http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19415 Casual atmosphere - even pool tables inside! - and nice outdoor sidewalk dining area.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19415 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19114
Located in Pest off the Vaci Utca, the restaurant is easy to find, cheap and offers huge traditional meals, mostly cooked and served in the dish dish, atop of a wooden plate.

I had the pork knuckle and only got halfway - highly recommended but book in advance if you're going in the evening.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19114 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18386 It has a wealth of information for people who really love Budapest and want to know the city better.
Check out the recent story on the Trabants - really interesting!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18386 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17325 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17325 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11398 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11398 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10552 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10552 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10551 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10551 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10550 Open daily 12 - 12.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10550 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10548 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10548 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9723 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9723 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/6099
Lucky breaks came at two main venues: one being the grill houses set up at the open-air wine festival between Deak Ter and Astoria (duck leg, crispy red cabbage, mixed veg), but most significantly (and reliably, as the wine fest isn't an ongoing feature) the fine restaurant Cafe Kor on Sas Utca. We found the place on our penultimate day and had lunch and dinner in there - two meals at one place in a day is something of a first for us.

The restaurant is billed as offering “quintessential Hungarian dishes with an international twist” and this seems to sum it up nicely. The food we had was uniformly excellent, well-presented but not fussy, substantial where necessary but not overbearing - various salads, freshly- and lightly-cooked vegetables, creamy sauces that weren't cloying and drowning the meat or fish. Service was great too - friendly, attentive and relaxed. (We were juggling space on our table at lunch and they offered us somewhere else to sit before it had even crossed our minds to suggest it).

It's quite pricey by local standards, at least compared with the 1000-2000 HUF prices we'd been paying for mains elsewhere, but still very good value. (The wine ramped up the cost of dinner quite a bit, but it still came to about £45 for two - a shared starter, two mains, desert, wine and coffee. Lunch - two salads and asparagus, plus a couple of glasses of wine - was about £18).

It was very busy at lunch and dinner midweek, and they recommend booking. I'm sure there must be many other sources for great Hungarian food, but do check this place out.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/6099 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5029 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5029 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4963
The food itself is tasty and gives a new meaning to the words 'hearty cuisine' - you can almost hear your arteries harden as you tuck in. The service is somewhat brusque at times, but this just adds to the fun. Prices are reasonable and it has a really cosy atmosphere.

It does get ridiculously busy, so try and book ahead at weekends. And if you can't finish your meal they'll pack it up for you to eat in the morning (good for hangovers!).]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4963 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1658
Somewhat out of the way it’s worth the effort getting there and is a wonderful place to eat when the courtyard garden is open for the long hot evenings of a Budapest summer and with food that’s ‘a hogy nagy mama főzött’ (just like granny cooked).]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1658