What’s New, Budapest? – April

Stand 25 Bisztró

Behind the recently opened Stand 25 Bisztró of the Downtown Market Hall stands the duo of Szabina Szulló and Tamás Széll, the executive chef and sous-chef (respectively) of the Michelin star Onyx Restaurant. At Stand 25 everything revolves around Hungarian cuisine and locally sourced, fresh-to-the-kitchen-table ingredients, with such iconic staples of the Szulló-Széll dream-team as goulash soup, potato casserole with beetroot salad or Mangalitza pate with pickled onions. Hungarian wines, craft beers, champagne and coffee specialties are also available here.

1054 Budapest, Hold utca 13.

Budapest Makery

Budapest Makery prides itself on the fact that it’s the world’s first DIY kitchen and bar: the concept is that each group of customers gets its own table with a hot plate, a work plate and a tablet which has loads of recipe videos in its library, and you also get an oven just a few steps from your table. Once the staff has prepared the ingredients all you have to do is play the video and follow the steps feeling like a star chef, but Budapest Makery’s kitchen team is happy to help you out if you’re ever in trouble.

1072 Budapest, Dob utca 38.

Kiskifli

Kiskifli is situated just a corner off from the Váci út office corridor, a clever strategic decision if you ask us, as we’re plenty sure that it will quickly become one of the favorite morning hangouts of the thousands of white-collars busting their butts off in the nearby cubicle towers. For breakfast they usually serve freshly baked pastry products and delicious specialty coffees, but you can also dive into their vegan sweets, tarte and granola selections. During lunch hours Kiskifli offers heart-warming soups and healthy mains, such as Caesar salad with pear and blue cheese or Panini with mixed salad.

1134 Budapest, Apály utca 2/b

Oh My Green Health Bar

If the only thing that’s kept you from a healthy diet was the dull, flavorless taste of the food, then you’ll be happy to pay Oh My Green a visit, as the food bar’s vegetable, fruit and grain-based cuisine is just as tasty as it is colorful. Everything they serve is full-flavored, filling and complex, despite lacking in artificial flavor enhancers and other additives. Oh My Green provides a quick solution to your special needs, but it’s for the meat-eaters, too. Down your superfood lunch with cold pressed juices or ask for a locally roasted Racer Beans coffee on the go if you’re in a hurry!

1052 Budapest, Petőfi Sándor utca 10.

InGame

With the ever-increasing popularity of e-sports and a generally bigger social acceptance of video game culture, it was only a matter of time for the first gamer bar to open its doors in Budapest. InGame is an e-sport lounge and VR arcade venue that’s home to more than 70 different types of whisky, two virtual reality stations and six PCs to play with. Open every day from 9 am to 2 am, currently InGame only serves drinks, but if our sources are correct they will launch their snack kitchen any week now – as it’s not just controller batteries that need to be recharged, but gamers, too.

1073 Budapest, Klauzál utca 26-28.

Chouchou

The name “Chouchou” might be familiar for some of you as the brand behind the delicious delicacies served at the many stores of coffee shop chain Espresso Embassy. Recently, founder and dreamer Kinga Szász (an economist-turned-confectioner) finally moved into her own venue, a cute chocolaterie you can scent a hundred yards away. Located near Jászai Mari tér, Chouchou serves fresh fruits, spices and vegetables coated in top quality Belgian chocolate, culminating in bonbons and truffles as gorgeous as they are savory.

1136 Budapest, Hegedűs Gyula utca 23.

MiaPia Bistro

Located in one of Buda’s busiest neighborhoods, MiaPia Bistro had opened just a few steps from Móricz Zsigmond körtér, awaiting guests with a unique mixture of culinary and cultural delights. Every week they have a new lunch offer on the table, with items such as paprika potatoes, BBQ chicken and lasagna, while each Saturday night the venue hosts an intimate live music performance. If you’re a fan of simple but tasty flavors, friendly prices, good service and nice music, then definitely make sure to check out MiaPia Bistro!

1114 Budapest, Vásárhelyi Pál utca 2.

Kálvin Gastro Bistro

The easy-going Kálvin Gastro Bistro (KGB in short) is the newest gastropub of the city, a culinary genre that sadly is still in a painful shortage of players. On workdays the focus is on the sophisticated but hearty lunch menus (drawing inspiration mainly from the Hungarian cuisine, with the dishes made from fresh and seasonal ingredients), while in the afternoons and the weekends the center of attention shifts from hungry office-workers to the thirsty but curious alcohol aficionados, with a variety of wines and bottled craft beers to choose from.

1053 Budapest, Kálvin tér 5.