What should you eat in Budapest?

The three that define Budapest

• Gulyás (goulash soup). Beef, potato, carrot and paprika in a red broth, often with tiny pinched csipetke noodles. Where: traditional restaurants (étterem) and simpler eateries (vendéglő) across Pest. Tip: order a cup (csésze) as a starter or a bowl as a light main; if you want the thick stew, the Hungarian word is pörkölt, a different dish served with nokedli or potatoes.

• Lángos. Deep-fried flatbread rubbed with garlic, spread with sour cream (tejföl) and piled with grated cheese (sajt). Where: the food counters on the upper floor of the Great Market Hall, market stalls and takeaway windows. Tip: ask for 'sajtos-tejfölös' for the classic topping, and eat it immediately; it goes heavy as it cools.

• Paprikás csirke (chicken paprikash). Chicken simmered in onion, paprika and sour cream, served with nokedli, the soft dumplings scraped into boiling water. Where: traditional restaurants and lunch places. Tip: it is the gentlest dish on a Hungarian menu and a good first order; ask for extra nokedli if you are hungry, they are the best part.

Nine more foods to try in Budapest

• Halászlé (fisherman's soup). A fiery river-fish soup, red with paprika, usually made with carp. Where: restaurants with a fish focus and traditional places. Tip: ask whether it comes with bones; some versions are filleted, others are not.

• Töltött káposzta. Cabbage leaves stuffed with pork and rice, cooked with sauerkraut and smoked meat, topped with sour cream. Where: traditional restaurants, most often in autumn and winter. Tip: it is very filling; order it as your only course.

• Hortobágyi palacsinta. Savoury pancakes filled with veal stew and covered in paprika cream sauce. Where: traditional restaurants as a starter. Tip: share one; it is richer than it sounds.

• Főzelék. A thick vegetable stew, of lentils, peas, potato or squash, topped with a fried egg, meatballs or sausage. It is everyday Hungarian lunch food that tourists rarely order. Where: self-service lunch counters (főzelékfaló) in central Pest. Tip: choose the base, then the topping; it is one of the cheapest hot meals in the city.

• Kürtőskalács (chimney cake). A strip of dough wound around a wooden spit, baked over heat and rolled in sugar, cinnamon or walnuts. Where: street stalls, especially at the Christmas markets on Vörösmarty Square and at the Basilica; see our Budapest Christmas markets guide. Tip: buy it plain or with cinnamon; the versions filled with ice cream are a tourist add-on.

• Dobos torta and Esterházy torta. Dobos is a layered sponge with chocolate buttercream and a hard caramel top; Esterházy is walnut meringue layers with a feathered white icing. Where: the city's old cake shops (cukrászda) in central Pest and on Castle Hill. Tip: cake and coffee mid-afternoon is a Budapest ritual; a slice in a grand café costs several times one in a neighbourhood cukrászda.

• Flódni. A Jewish layered cake of apple, walnut, poppy seed and plum jam between pastry sheets. Where: Jewish bakeries and cafés in the Jewish Quarter (District VII). Tip: it is dense; one slice is enough for two.

• Pálinka and Unicum. Pálinka is fruit brandy, usually apricot, plum or pear; Unicum is a dark, bitter herbal liqueur. Where: bars across the city and the ruin bars of the Jewish Quarter. Tip: pálinka is served in a small glass and sipped, not shot.

• Hungarian wine: Tokaji and Egri Bikavér. Tokaji Aszú is the sweet wine from noble-rot grapes; Egri Bikavér (Bull's Blood) is the red blend from Eger. Where: wine bars in Pest and most restaurant lists. Tip: if you are going on to the wine towns as we did, taste a glass of each in Budapest first, so you know which one you want to spend a day on.

Markets and food streets

The Great Market Hall (Nagy Vásárcsarnok) stands at Fővám tér, at the Pest end of Liberty Bridge. The ground floor sells paprika, salami, pickles and produce; the upper gallery has lángos and hot-food counters. It opens at 6am Monday to Saturday and closes around 6pm on weekdays and 4pm on Saturdays. Recent listings show shorter Sunday hours (about 10am to 4pm), but some official pages still say closed, and it shuts on public holidays, so check before a Sunday or holiday visit.

The Jewish Quarter (District VII) is the evening food and drink district, with the ruin bars, flódni bakeries and many of the city's newer restaurants. For self-catering, our Hungarian supermarket guide explains which paprika, salami and Túró Rudi to buy.

Tipping and ordering in Budapest

Check the bill before you tip. Many Budapest restaurants add a service charge (szervizdíj) as a separate line, and if it is there you do not add more. If it is not, 10% to 15% is normal for good service. Our Budapest tipping guide covers paying by card and how to say the amount out loud.

Lunch is the cheapest time to eat well: many restaurants offer a weekday daily menu (napi menü) of soup and a main. Many Hungarians still avoid clinking beer glasses, a custom tied to the defeat of the 1848 to 1849 revolution; clink wine or pálinka instead.

If you only have one day: a Budapest food plan

Morning: the Great Market Hall for a look at the paprika stalls, then lángos upstairs.

Lunch: a főzelék counter or a napi menü of gulyás and a main in central Pest.

Afternoon: a thermal bath (our Széchenyi vs Rudas guide helps you choose), then Dobos torta and coffee at a cukrászda.

Evening: chicken paprikash or stuffed cabbage, then a glass of Tokaji or a pálinka in the Jewish Quarter. For the wider picture, see our Hungary food guide, the 3 days in Budapest itinerary and where to stay in Budapest.

Frequently asked questions