- Budapest
- (244)
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Hungary
Myself and two friends (all male), kicking around the main shopping area one evening, allowed ourselves to get hauled into a club (accessible by outside elevator) by a couple of local girls. Nothing salacious you understand, just being friendly.
The five of us had a meal and drinks and although we had an inkling we would be “ripped off” we did not expect the jaw dropping £360 final bill! Because the place is on the second floor there is no way out, except via the escalator (which the owner controls).
Also, conveniently for us (i.e. the proprietor) a service till is present on the premises so no excuses about not having funds!
All prices are fully displayed on the menu at the foot of the lift and it is the girls’ job to get you into the lift before you have chance to have a close look.
All very clever as you have no real excuses for not paying, apart from being stupid!
Once we wised up, over the course of the weekend, we spotted about 12 different girls working in pairs looking to repeat the exercise. We even did a dummy run with one pair and were taken to the lift again.
This was recommended by our hotel receptionist and was brilliant. It is a pub with great food and atmosphere and clearly was the place to be. It gets pretty packed, mind.
Address : VII. Akácfa u. 13.
Tel : (+36-1) 322 7645
Open daily :15:00-04:00
except:
Friday: 15:00-04:30
Saturday: 15:00-04:30
This is an excellent Italian restaurant on Dohany Utca near the main road Rakoczi Ut. The food is of good quality and the portions impressive. Try one of their pizzas, almost impossible to finish. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere good. It's also reasonably priced.
1077 Budapest, Dohany Utca 40. Tel 354-07-88
The apartment is located in one of the best parts of Budapest, very close to everything, like the Mammut Shopping Centre (my wife was thrilled about that!), the Budapest Castle and other great sights, excellent restaurants (Grandma's Pancakes house is great and really close - highly recommended!) and close to all transportation.
The apartment is clean, bright, well stocked with towels and such, the 2 large bedrooms can be great for families, although it was only the two of us. Highly recommended to everybody who visits Budapest!
Best flea market, along with the monthly market in Pecs, in central Europe. Eat, drink and be fascinated.
Scottish pub, with charming Scottish landlord and Hungarian wife who speaks excellent, Scottish-accented English. Good beer (Belhaven), satellite TV for the sports fans, and excellent food. The steak Tartare is one of the best.
Ker. Moazsar u 9
06 1311 7611
Off the north end of Ferenc Liszt ter.
Became my "cantine" as the French say, a regular, easy place to eat. Very friendly, delicious food - Hungarian and also pizza/pasta, and very reasonable. Open all day, every day 10 - midnight.
Kiraly ut 59b
www.magdalenamerlo.hu
tel 36 1 322 3278
Just off Erszebet near the "Pizza H(ugh)t" on the corner. Opposite side entrance of Ferenc Liszt Academy
trolley 70,78, tram 4,6
Asian fusion restaurant, attracts the in crowd, and a little more expensive than the average local. The food is very good indeed, and is welcome if you want a lighter meal than the usual rib-sticking Hungarian fare. On Andrassy, in the centre of things. Service a little lax, but all in all a very good experience. Booking advisable.
Andrassy ut 8
tel: 302 2570
near the Opera House
Italian pizza/pasta of very high standard and very low price. Busy, friendly. Red checked table cloths, a shot of Limoncello with the bill. Pizzas outstanding, as are the pastas. I went several times, but didn't try their other dishes. Popular place.
Open daily 12 - 12.
Lazar u 1 1065 Budapest
tel: 312 - 0080
Just around the corner from the sports bar "Box Utca", on Bajcsy-Zsilinsky behind the Basilica.
The best possible Thai massage. Step out of a Hungarian street (Terez Korut) into a courtyard, and then into a charmingly shabby Bangkok environment - Thai pop music on the cassette, incense. Book an hour if you must, but an hour and a half of every muscle being given an extraordinary workout costs only 7,000 HuF. Charming girls - an experience not to be missed.
Terez krt 32 (through the arch)
tel: 06 20 8030 859
Trams 4, 6
Metro Oktogon
Just past the Muvizs cinema
A delightful restaurant with a daily changing special menu and an excellent wine list. Super service in the belle epoque surroundings. Well worth paying a little (not much by London standards) more than average. Very popular, so booking is advisable. Closed Sundays.
Zichy Jeno u. 33
tel: 00 36 1353 4094
Off Nagymezo u trolley 78, 70, metro Opera, tram 4,6
A very good place to eat, in Buda. Easily reached from Moskva ter by bus 22 or tram 56. The conservatory is particularly pleasant, and the daily specials outstanding. I was there (several times!) in the autumn, but apparently in the season the garden is open and the barbecue going. One of my favourite restaurants in a city of excellent food.
1021 Budapest, Budakeszi street 5
Moszkva tér with Tram #56, and Bus #22 (black).
Telephone: 06-1-275-1396, 06-1-394-1896
Mobile: 06 309 995 131
Fax: 00 36-1-200-3843
E-mail: remiz@remiz.hu
www.remiz.hu
A friendly laundromat in a small complex which includes the Broadway Hostel and a very pleasant cafe. Do your own laundry or have a service wash. They will also iron.
Open weekdays 9am - 7pm, weekends 10am - 4pm.
O Utca 24-26
Budapest VI
Tel: 06 20 20 36 713
Off Negymezo. Trolleybus 70,78. Metro Opera.
The public transport system in Budapest is superb, and the traffic terrible, so it's a no-brainer. The new trams are the Bentley turbos of trams. Get a carnet of ten tickets at any metro station, and they are good for all transport. You must validate a ticket for each journey or part of the journey if changing. There is a brilliant website (transport maps do not exist) with an English version. This gives all routes, maps, intersections, stops - a really informative and useful site:
www.bkv.hu/angol/home/index.html
The most amazing collection of retro family entertainment. The Zoo took several hours to get round. Next door is the - pleasantly affordable - indoor circus (very 'foreign' feeling, although the ticket sellers do speak some English. Beware that they do include animals, some borrowed from the zoo!).
Next to this is a great amusement park (Vidám Park) with an old-fashioned feel which could well have have kept us amused for a full day, if we'd had the time. The wooden rollercoaster is great, even for our four year old. Do bear in mind that Hungarians have a more relaxed approach to health and safety that in the UK!
Metro line no 1 (yellow line) to Szechenyi furdo.
Use the exchange shops. Do not be tempted to exchange money with "touts" in the street. They will offer very high exchange rates but very cleverly they disguise notes and you will lose a fortune.
It is a simple rack and pin railway that takes you up into the Buda hills, from where you can have wonderful views over to Pest and go walking on various trails through the hills. You can also walk to the Children's Railway (a model railway entirely operated by children volunteers) from here, although we did not have time to do this I would recommend it.
It is Europe's third oldest cogwheel railway and when you go up into the snow covered hills in January its very pretty and very romantic.
It is also part of the BKV system therefore if you have day tourist travel tickets you can travel on the cogwheel railway along with the buses, trams and metro.
The lower terminus is opposite the Hotel Budapest in Buda, you can catch a tram to here from Moskva Ter and it only takes 10 minutes at most.
We have just got back from four magical days in Budapest, staying at this brilliant apartment. The place is fantastic, and Tomas is a very good host who can tell you places to visit. Its location is fantastic, in a beautiful old building with a cafe at the bottom. Convenient! Honestly, look no further, this is the place to go.
Tomas: +36 20 3328952
www.jop.hoteltargets.com
They have an extensive selection of Hungarian, French, Italian, Far-Eastern dishes and wide range of Hungarian and international wines, drinks and cocktails.
Budapest, Nyári Pál u. 9.
+36 1 266 3277
www.avocadorestaurant.hu
Immense indoor market featuring local specialties, exotic fruits and vegetables, etc. The top floor has several inexpensive places to grab a bite, and lots of souvenir stalls.
vamhaz korut 1-3
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