The temptation to title this post ‘My house in Budapest‘ was too real. I won’t inflict my singing onto you, don’t worry. I’ll get to the accommodation part shortly, but first, I thought we’d start with food. This gal got her priorities straight, you see. I think I genuinely looked up ‘eating in Budapest’ before I’d even booked our apartment.  If you’re looking for a tried and tested guide of the top 10 places to dine, then this maybe ain’t what you’re after. But if you’re just a nosy food lover like me, read ahead.
[Disclaimer: not included are the bowls of plain pasta coated in peculiar tomato sauce from a convenience store. It was fuel. It was easy. We have no idea what the packet said. It didn’t look nice. It didn’t taste particularly nice either. Also not included: toast for breakfast, many bananas, and cheap bottled margaritas that we drank on our apartment sofa. So this is actually everything I ate out in Budapest.]
Onwards, now we’ve got that out of the way!
Our first meal out was probably my favourite. Good choice for day 1! The lady stood outside Restaurant Apostolok must have picked up on our hungry tourist vibes and ushered us to an outdoor seat. I’m usually kinda put off by pushy salespeople outside the door, but Saskia and I both fancied trying Hungarian food on our first day so went along with it. I’m not sure how traditional our vegetarian open sandwich / salads were, but they tasted good! Good enough that I actually ate the olives. And olives are the *one* food I really don’t like. Well done, Apostolok! Bonus points for having cute tablecloths and flower arrangements too.
The 4 things I drank most in Budapest were lemonade, iced tea, cocktails and water. Not necessarily in that order. Every lemonade was 10x better and more… lemony than at home. See above photo for feelings about said lemonade.
Where next? Lemonade stand, obvs. Just as we were reaching a solid 9/10 on the thirsty scale, a fresh lemonade stand appeared out of nowhere. What are the chances. By ‘out of nowhere’ I mean at the bottom of Gellert Hill, just at the end of Liberty Bridge, btw.
Another fabby superrrr fresh lemonade!
Now for a daft move that’s most unlike me – forgetting to eat. Yep, you read that correctly. Lily forgets to eat (almost). Before heading to the Szechenyi baths we had a tiny piece of toast and bottle of water each in the morning, then all of a sudden realised it was 4:30pm and we’d been sat in the sun all afternoon without eating or drinking. I’d be crap at fasting, can you tell? Cue grabbing ‘easy food’ from the poolside cafe, aka watermelon, chips and a chicken leg. Told you this would be an honest tale, not a luxe cuisine guide.
Never fear though, things improved from there. And by improved, I mean burgers happened. We’d spotted this cute ‘lil street food garden the day before, and just thought it looked cool tbh. Karavan is right next to Szimpla Kert ruin bar too, so that didn’t influence our decision or anything…
Yas for good burgers. Ours were from Zing, and were cheaper than a McDonalds and 10x better. <3 you, Budapest.
Couldn’t include food without sharing our drinks too! Beer, wine, all your usual drinks were on offer but we made straight for the cocktail bar, obvs. My blue cocktail was an ‘Adios Mother F*cker’. Straight in at the deep end. Our drinks cost pretty much the same as back home, but you gotta love free pouring for giving you better value!
I’ve already used this photo but I like it so erm, sorry not sorry. In addition to the traditional Hungarian top I bought at the Central Market Hall (yes I was that much of a tourist) we also picked up some bits and pieces for a picnic. A selection of pastries from a random stall only cost us around £1.20, and we stocked up on fresh fruit too. Would definitely recommend buying a picnic’s worth rather than eating in the market cafes! They were all absolutely jam packed, so I doubt the eating experience would have been very enjoyable even if the food was yum. Felt like a way to properly experience the markets and nab some cheap lunch too.
Picnic on a bench in Margaret Island was delightful, even if eating watermelon without any utensils was slightly difficult. Also, a lady with The Most Perfect Abs I Ever Did See took it upon herself to jog past at the very moment I tucked into a cheese pastry. How very considerate of her.
I’ll admit it – Gelarto Rosa was as high on my bucket list as visiting Buda Castle. What even am I? They were pretty x100, and they tasted goooood. Read that in Joey Tribbiani’s voice please. If I remember correctly, I had pannacotta and salted caramel, pistachio, and raspberry. But they had white chocolate and lavender flavoured ice cream and now I’m just questioning all my life choices.
Now for possibly the least Hungarian option we could’ve chosen, but ah well Saskia fancied the ramen place she’d spotted for our last night, and it was a good call! We got our slurp on at Ramenka, drank small bottles of very strong ‘Japanese beverages’, and spent our last night in Szimpla again because cocktails are life.
Think that’s enough food for tonight. Now for where we stayed. :) Booking an Airbnb rather than staying in a hotel was by far the best option for us, and our host Andras was really helpful and friendly. Makes you feel more relaxed when you know you’re only a text away from help if you need it, right? Our apartment in Pest was walking distance from all the main ‘attractions’ – still managed to walk 17km in one day but that’s our own silly fault – and had everything we needed. Including very reliable wifi.
The cutest corner of our apartment! After long days of walking we just wanted somewhere to crash and eat snacks, so all boxes were ticked.
‘Home away from Home‘ was on the edge of Almássy tér, a triangular shaped park, making it easy to spot on a map. It’s the little things, y’know.
Hopefully this was remotely interesting / helpful! Tell me your travel plans for the next year and let’s get all excited about trips again. 😀
lily kate x
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7 Comments
Antonia
15th July 2016 at 11:07 amIn my opinion the best way to get to know new culture or country is by it’s food. I almost went to Budapest last year but life get in the way and I never did. It’s definitely on my travel bucket list. Thankfully it’n not that far away from Croatia so I think that soon I’m going to visit it. Really enjoyed reading abut your adventures. Have a nice rest of the Summer! xo
Antonia || Sweet Passions
lily kate
15th July 2016 at 10:08 pmIt’s definitely a good way! Nice to get to know the eating culture and the places too, as well as the tastes. You really should go! I’m still dying to visit Croatia too.
Glad you like my posts! Hope you have a fabulous summer too!
Lauren
16th July 2016 at 4:18 pmGelarto Rosa is so beautiful!! I’m sure they were delicious as well.
lily kate
19th July 2016 at 11:45 amTell me about it! I want one again now. Need to try all the flavours, they were so good!
Max
20th July 2016 at 1:25 amI would have tried the lavender gelato, but Pistachio is one of my favourite flavours. Thise roses are so beautiful. It has been so hot here and I have been having ice cream a lot. I am usually not too concerned about the look, but those look really special. Worth travelling for, perhaps?
lily kate
22nd July 2016 at 9:00 amI kinda wish I had tried that one! I’m not usually too concerned about the look either, but it was just a fun novelty whilst on holiday. 😀
lily diaries | what I got up to in July - Joli House
15th August 2016 at 12:08 pm[…] because I’m fairly sure I’ve professed my love for the city enough already (here and here), so here are snippets from the rest of July in no particular […]