national identity and keen for others to see what's good about the place and their heritage. As a result they value things like their food and particularly their wine. As a result, if you ask the hotel staff for recommendations for restaurants, you tend to get good advice. Similarly, if you ask a waiter about the wine, you may well get an enthusiastic lecture. Hard to go too far wrong.
If you're going to need to recover from a big night out, take your swimming trunks and go to the public open air and steam baths in the park at the north east end of Andrassy Utca (the boulevarde mentioned above, runs from the centre of town by the river out to the national square and park at its north east). Hotel staff will be able to tell you what the baths are called. Real experience. The bath staff think they are the KGB, there is a cool whirlpool thing to play in, you can swim properly if you feel like it, or poach in the hot baths, or die in the steam rooms. You can get a beer and a snack, and admire the young Hungarian girls ... and also wonder what the hell goes wrong when you look at the older Hungarian women.
The old town up by the cathedral is worth a visit. Great views back across the Danube. Some bits of it looked like a tourist rip off, but there's probably good stuff up there too.
Obviously its a generalisation, but the Hungarians are proud of their national identity and keen for others to see what's good about the place and their heritage. As a result they value things like their food and particularly their wine. As a result, if you ask the hotel staff for recommendations for restaurants, you tend to get good advice. Similarly, if you ask a waiter about the wine, you may well get an enthusiastic lecture. Hard to go too far wrong.
I absolutely love Budapest, been there quite a few times now - I like the area around Vati Utca and the river front, just for wandering around, having a drink etc. Just watch out for mafia run taxis, and dodgy prostitutes that seem to get everywhere, oh and petty crime like pickpocketing etc. Amazing city though.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Please pass on my compliments to your partner and/or her father on their taste in restaurants!
Had a very nice weekend. Went to Gundel on Saturday night and Gerbeaud on Sunday lunch time. Both were superb although Gundel was a little pompous – I think it is possible to overdo the silver service bit. I also think your “boglover” could be “Boxucta”? If so I went there Saturday afternoon for a light snack but didn’t have a full meal.
I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the nightlife in Budpest. I thought it was supposed to be a wild party town in the same vein as Amsterdam or Barcelona. However it seemed pretty dead to me - apart from the dodgy strip joints. Perhaps I was in the wrong area but after the meal I walked around for a couple of hours trying to find a bit of nightlife. Went into a couple of bars for a swift beer but ended up going back to my hotel and bed about 12:30.
>> Edited by t1grm on Monday 13th June 08:30
Get yourself onto Spoon moored on the river fantastic views, great food, nice ambience.
best area is 'Liszt Ferenc ter' bars to go to
Leroys (for food as well), Karma, Incognito, Buena Vista.
Try and go to the steam baths in the centre (Szechenyi) good for hangovers etc.
Keep your wits about you, but TBH i felt a lot safer here than anywhere else in this part of europe.
best area is 'Liszt Ferenc ter' bars to go to
Leroys (for food as well), Karma, Incognito, Buena Vista.
Try and go to the steam baths in the centre (Szechenyi) good for hangovers etc.
Keep your wits about you, but TBH i felt a lot safer here than anywhere else in this part of europe.
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