Bio Market Budapest

The Bio Market in Budapest is a weekly market only trading bio and organic products located on the parking place of the Budapest Congress Centrum (link to map). Every Saturday traders of bio and organic goods come together to sell their products. On the Bio Market in Budapest you can find anything from vegetables to clothes all biologically or organically produced. Most of the visitors you find there are young families having children to buy fresh vegetables, milk, bread, creams, fruits and much more for their children but also for themselves.

As stated on the picture the Bio Market is open from 6.30 till 13.00 every Saturday. Nearby you can find a park with a playground where most people are going to after or before shopping to play with their kids and spend the time after on the fresh air.

The Bio Market is a collection of little wood houses where the traders offer their goods and talk with the visitors. I think it is a good opportunity to buy fresh and local vegetables and fruits and not to buy all your grocery in the big shops like Tesco or Auchan even though it is a bit more expensive. Additionally you can find there interesting new products especially what they make there fresh. Another reason for me to go there is Mangold, the “spinach like” vegetable which you always get in Croatia next to your fish and potatoes. This is actually the only place in Budapest where I have seen Mangold.

So if you fancy bio and organic foods and drinks and want to spend a Saturday morning out in the nice weather than I recommend you to go there one day. I also wonder if there are other bio markets somewhere around the city so if you know one please let me know.

Bio Market Budapest

Gulash Soup

Goulash Soup, in Hungarian Gulyásleves, is THE number 1 food people all around the world connect with Hungary. Maybe only Paprika comes close to Goulash Soup but as we are talking here about ready foods that is definetly the one to go for. Goulash Soup is a soup made basically of beef and vegetables but there are variables in there which depend on the region or on the simply on the family receipt. One fills up the pot with wine, the others with water. Some add Nokedli (a kind of pasta) some leave it out. So there are many different varieties of the traditional Goulash Soup but on thing they have all in comon:

The original Goulash Soup is boiled in a so called Cauldron (in Hungarian Bogrács) which is a big bowl hanging directly above the fire. Of course you can just use it outdoors above the open fire but it gives the entire Soup a different flair. It is almost like a BBQ… you smell the meat, the fire is burning and slowly the food gets ready. By that time you had already some Pálinka and a couple of beers and you are ready to eat the soup with a piece of bread. These things you can experience in many public open air places around the city and also in the gardens in Budapest and on lake Balaton. There is nothing more social than having a good Goulash Soup with friends and family. But after talking so long I will give you a receipt of Goulash Soup as I know it (but remember, everybody makes it different) but I won’t give you exact amounts because I just do it by feeling.

Goulash Soup Recipe

Ingredients for your Goulash Soup

• Beef meat
• Spices: Paprika powder, salt
• Vegetables: Green peppers, carrots, tomato, onions, parsley root, potatoes

How to do your Goulash Soup

So you finely chop an onion and fry it in some oil for a moment and add some paprika powder to it and fry together for a bit. After you add the meat which should be cut into nice chunks to have something to bite on. Than you add a pinch of salt, a bit of hot pepper, depending on how spicy you like it but rather be careful you still can give it some extra heat afterwards, and a chopped tomato. All this you let simmer until the meat is tender.You know add some sliced carrots, parsley root, diced potatoes and all other vegetables you would like to have in there and top it with wine or water. As mentioned above it is up to you what you use. Cover your pot, simmer till everything is tender and you have your Goulash Soup.

Enjoy!

Bombay Express Budapest

Restaurant Bombay Express in Budapest is located in one of the hottest spots in the city on Ándrassy út right at Oktogon and Liszt Ferenc Tér. As the name says you get offered Indian food as well as drinks and imported spices and herbs. Bombay Express is kind of a fast food restaurant since most of the food is prepared and offered in buffet like pots. Nevertheless the Bombay Express is a very good choice when it comes to Indian food and the choice is not too bad.

Of course in Bombay Express you can find tghe typical Indian tastes like Tandoori Chicken and more but they also offer a great variety of a la carte dishes like Chicken Vindaloo or Madras Chicken and many more. For the menu check the website at the end of this article. I had there a lamb curry which was really excellent but in terms of quantity a bit poor compared to the fairly high price you pay. Nevertheless they have quite fancy things to try like Pakora which is some kind of deep fried vegetable ball which tastes really great. So whatever you want to try in the Indian kitchen you will most probably find it in Bombay Express.

But Bombay Express does not only offer food they also offer Indian beers (very expensive) and a large selection of herbs, spices, prepared dishes for home, spice mixes and so on all from the Indian cuisine. They have like a little shop attached to the restaurant where you can find all those fancy oriental things. Have a look and enjoy.

Adress:
Andrássy út 44
1061 Budapest
Or visit the Bombay Express website.

Anyways the menu offers all kinds of starters such as soups, salads and hot and cold starters. You get italian Bruscetta, Hungarian Fish Soup or green pea soup with Wasabi and shrimps. So really it is a bit from everywhere in the world. It looks exactly the same for the main dishes, Wok fried chicken with chili and ginger or Gypsy steak with potatoes just to name 2 dishes which probably come from the other end of the world. Well than there is the dessert which is kind of unspectacular.

I haven’t eaten in Menta Terasz so I cannot judge the food but what I have seen looks really nice and the portions seem to be fair enough for the price they ask for. What they can do really good are cocktails and of course long drinks. To bring a little negative aspect to this review I was unsatisfied with the service of the staff in Menta Terasz because they were so slow in taking an order and bringing the drinks over to the table. Anyways that might have been an exception and normally they are fast.

Address:
Margit krt. 14.
1022 Budapest
Tel: 06-1-336-1250
Opening Hours: Sunday – Wednesday 11.00 – 02.00 and Thursday – Saturday 11.00 – 04.00
For further information about Menta Terasz visit their website.

Roxane is one of these restaurants which is located in the middle of a living area where it gets most customers from and thats it. Usually these types of restaurants are cheap but offer lower quality food. Not so Roxane which serves international cuisine in a very nice ambience, with a fantastic garden and really friendly staff.

From really good pasta over massive meat dishes up to fancy salads and good cocktails you will get anything in Roxane and all that for a fair price. So if you live in 11th district or by mistake have a stop there I recommend you to go to restaurant roxane.

Adress:
Csorbai út 3/c
1119 Budapest
Phone: 06-1-206-5677
Opening Hours: Daily 12.00 – 24.00

The menu is built up like a matrix so that you can choose between Burrito, Quesadilla and Taco with different fillings and toppings like sliced pork, chicken, beef, Chorizo, vegetarian and so on. You also can choose vegetables that should go with it from tomatoes, onions, paprika to coriander or spicy pepperoni. So basically you can choose whatever you want to go with you Burrito or Quesadilla.

Next to these 3 main dishes Arriba offers a selection of salads and small finger food like the Poppers (Chillies stuffed with cheese, deep fried) which taste fantastic or Taquitos which are a bit dry but OK. To go with it Arriba offers typical Mexican beer, XX, but also Margaritas and of course the usual soft drinks.

The prices in Arriba are not too bad even though not cheap but for the quality of food aceptable. The taste reminded me of my trip to Mexico so there is some original flavour in the food and not some cheap TexMex American wannabe Mexican. Arriba offers also home delivery within a quite small area of Budapest. If you fancy Mexican food I would definetly recommend Arriba.

Adress:
Teréz körút 25. (near Octogon)
Every day: 11:00-24:00
Phone: +36-1-374-0057
Or visit the Arriba website

Until recently I haven’t heart anyything about the restuarant Két Szerecsen in Budapest. It is located in the city center, near Andrássy út and Nagymező utca. At first I thought it is a simple café serving coffee, tea and cakes but it is not only. Két Szerecsen has a very good kitchen, and when I say very good, I mean very good. The menu is not too long and the food to choose from is special but what you get served is just amazing.

Két Szerecsen means “Two nutmeg” and the name comes from tradition. In early years 2 people from Muskat opened up a store where they sold tea and in that time an unknown drink called coffee. It used to be a little shop in the outskirts, what is today the city center of a 2 million city. So by that time people came there to drink coffee or tea imported from Muskat.
Later the coffee shop turned into a restaurant but the coffee shop stayed aside so you still can have your coffee, tea and what is quite unusual for Hungary you can have breakfast there.
Coming back to the food, Két Szerecsen offers a small but very good selection of exotic foods such as a fantastic chicken curry, fish, duck and much more. All foods that I have tried there taste fantastic and so do the starters which come in a tapas size bowl. Also the soups are amazing.
So if you fancy some more exotic food than Paprikascsirke or Gulyas leves than the resturant Két Szerecsen in Budapest is the right place for you. 

Adress: 
Nagymező utca 14.
6th district, 1065 Budapest,
Phone and Fax: (+36 1) 343-1983 
Or visit the Két Szerecsen website.

As I know quite a bit about Transilvania and especially about the food and drinks there I went into restaurant Széklykapu in Budapest with high expectations. Additionally the dinner was organised by a Transilvanian so I was totally happy about going there to have a nice dinner with some nice Pálinka.

Unfortunately it didn’t meet my expectations at all. The Pálinka was fine and the beer, the original, fantastic “Ciuc”, was as usual fantastic and the live music was OK that alone made a great evening because there is nothing else you need when you get drunk and can dance. Nevertheless I expected a nice food so I ordered the Vinette (Padlizsan Krém / Aubergine Creme) as a starter which didn’t even have onions in it which is an absolute No Go in Transilvania. It tasted just like nothing. As I main course I decided to eat a slice of pork meat with a onion, paprika sauce on top which as well had no taste at all. Not even the onions tasted like anything.
All the other dishes I tried from my friends were not better, not thinking about really good or Transilvanian.
Stayed the Ciki Sör and the Blueberry Pálinka which was great but that alone doesn’t make afantastic evening, at least not if you go to a restaurant with such high expectations.
And of course that was not enough. The waitress, an unfriendly, unalerted woman brought a bill with just some numbers listed. As we were 9 persons, had a lot of food and drinks we could not figure out if everything is correct or if maybe the tip is already added or something is listed twice. We ended up spending 56.000 HUF which is not too bad for a 9 person dinner including loads of drinks but it was just not transparent at all.
Overall I can just recommend not to go there if you want to taste Transilvanian cuisine, it is just not worth it. Unfortunately I have not found any other alternative other than going to Transilvania yourself which is still the best. 

Adress: 
Podmaniczky utca 29.
6th district, Budapest
Telefone: +36 1 269 4072

The bar Minyon in Budapest is located in one of the upcoming areas of Budapest downtown, Király utca. In Király utca more and more bars, cafes and restaurants open up which all are styled well, serve good food and offer great cocktails. Bar Minyon is one of those. The interior reminds me of some lounge style straight from New York or London, modern a bit sterile but comfortable on every place.
The interesting thing about Bar Minyon is that on fridays and saturdays at 11 o’clock the bar turns into a club with dance floor, lound live music and a bar as long as the place itself. I haven’t been there for the club time but I heart that it is good.

During the day Bar Minyon is more or less a cafe with small snacks, fresh coffee and cakes. In the afternoon and evening in Bar Minyon well prepared food is served. The food is a bit overpriced but a classical fusion food which tastes great. You need to be a bit careful with the “Mangalica wrapped in Parma Ham” as the portion is really really small. I ate a duck curry with pasta which was really great. So I can recommend the food even though it is nothing extraordinary.
Next to the food Bar Minyon serves tons of different cocktails and a large selection of wines. All drinks, as well as the food, are a bit overpriced but still in a affordable range. If you feel like eating out in a new and stylish restaurant in Budapest Minyon might be the best choice for you. 

Adress: 
Király u. 8.
1061 Budapest
Tel: +36 1 878 20 16
Or visit the official Minyon Website 

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To get some more Hungarian restaurants in the list I visited Restaurant Kisvigadó in 11th district. Restaurant Kisvigadó is a small but nice and comfortable Hungarian restaurant with really good food and good sized dishes.
Nevertheless I found 2 things which I absolutely did not like there. The service was so slow that we could order food after beeing there for about 1 hour. If we would have said something maybe after 30 minutes would have been possible but the waiter just too busy serving all the guests. The second thing I didn’t like was the fact that this restaurant closes around 10pm which is not too bad but they didn’t even asked us for a last round which I absolutly don’t understand.

It might look like that everything has ben bad there but it was not really. These were just 2 points I didn’t like at all, thats why I write them down. In total the Restaurant Kisvigadó was absolutly fantastic, especially the food. So if you search for a bit overpriced but very good Hungarian food Restaurant Kisvigadó is the place to go. 

Adress:
Villányi út 34., 1113 Budapest

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