Following on from the stews, goulash and noodles from Eating in Budapest Part 1…
Café Gerbeaud
One of the most traditional coffee houses in Budapest, is Café Gerbeaud. The best word to describe the cafe is ‘grand’ with chandeliers, polished timber and a beautiful space.
I had read that the dine-in price is expensive but the display cabinet does advertise ‘Our sliced cakes from the counter have 50% discount to take away.’ Luckily we had a fridge in our apartment, so I could try a few to go.
The only staff member available at the time wasn’t the happiest, but I managed to get a take away box and just pointed at the cakes I wanted. The box was wrapped with ribbon and put into a carry bag.
I got the Esterházy torta (1125 Ft), which wiki tells me is a Hungarian cake named after Prince Paul III Anton Esterházy de Galántha. This resembled a vanilla slice, except with walnut cake layers, brandy and vanilla butter cream, with a fondant top. I’m not a fan of brandy, but I’d never heard or tried this type of cake before, and I love trying local cuisine. It’s actually quite light and spongy.
The sour cherry dessert (1125 Ft) is light and airy, filled with a whipped sour cherry mousse, chunks of cherry and cream.
I also order the cafe’s signature Gerbeaud 160 cake (1325 Ft) consisting of caramelised dark chocolate mousse with blood peach gel layers, salt crystalline pecan roast, green walnut purée, chocolate sponge and a dark chocolate frosting on top. It is as heavy and rich as it looks, but the bitterness of the dark chocolate is counteracted by the sweet peach gel.
Retró Lángos Büfé
While in Budapest, I had to try some lángos – a Hungarian fried dough bread with various toppings. I did some research beforehand and had marked several places on the map where I could get my hands on it. The closest one to our accommodation was Retró Lángos Büfé which got some good reviews, so we headed there for a take away lunch.
Retró Lángos Büfé is basically runs from a small shack/stall with just a take away window at the front. There is already a queue of people waiting to order when we arrive. There is a lot to choose from the regular menu as well as a stuffed lángos menu.
I stick with the classic sour cream and cheese lángos (800 Ft), while Mr FPJ orders the Full House (1500 Ft) with sour cream, cheese, ham, bacon, sausage, tomato, jalapeno, hot green peppers and onion.
Portion sizes are bigger than expected. The fried dough bread is crispy yet soft and fluffy. I love it with just the sour cream and cheese. It’s a cheap meal but so good and authentic. I would have loved to revisit but we didn’t have time.
Vitez Kurtos at Édes Napok Budapest
Walking through Budapest to head back to our apartment, we saw a market set up outside St Stephen’s Basilica called Édes Napok.
The first stall I spot is Vitez Kurtos making fresh Hungarian chimney cakes or Kürtőskalács basted in butter and spinning over hot coals.
There are a few flavours to choose from – vanilla, walnut, cinnamon, coconut, chocolate cocoa, chocolate drops or raspberry, ranging from 1300 to 1600 Forints.
I order the coconut chimney cake (1300 Ft) which takes about a minute to finish cooking to a golden brown colour before it’s sprinkled with sugar and shredded coconut, and wrapped. It is super hot to hold but smells amazing.
Nice and crispy on the outside, yet soft on the inside. The chimney cake unravels and is easy to eat. Such a good street snack.
The Chimney Cake Shop
While exploring, we walked past The Chimney Cake Shop and I felt obligated to try it. The menu outside shows photos of chimney cakes with various toppings and ice cream. We walk inside the shop, interrupting the young staff member talking to her friend. I get a vibe that she doesn’t want us to be there, ignore it, and order the oreo chimney cake with chocolate-vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, Nutella and oreos (2000 Ft).
The chimney cake is taken out of a plastic box underneath the counter so I’m not sure when it was made. It’s not fantastic and I kick myself for not trying another chimney cake stall further down the street where the cakes are fresh and spinning over coals. Fresh is definitely better, and I don’t think ice cream is necessary.
I don’t care for the service either and recommend skipping this place altogether. Find somewhere where you can see the chimney cakes being made fresh.
Thermal Beer Spa
Mr FPJ wanted to try a beer spa while in Europe. During our planning, I came across a thermal beer spa right inside the famous Szechenyi Thermal Baths in Budapest, and booked us in for a session.
When we get there, staff show us where to go to get a fob which gives us access to our own mini change room. Back at the beer spa headquarters, a staff member shows us what’s in the bath – mainly hops, barley and beer salt. The session includes 1 hour in the thermal beer spa, and beer on tap right next to you so you can bathe and drink at the same time. We receive an appetiser snack of bite sized crunchy bread crackers with a savoury spread on top, but we find it too sweet and oily, so we only have a nibble and leave the rest on the plate. Since I don’t drink beer, I got a malt drink in a can instead.
There are 4 wooden tubs in the one room (we both paid a bit extra for 1 tub each). We found it’s not as private as expected, as staff come in and go out as they please especially when it’s time to fill up the tubs for the next slot of people. At one point, one staff member even opened the door to let some curious people peek in (while we’re in the baths) to see what it was like.
After our session, we headed to the Szechenyi baths which are huge, with both indoor and outdoor baths. As we booked into a late beer spa session, I found the water a bit disgusting towards the end of the day with so many people in it. Best to go first thing in the morning.
Street Food Karavan
I had read that a food stall Budapest Lángos at the Street Food Karavan outdoor dining precinct sold lángos burgers. It also happened to be a few doors down from Budapest’s oldest ruin pub so we headed over for lunch. There is a long queue and the stall takes cash only. It’s not until we’re at the front of the queue and ready to order that the owner of the stall tells us there are no burgers that day. A plain lángos is available but costs 1200 Forints with sour cream and cheese – a much bigger mark up and smaller portion than Retró Lángos Büfé.
We looked around at the rest of the food stalls but nothing caught my fancy. We ended up back at Getto Gulyas for goulash and stew (as per the previous post) as it was just up the road.
Szimpla Kert Ruin Bar
A ruin bar is a bar set in a pre-war building, filled with quirky decor and furniture. I read that Szimpla Kert is one of Budapest’s most iconic ruin bar in a ruined building that was set to be demolished until the owners built their ruin bar.
Step inside, and it’s like you’re another world with odd bits dotted around, stuck and hanging on anything available to be stuck or hung. One area is filled with bath tubs and lamps, where people can smoke shisha.
Almost every corner of every wall has graffiti, stickers or some kind of decoration.
One room had so many cables from things hanging from the ceiling – fans, hairdryers, CRT tvs and LED lights. There’s a ‘control station box’ where you can push several buttons to turn on the hairdryer, change the channel on the tv etc. A tad dangerous and not something you’d ever see in Australia!
There are so many little rooms and pockets here and there, plus an upstairs component all filled with bars to buy beer. But for some reason, only the main bar downstairs is open. Perhaps because it’s a weekday.
Mr FPJ orders the half litre Budapest IPA (1000 Ft) and we luckily snag a table outside to enjoy the atmosphere. It’s like nothing else we’ve seen or experienced before!
Eateries visited
- Café Gerbeaud – Budapest, Vörösmarty tér 7-8, 1051 Hungary
- Retró Lángos Büfé – Budapest, Podmaniczky Frigyes tér 4, 1054 Hungary
- Vitez Kurtos at Édes Napok – St Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest
- The Chimney Cake Shop – Budapest, Király u. 8, 1061 Hungary
- Thermal Beer Spa – Budapest, Kós Károly stny. 1, 1146 Hungary
- Street Food Karavan – Budapest, Kazinczy u. 18, 1075 Hungary
- Szimpla Kert Ruin Bar – Budapest, Kazinczy u. 14, 1075 Hungary
That ends our time in Budapest. Next, we fly to Croatia to continue our European adventure.
If you want more random photos and updates about food, I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook: /foodpornjournal
Twitter: @foodpornjournal
Instagram: /foodpornjournal