How I wined, dined and arrived in Budapest, Hungary ! 

I visited Hungary recently. As it was my first visit to the country, I wanted to spend the majority of my time in Budapest. This is my third post about my visit. The others are about time spent visiting the City and the Buda Castle District.

This post is mainly about food and beverages. I also wanted to share my experience taking the airport shuttle bus, due to its importance for first time visitors like myself.

Airport Shuttle Bus 

There is a ticket counter right in the baggage hall for the “Mini Bud” so I enquired about it. When I confirmed the address of my hotel, I was told I could be driven and collected right to the door. A return ticket cost 15,990 HUF (€39.90). 

As per my previous post, I highly recommend that you get some cash or have access to a multi-currency card when you travel to Hungary.

I gave the cashier my email address and the time for my return flight. She said they would email me the evening before and would collect me three hours before my flight time. I was delighted with this as I often spend time on my last day, in a city new to me, figuring out how I will get back to the airport.

I was given a voucher and told to go to the desk in the arrivals hall. When I got there I validated the ticket so they knew I was ready to leave. I was told I would be getting bus number 101 and pointed to some screens. I sat in a chair opposite them and less than fifteen minutes later a screen was updated saying that bus 101 was ready to leave. My ticket number along with two others was listed also.

I went outside and found the bus easily. However, It seemed that not everyone followed the process as the driver had to go searching for one couple. A man and his son had arrived at the bus at the same time as me. He chatted to me while we waited (ten minutes) and shared some lovely chocolate he had purchased in Dubai.

When the driver finally found the missing passengers, we left the airport. I was last to be dropped off and it took about thirty minutes to get to the city and an extra ten minutes to drive to the various hotels.

At 7pm, the night before I left, I received an email from the shuttle company. They confirmed they’d be picking me up three hours before my flight’s scheduled departure time.  

They arrived right on time and there was one other lady on the bus already. She appeared to be an airport employee. We arrived at the airport in less than thirty minutes.

I highly recommend this service and while it is quite expensive I didn’t mind as it was my first time to the city. It also was great not to have to spend time researching how I would get back to the airport. All in all, I thought this was a very efficient service. 

But please follow the process and watch for your ticket and shuttle number. Maybe go to the bathroom – before you get your ticket validated !!!

Breakfast

I am an early riser, especially when I travel. I rarely get breakfast in the hotel unless it’s included in my room rate. I usually prefer to walk to a cafe and watch how the city wakes up.

However, even though I was staying in a busy part of Budapest, I was unable to find a cafe serving breakfast, open before 8.00am, on my first morning. Eventually one opened and I had a coffee and a croissant.

On my 2nd morning I really wanted something healthier so I waited until after 8.00am and went to a cafe where I had seen some tables outside. “Cafe Brunch” was just open for breakfast and lunch. A sign outside said “it served the best breakfast in Budapest”. Who am I to argue with that ?

The menu had lots of options – every sweet or savoury breakfast offering you could think of. I opted for the yogurt with granola and fruit. It was absolutely delicious and cost 2,950 HUF (€7.36). I enjoyed it so much I went every morning ! 

It was interesting that the fruit was different each day but it was consistently delicious. The photographs below are of the prettiest fruits served !

Lunch

While I had lunch out every day, there was one which stood out. This might be a surprise as it was right in the tourist mecca of Buda castle !

I had the goat’s cheese salad in the cafe under the Fisherman’s Bastion. It was extremely fresh, delicious and the right portion size for lunch. It cost cost 5,950 HUF (€14.85)

I treated myself to a cocktail as I was seated overlooking an amazing view of the city. I also tried to convince myself it was healthy due to all the fruit in it ! It was called a “Black Cherry Spritz” and cost 4,950 HUF (€12.30). This restaurant only accepted cash and this was displayed on their signs outside. 

Dinner

As I am vegetarian, I can’t tell you anything about Hungarian Goulash or the various local meat specialities.

However, I had my best evening meal in a very small restaurant near my hotel, called “Hilda”. I had noticed it before and thought it looked very cozy. I was delighted to get a table on my last night. 

I rarely have more than a main course at nighttime but I couldn’t resist having three courses here.

The cold soup was absolutely delicious. It was a very light tomato soup with fruit. The server poured it over the ice cube (made from the broth) and you had to wait for it to melt. It did take awhile to melt !  It was extremely light and flavoursome and worth the wait. 

I then had “Langos” as my main course. Langos is deep fried flatbread and supposedly “Hungary’s favourite comfort food” ! It is usually topped with sour cream and grated cheese. It can also be served without a topping and dipped in garlic oil. I was delighted to try this traditional dish and the one I had was topped with sour cream, crushed garlic and grated cheese. It was tasty but it’s not the most delicious comfort food I have ever had !

I finished with the Pavlova Gin dessert which was really lovely – extremely light and the right portion size. 

The meal, with wine, water and coffee cost 24,553 HUF (€62). This was by far the nicest meal I had during my time in Budapest. The ambience in the restaurant was lovely. Most people appeared to be locals. The service was excellent. The soup and pavlova were both outstanding.

Coffee 

As I now live in Italy, I think I have become a bit of a coffee snob ! 

But I also love seeing how coffee is served in different countries. What will the cup be like, will it be on a saucer or a tray, what will I get with it (biscotti, chocolate, water, sugar etc) ?

Budapest you surprised me – as every espresso I was served was accompanied by milk !

Yes, while the espresso was always in the tiny cup – a small jug of milk was then served with it. 

In Italy if you want milk in an espresso you order a macchiato (literally means spotted or stained). In Budapest you get to create your own.

I never had a bad coffee in Budapest and the cost for an espresso was between 800-1,300 HUF (€2.00-€3.20)

Wine Tasting 

When I first decided to visit Hungary, sampling different types of wine was high on my wish-list. I thought going on a wine tour might be an opportunity to see some of the countryside. I tasted the brown wine from “Tokja” in Slovakia last year. I knew this was associated with an area on the Hungarian / Slovakian border so I wondered if they had other unique grape varieties here also. 

I had tried to book a wine tour before I left but all the ones online would only accept reservations for two people. When I arrived at my hotel the receptionist asked me about my plans. When I mentioned I wanted to go on a wine tour, she said she could arrange it for me.

The following morning, she confirmed I had a place the next day for the “Morning / Lunch Tour”. The cost was HUF 39,550 (€100) and I was to meet the bus at “The Fours Seasons Hotel” at 10.00am. The tour was to the Etyek-Buda area and we would go to at least two vineyards.

The following morning right on time, I met Peter, our guide, who was also driving the bus. He told me I was the only solo passenger so I could sit at the front. We then picked up three other couples (from the UK, Canada and Sweden) at different hotels. 

Peter explained we were going to two very different vineyards and would taste four wines at each one. He gave us a quick overview of the history of winemaking in this region.

• First Vineyard : Vizi Winery 

This vineyard was about a 30 minute drive from Budapest through some nice countryside. Peter explained this was a very small family run operation. It had started as a hobby by the owner (also the winemaker) but now he was running it full-time. He said we would meet the owner, who didn’t speak English, and he would translate everything for us.

We drove up a small country lane and there were several cellars doors at one side. There were forty cellars here all owned by different winemakers. The one we went into was small and had sixteen seats around four tables.

The winemaker, Charles, was there to greet us. There was plates of cheese and bread and jugs of water on each table.

We tasted the following wines and this is what we were told about each one and what I thought of them.

All these wines are only sold in the local area with some being delivered to local restaurants. On a good year, they make 10,000 bottles of wine (8,000 still and 2,000 sparkling). All the grapes are harvested manually but they have invested in some modern press equipment. 

• Irsai – Oliver : The grapes for this must be harvested in the second half of August. If they are not, the wine will lose its acidity. Leftover grapes are used to make brandy. This is the most famous of the vineyard’s wines and is particularly popular with women (per Charles …) ! This wine is called after the son of one of his friends.
  • I really liked this and thought it was very light with a slight floral taste. 

• Pinot Gris : The grapes for this are all selected manually as they have to be very ripe.
  • This looked quite cloudy and different to the first one and to Pinots I am used to. This also wasn’t dry and had a spicy aftertaste. While it was nice, I preferred the first one.

• Pinot Noir Rose : This is an organic wine with no added chemicals. This is the rarest one the vineyard produces and usually will have a maximum of 500 bottles per year, made in two batches. The first batch has less alcohol than the second and they didn’t make any of this in 2023. This wine can only be kept for two years as it contains no sulphur. It’s also normal to have sediment in the bottle and in your glass. This wine is Charles’ favourite.
  • This was an interesting colour and looked a little like cranberry juice ! It’s darker than rose but lighter than reds usually are. It tasted quite acidy to me and you could feel it warming the back of your throat. 

• Pinot Noir : We moved into the cellar for this one to be poured for us. The wine is kept in the barrels in the cellar to maintain its temperature. This has an ABV of 12% and is kept in the barrels for two years, before it is bottled. It isn’t filtered and Charles extracted it from the barrel via a glass filer.
  • This was one of the best reds I have tasted in years. It has a great colour and was heavy and fruity. I really enjoyed this. 

I noticed after the second wine was poured that the labels were similar. When I asked about this – Charles beamed. It was clear that I had asked a good question ! He said his daughter is artistic and has designed the labels to make them particularly special. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this visit, especially given that these wines are only available in such a small area. It was also a real treat to see the winemaker in action and his passion for his wine was obvious. The pours were quite large for a tasting though !

Second Vineyard : Buzul-Morocza 

The second vineyard was only five minutes away. As soon as we arrived, it was clear that this was a much larger operation. Several beautiful stone buildings surrounded a garden area which looked as if it was designed for photographs of special occasions. Again this was a family run vineyard. 

We met a brother and sister who manage the tastings. The lady is the winemaker and the brother is the chef. We were to have lunch here after the tastings. 

We were only given very quick descriptions here and I had to ask to see the bottles to take photographs. The pours were also much smaller than the first vineyard, although more typical of wine tastings. 

• Chardonnay : This is aged in oak and has a very distinctive yellow colour.
  • It was very fruity and quite heavy for a white wine. I am not a fan of chardonnay but this was nicer than most.

• Rose : This was a 2000 and mainly used to make spritz
  • It was quite nice and very light. I thought it was a shame to dilute it with soda water though !

• Sauvignon Blanc : The winemaker referred to this as their elderflower version and this was a 2023.
  • This was the nicest of the three in my opinion. It was very dry and light and aromatic. 

• Zold Veltelini : This grape originated in Austria and Germany and is now cultivated in this region. It is aged for six years and looks a light shade of green.
  • This semi-dry wine was quite different and while I liked it, I preferred the Sauvignon Blanc.

We were then served a lovely lunch. Large bowls of a delicious pickle salad were placed on the table for us to share. The meat eaters were served roasted chicken with rice. I (being vegetarian) had ratatouille with rice. It was very tasty but the pickle salad was absolutely delicious and very different. 

We were also served a sponge cake and espresso was available to the coffee lovers like myself !

While the second vineyard was great and extremely professional, I enjoyed the first one more. It seemed a real privilege to get to have a tasting in the cellar with the winemaker.

All in all I highly recommend you take a tour if you get the opportunity. The countryside near Budapest appeared to be beautiful – well the little bit I saw !

Other Wines 

I did taste a few other wines during my time in Budapest. As I live in Italy I have gotten very used to Prosecco so enjoy trying local sparking varieties.

Hungaria Extra Dry : This has a very distinctive light blue label. It seemed to be available in most cafes and restaurants. It cost HUF 1,100 (€2.74) when I got it. I really liked it and treated myself to a bottle in the duty free on the way home. The bottle cost 3,717 HUF (€9.28)

Sauska Wines : This brand appeared to be readily available. It’s made in the Tokaj region of Hungary (where the famous brown wine is made). I tried a dry white wine which cost 1,600 HUF (€4.00) in quite a nice restaurant. 

Sauska make a sparkling wine also and I bought a bottle of this at the duty free. This cost 6,655 HUF (€16.61)

Etyeki Kuria : As I had been to two vineyards in this region I was anxious to try something from a larger vineyard. This was the house wine in my hotel so I had the red. It was lovely – with a good colour and a strong fruity flavour.

Beer

As beer has been brewed in Hungary for over a thousand years, I had to try one. I am not a big beer drinker but I really enjoyed this one after I went to the Opera. I sat at a patio bar on a busy street and people watched as I drink this !

Final Thoughts !

I did enjoy my few days in Budapest and my short trip outside of it. However, it wasn’t quite what I expected. It is certainly more modern and touristy than I had thought it would be. It’s also extremely expensive. I had been in Kosovo just before this and Hungary was a bit of a shock after that. 

I highly recommend you have local currency with you, either cash or HUF on a multi-currency card. While euros were accepted in a few places the exchange rate was high. The rate was approximately €1-250 HUF but I saw rates of 330 HUF on menus. 

This also was the first city I had been in for awhile where museums didn’t team up and have combination billing. You would imagine that the Buda Castle area should have an offering for multiple places but as it was so busy they clearly get the tourists anyway.

There are very few cities I have visited which I don’t think I will return to. However, I don’t think I will return to Budapest. But I would like to visit a smaller city or town and see some of the countryside. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them in the comments !