| Although budget-conscious travelers may wish to take | | | | Restaurant Culture |
| advantage of the self-catering facilities at their | | | | Visitors to Budapest will notice that the city is |
| Budapest hostels, a big part of Hungarian culture | | | | experiencing something of a culinary regeneration, with |
| centers on eating out and heading to a restaurant to | | | | new restaurants opening up on an almost daily basis. |
| sample some local cuisine is always an enjoyable | | | | As well as offering traditional food, there are eateries |
| experience. | | | | in the city serving up innovative modern dishes and |
| Local Dishes | | | | branching out into international fare. |
| Food in Hungary is hearty and traditional with most | | | | It's now possible to find sushi restaurants, small |
| dishes consisting of meat and vegetables. Stew, soup | | | | cafés serving Greek snacks and even pubs with an |
| and goulash are popular choices, as are stuffed | | | | old-fashioned British Sunday lunch menu. |
| pancakes (known locally as palacsinta) and sausages. | | | | However, the humble coffee shop remains the star |
| There are several types of sausage - or kolbasz - in | | | | attraction of Budapest's culinary scene. Bustling |
| Hungary and cold meat is often served at breakfast | | | | cafés known as kavehaz can be found all over the |
| or in the evening as a snack. Sausages to look out for | | | | city and these are the places to head for an afternoon |
| include the paprika-spiced csabai kolbasz and the | | | | cup of coffee and a pastry. Some are more |
| un-smoked debrecner. | | | | expensive than others, but all guarantee a typical |
| Sausages are often smoked with a number of | | | | Budapest culinary experience. |
| different spices, meaning that each different type has | | | | It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish good |
| its own unique flavor. It would even be possible to | | | | restaurants from the bad in Budapest, though, as some |
| spend an entire trip to Hungary eating just sausages | | | | are designed for tourists with pricey restaurants and |
| – and sampling some rather different dishes, too! | | | | poor quality food. |
| The kolbasz also form one of the main ingredients of | | | | For the best gastronomy – and prices – in the |
| goulash (pronounced gulyas in Hungary), although the | | | | city, visitors should not be deterred from heading off |
| stew can be made from beef, mutton or even | | | | the tourist trail and venturing into restaurants favored |
| venison. Porkolt is another popular stew which, unlike | | | | by locals. Ask advice at your Budapest hostels for |
| goulash, consists of just meat, paprika, onions and | | | | great spots to sample this intriguing national cuisine. |
| tomatoes but is a delight for meat-lovers. | | | | |