We don’t claim to have discovered this place, but we do think it’s a delightful discovery! Authentic (we think) Mexican food, fast and fresh in a little nook right near the FUNZINE offices, hooray! That’s the Kálvin tér neighborhood, for those of you who haven’t been to visit yet.
At Dos Gringos, the little resto where we became instant regulars, it says Mexican food, American hospitality, on the door and it’s true to its slogan! The Hungarian-American couple who run it (he takes your order with a smile, she whips up your food) lived in the States and fell in love, not just with each other, but also with Mexican food. Luckily for us, they’ve brought their true love, in both senses of the word, to Budapest.
The two may be gringos, which means “non-Mexicans” in a sometimes-disparaging, sometimes-joshing way, but they seem to know what they’re doing when it comes to Mexican food. That said, we FUNZINE staff are pretty much gringos too, so we won’t try to judge the Mexican-ness, just the yumminess, and Dos Gringos gets 10 of 10 points for that!
My favorite is the Yucatan Tacos Vega – sautéed red peppers, onions and other veggies tucked with black beans into a crispy, light corn taco shell. I always have a side salad, since it’s got a citrusy dressing that’s to die for and is full of greener-than-green lettuce.
Of course you can have tacos with meat too, or opt for our editor-in-chief’s favorite, Blue Cheese Quesadillas, soft flour tortillas stuffed with blue cheese, sautéed onions and chicken and heated ‘til the cheese melts, mmm – different, and delicious. There are five other kinds of quesadilla to choose from, such as barbeque, Tijuana and spicy chorizo sausage…
There are also some soups that we haven’t tried yet due to the heat, but chicken-lime and jalapeno cheese cream soups sound divine, don’t they? For now we’ll stick to tacos, quesadillas and the extensive selection of burritos in two sizes, and brownies for dessert!
Dos Gringos is tucked into a small street that’s incidentally on the way to a few of our other favorites, the do-it-yourself pottery shop MadeByYou, the Hungarian funky design boutique Fregoli and dinner date destination Borssó Bistro, so you could have lunch at Dos Gringos and make a whole afternoon and evening of it. Did we mention Dos Gringos is cheap and fast?
“Mi casa es su casa” (my home is your home) is written on the arched doorway of this colorfully painted, petite eatery. We’ve taken that to heart and made it our lunchtime home!
Dos Gringos
1053 Budapest, Királyi Pál utca 13.
Tel.: +36.70.226.1360