Author: Budablogger

Blogger who wrote a Budapest blog, but once it ceased to exist I moved my previously written blog posts to the Budapest Guide. In other words, these posts were not originally written for the guide, but the posts were moved here as I stopped updating the Budapest blog.

La Perle Budapest review

Posted on by Budablogger

Hidden away in a cute little street in the fifth district of Budapest you will find Brasserie La Perle. The restaurant has some French inspiration to it, but it is just as much an Hungarian restaurant as a French. Should you consider La Perle as a restaurant to visit in Budapest?

La Perle is located just across the street from the far more famous restaurant Borsso Bistro. While the latter has been around for many years, La Perle has only existed for about a year and it is still fighting to get some regular guests coming by. A few days ago I went to the restaurant with my family and we had a great time and I can warmly recommend this place to others, just keep on reading.

The interior of Brasserie La Perle in Budapest

La Perle review

Entering La Perle the first impression was very good. I liked the interior and the atmosphere of the restaurant, and I even enjoyed the background music. There were no other guests in the restaurant as we entered, so we got all the attention of the waiter present. We ordered four different starters, two main courses and three desserts.

You can feel the touch of Hungary in the restaurant as you look to the starters. Here you can find for example traditional Hungarian Goulash soup in addition to smoked salmon, goose liver and some other snacks. All the starters we ate were great, so do not forget to order a starter if you visit La Perle.

Tasty starter in La Perle

We were not really that hungry, so as we entered the restaurant we hadn’t planned ordering any main course at all. Out of pure curiosity we still ordered two main courses, just to check the quality and to see what a main course looks like in La Perle. We ordered a traditional Hungarian Beef Stew (marha pörkölt) and a sirloin steak with green pepper sauce and some more snack. I tasted both and I enjoyed them both and if I had more space for food I would have loved to taste more main courses (they have goose liver available as a main course and lots of other interesting dishes).

Highlight of the meal

If you have read a lot of my blogs posts you know that I love chocolate and I love pizza. In La Perle I did not eat pizza, but they had some awesome desserts. The number one dessert was their chocolate souffle (it has another name, but still very similar to a chocolate souffle). It was simply fantastic, and I still long to eat it again. Besides the chocolate souffle we ate a kind of cottage cheese cake/ice cream and a Creme Brulee. Both tasted great and I would love to eat that Creme Brulee once more in addition to the chocolate dessert.

The chocolate dessert tasted 100 times better than it looks on this pictures

Short wrap-up

I think about my stay in La Perle with great joy. We had a great evening together, and that is not only because I spent time with some of the people I love the most in the world, but because the food and the atmosphere was great. I can warmly recommend a dinner in La Perle if you visit Budapest, both to taste some traditional Hungarian courses, and also if you want to eat some French cuisine. The price of our four starters, two main courses, three desserts and five drinks were totally about 16,000 HUF.

La Perle information

Kepiro utca 2. -1053 Budapest
Tlf: +36-1-266-6808

Budapest tour on foot all alone

Posted on by Budablogger

The reason that I came up with the idea to write this article is as follows.  Once a month I get visitors from the Netherlands (they are really curious about the city I fell in love with and of course they are also happy to see me) and my ‘’duty’’ is to show them around the city. When the first person came to visit me, I made a ‘’ Budapest Tour’’ and now I use this route for all my visitors. I would like to share this route with you, because it can be useful for you too maybe!  The route shows all the great sightseeing attractions in Budapest and nice places to lunch or have a coffee along the way!

The starting point is Déak Ferenc Tér. If you come by subway take the exit that says Erszébet Tér and the first thing you will see is Starbucks. If you are still a little bit sleepy have a cup of coffee here. Otherwise, skip this place and go to the left to Fashion Street. At the end of this street is Vörösmarty tér (This weekend there is an Easter Fair!). If you go to the left you are in Váci Utca, the main shopping street. I do not recommend buying souvenirs here since they are quite expensive. If your visitors want to buy souvenirs I would like to recommend buying these in the Central Market Hall at the end of Váci Utca.

After visiting the Market Hall cross over the Liberty Bridge, enjoy the amazing view and make yourself ready to climb the Gellért Hill. If you have reached the top of the hill go down and walk along the river till you see the train, Sikló, that brings you to the Castle District. Halfway (when you pass the Palace), have lunch at the first café you see (on the corner of the street). They have nice sandwiches and Latte Macchiatto (or other coffees).  After the lunch bring a visit to the Fisherman’s Bastion, the Matthias Church and walk through the narrow and cozy streets.

As you leave the Castle Hill walk down Ostrom street you will soon see Mammut shopping Mall (it’s up to you if you want to stop here to do some shopping or to go to Starbucks for example).  You can walk to Elizabeth Bridge or you can take the tram 4 or 6 to Jászai Mari Tér. If you get off the tram go to the left (you will see the Parliament already). It’s nice to walk along the Danube to the Parliament. After visiting the Parliament show them  the statue of Imre on the bridge and walk hand in hand with Ronald Reagan. Then walk further to the Basilica. After visiting the Basilica you are just only a few minutes away from Andrassy Út and that means time for a tea break in one of the cozy tea houses in Andrassy Út, the Book café in Alexandra Bookstore or you can go to for example La Delizia, the Chocobar or SUGAR. These are all close to Andrassy Út !

If you still have energy after an extensive walking day you can walk to City Park at the end of the street. My visitors and I do this always the next day (combining City Park with relaxing in Szechenyi Spa).

You can go for dinner in Nagymezö Utca (this street has many nice restaurants, for example Két Szerecsen) and have some drinks in the ruïn pub Instant (also in this street).

Have fun!

 

 

 

Pastabar – Eat the Street

Posted on by Budablogger

A few days ago we wrote an article about the soupbar between Kalvin square and Fovam square in Budapest. The soupbar turned so popular and therefore the owners expanded and has now opened a pastabar only a few hundred metres from the original soupbar. This time pasta is being served!

I first noticed the soupbar because of the crowd standing outside the place during its opening time. How did I notice the pastabar? In the same way! The pastabar has only been open for 6 weeks, but it has already turned into a success, at least based on what I have seen and on what the girl selling me the pasta told me. The concept is the same as with the soupbar, except from the fact that the Pastabar has 4 quite large tables located outside the bar making it easier for their visitors to sit down and eat their pasta in quietness and peace. If they get bored they are allowed to write greetings and make drawings on the tables which are covered with paper, so maybe this is the place where you can show the world the Da Vinci or Michelangelo hiding on your inside.

Pasta of the Day examples

I guess the answer is quite obvious, pasta! As I visited the Pastabar and ate there they had the following four pastas on the menu:

  • Mustar ezredes (chicken, cream, mustard, honey, peas)
  • O.G. (chicken, tomato, garlic, wine, basil)
  • Momofuku (chicken, carrot, leek, sesame seed, soya sauce, chili)
  • Bolognai (turkey, tomato, carrot, wine, oregano, basil)

The prices are easy to remember, because all pastas cost 990 Hungarian Forint. You can buy drinks to accompany the pasta if you are thirsty and ½ liter of Coca Cola cost 280 Forint.

If you want to eat the food right away you will find forks on the spot, but if you want to take the food away they have this special handle making it extremely easy to care the box with pasta with you.

In the vicinity of Kalvin ter today? Why not have some pasta for lunch?

Pastabar Budapest information

Opening times: 11.00-19.00
Address: Kalvin tér
Payment: Cash only

My Starbucks Budapest experience

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If you come to Budapest today you will find Starbucks at lots of different locations in town. Today it is a part of the city life that we have become used to, therefore it is strange to think of the fact that the first Starbucks only came to Budapest in 2010.

The first Starbucks opened in WestEnd Citycenter autumn 2010 and since then Starbucks have shown up everywhere in town. I will not write a number telling the amount of Starbucks cafes in Budapest, because in a month or two that number will for sure be outdated. But, if you are out there looking for a Starbucks cafe in Budapest, you can find Starbucks at the following locations in Budapest currently.

Starbucks cafes in Budapest at the moment

Starbucks Szena Ter, Margit krt. 91
Starbucks Mammut, Lovohaz Street 2-6
Starbucks Basilica, Hercegprimas utca 7
Starbucks WestEnd, Vaci ut 1-3
Starbucks Kiraly, Erszebet korut 53
Starbucks Fashion Street, Deák Ferenc u. 23, 1052 Budapest
Starbucks Arena, 1087 Budapest, Kerepesi út. 9.

If any of these cafes disappear or new restaurants are opened, please write a comment and I will update this list with the new names and addresses.

My own Starbucks experience

Starbucks has a name that makes it able to survive at most places in the world, so also in Budapest. Not long ago I visited the Starbucks in Fashion Street and asked the person to whom I paid how many locals and internationals visit the place. She said that 80-90% of the visitors are tourists, while the rest are locals. I guess this is the most touristic Starbucks location in Budapest, which means that the percentage of locals will be much higher in the other cafes, but it still gives a hint about the fact that Starbucks is expensive to locals. A coffee normally cost between 800-1200 HUF (depending on size and type) while cakes and sweets cost between 400-1000 HUF.

Since I am not much of a coffee drinker I rather drink a Frappuccino, and you can find those in lots of different version in Starbucks. The waffle tastes like Belgium and the hot chocolate feels like a cocoa, which is just the way I like it (I do not enjoy hot chocolate if I feel like I am drinking pure chocolate – well, that’s me!).

Some Starbucks price examples

Caffé Latte (smallest) – 690 HUF
Espresso (smallest) – 490 HUF
Caffé Americano (smallest) – 650 HUF
Hot Chocolate (smallest) – 890 HUF
Hot tea (smallest) – 550 HUF
Caramal Frappuccino (smallest) – 990 HUF

Starbucks shop

As in Starbucks all around the world you can buy lots of effects in the Budapest Starbucks as well. The most popular effect is probably the Starbucks Budapest mug, a really nice souvenir for collectors visiting Budapest.

Starbucks souvenirs in Budapest

Have you got any Budapest Starbucks experience you would like to share? Any addresses we are missing, or maybe some of the mentioned cafes have closed down (would surprise me). Share whatever is on your mind as you write a comment!

Travellling from Budapest to Bratislava

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Bratislava, the Little Big City!

Budapest is beautiful, but if you want to see more of the beauty of Eastern Europe you can travel very easily to other places by train. Last weekend my boyfriend and I went to Bratislava. We took the direct train at Keleti Pályaudvar. The train shuttles approximately every 2 hours from both train stations. You can only buy the tickets at the train station. For only 18 Euros we had a return ticket and after 2 hours and 40 minutes we arrived at Hlavná stanica, the main train station in Bratislava.

What about a day-trip to Bratislava?

It was only a 20-25 minute walk to the city centre. Later on, we realized that all of Bratislava’s historical sites are within walking distance. We could get to know the town on foot! Amazing for a capital city!

The Danube flowing directly through Bratislava adds to the unique atmosphere of this city. So do the narrow streets, the colourful buildings and the many surprising statues. Around nearly every corner you will discover another statue: Paparazzi is watching you, a man invites you to wear his hat, another man is sticking out a hole in the pavement, and you will find a stooping man in the façade of a house. At the main square you will stand next to the man that is overlooking the square while your companion will capture this moment on camera for sure! All these statues will feed your curiosity!

If you start wondering around the centre you will probably notice the small polished brass plates in town in the form of a crown embedded in the floor. Did you know that there are 178 of them? No, I did not count them if that is what is running through your head! I read it in the travel guide we received in the hotel. The crown represents the original route walked by the monarchs.

You need to be ‘’fairly fit’’ to climb the several hundred steps up to Bratislava castle. However, believe me, it is really worth it. When you are at the Castle Hill you will be rewarded with an incredible view of the town, the New Bridge and neighbouring Hungary and Austria. You can enjoy the same view if you take a trip on the lift up to the UFO, while at the same time enjoying a cup of coffee or a meal in the restaurant.

The blue church and other Bratislava attractions

Another attraction that caught our eye was the Blue Church! Many people want to marry here (yeah, how many people can say that they have married in a blue church?!) so the waiting list is very long.

Instead of putting ourselves on the waiting list we went to a coffee house, Coffee and Co! Bratislava has many cosy coffee houses and this is one of them! It has a great atmosphere and the hot chocolate was delicious!

If you like Irish Pubs and live music you should definitely go to ‘’Dubliner’.’  We amused ourselves there for hours!

Bratislava is a one of a kind city. Put it on your bucket list, it is well worth a visit, especially as a daytrip from Budapest.

—–

This article first appeared in the private blog of Amanda de Laat

Central Bistro & Bar Budapest review

Posted on by Budablogger

Last Saturday I went with my wife and son to Danube Palace to listen to what Dr. Robi Sonderegger had to tell about family life and the importance of it. It ended at 13.00 and we then walked to Central Bistro & Bar to grab a quick lunch before we went home (we told the waiter upon arrival that we wanted a quick lunch). Well, seldom has a lunch succeeded as bad as this one!

We sat down and asked for a chair to our soon two year old boy. Unfortunately the restaurant had no such thing, so he had to sit in a mix of our laps, run around and the trolley. Most restaurants at least have the cheap IKEA chairs for children, but these were all missing. We sat down, looked at the menu and decided to go for a steak and a hamburger. But, none were really interested, so we had to wait a long time before the waiter even came over to take our order (remember: quick?!). We placed our order around 13.30. Around 14.00 the waiter finally came with our lunch, or at last what was supposed to be our lunch. My hamburger was very well done, and the hamburger bread was black on both inside and outside. Not totally burned, but you could really feel the taste of coal as you ate it.

My wife ordered a well done steak. After thirty minutes of waiting the steak was served, but not at all well done. Parts of the steak were in fact raw. She was starving, our son was starving and so was I. We therefore ate the over fried hamburger with the burnt hamburger breads, while we sent the steak back to let them do some more work on it. After 10-15 more minutes it was returned, but still not well done at all. So, once again it was returned and after 10-15 more minutes it was served for the third time. This time it was well done, and the taste was in fact good together with the mushroom sauce it was served together with.

During lunch time on a Saturday Central Bistro & Bar was quite well visited. I am not sure if that was the problem, but there were only two waiters working and they might have had a lot to do. But, if a restaurant is not capable of receiving a half full restaurant during lunch time the result will be like with us… unhappy guests who will never return. And then again the next time the restaurant will not even be half full.

The price for the steak was about 3000 Forints while the price of the hamburger was a bit less than 2000 Forints. Our original plan was to eat some desserts as well, but at 14.45 we were so fed up and our boy was so tired that we just hurried and payed the bill and jumped in our car and drove home. Somehow the experience remained as one of our worst Saturday lunches in a very long time…

It looks nice on the inside of Central Bistro and Bar

Central Bistro & Bar

Nador utca 13
Tel: +36 1 328 3460
Open: Monday – Sunday from 11.00-23.00

Budapest in January

Posted on by Budablogger

Maybe the month of the year with the least tourists in Budapest January is a challenging time for everyone working and living of tourism. For some times is the time to gain strength and inspiration while relaxing, but for others this is the time fighting to get bread on the table. Still, there are some great advices waiting for you as you read this article dealing with Budapest in January. Read on, and find out more about the weather in January, about cool activities, things worth doing and other useful info.

Weather in January in Budapest

January is a quite cold month, maybe the coldest of all months in Budapest. The month has an average temperature around -1 Celsius, but the most extreme temperature measured in Budapest in this month was -25,6 Celsius. The warmest temperature was more than 15 Celsius, so there is a quite large diversity in the temperatures. But, in general the temperature should be somewhere beneath 0. This temperature is quite nice, but in case of heavy wind you should be prepared with a nice scarf, warm jacket, good shoes and something to cover your ears.

Is there any snow in Budapest in January? In general the answer is no, but snow can fall from time to time. In those cases it general goes away within a day or two. It is not a coincidence that Hungary is not known for the winter sport skills… they have nowhere to practice!

What to do in January in Budapest?

After an amazing December month with Christmas markets and lots of activities in all of Budapest January feels quite empty. But there are certain activities waiting for you in this month as well, and here are some of the things we would recommend to do if we were to visit Budapest as tourists in January.

Guided tour

A guided tour in Budapest is a great investment and it is something that will give you lots of knowledge about the city that you did not know before. But, due to the large distances in Budapest and also the climate, all guided tours in Budapest in January should be arranged using a private car or a bus. A private tour is probably better because then you are controlling it yourself, which means that you do not need to wait outside for 30 minutes for the next hop on-hop off bus dropping by and so on.

Hot springs and relaxing massage
Hot springs in Budapest in January

When it is cold outside it is so nice to enjoy a hot thermal bath and of course a luxury massage. You can combine a visit to the Szechenyi Furdo or the Gellert Furdo with some kind of treatment, or you could find a private SPA somewhere specializing on relaxing treatments. Many hotels offer such services, but do not forget that the nicer hotels take much higher prices for these services than if you decide to visit a private SPA somewhere else in Budapest. If you want a nice treatment combined with hot springs in either Gellert or the Szechenzi bath, you can book such activities here.

Listen to Opera

January is a perfect month for music lovers to visit the Hungarian State Opera. This beautiful building from 1884 offer daily programs in this month of the year (almost) and if you do not like Opera you can still enjoy the delicious wine served in the bar while gazing around inside the beautiful building. You can even imagine what it felt like as several scenes to the famous film Evita was recorded here with Madonna as the main actress!

Go ice skating

The wonderful ice skating rink in the City Park of Budapest is one of the top activities available in January. You do not need to bring ice skates, so get on the second oldest metro in Europe (the yellow), travel to Heroes Square and walk to the entrance of the ice skating rink from there. As you pay the entrance fee you can also rent a pair of skates, and in not long time you will be able to go ice skating with nice background music in the surroundings of the Vajdahunyad castle. Tickets to the ice skating rink cost between 1200-1400 HUF per person (cheaper on Mondays and Tuesdays). Renting of skates come in addition to the entrance fee. The place is normally closed between 14.00 and 16.00 every day. Our recommendation is to go in the evening, because it is so nice and romantic in the evening!

Other pieces of advice

All across the world January is a month of shopping. Many stores have great sales after Christmas, and so it is in Budapest. Mostly wherever you go you will find signs telling of great discounts, or „akció” as we would say in Hungary. While walking around shopping you can mingle with the locals in any pub along the street. On a cold day the Hungarians love to taste and drink some Palinka (fruit spirit), it will for sure bring some warmth to your inner man.

If you want to enjoy some fresh air and maybe to play in the snow (on one of those few snowy days), then you should travel to Zugliget from Szell Kalman square (former Moszkva tér) with bus 158 or from Nyugati Pályaudvar with bus 291. As you reach your destination you can take a very enjoyable chair lift lasting 12 minutes with very nice view. On the top you can walk to the Elizabeth lookout tower and enjoy the view and take some nice photos. The return ticket with the chair lift cost about 1300 HUF per person.

If you plan on visiting Szentendre in January it is worth knowing that some shops there are closed in January. Still, most of the time is awake and well, so this should not make you cancel the tour, but it is nice to be prepared!

Where to live in Budapest in January?

When coming in January you might spend some time inside your hotel, so why not go for a classy and cheap five star hotel in Budapest in January? Since January is a poor month for tourism most hotels offer great rooms at very love prices, so you will seldom fine cheaper hotels in Budapest than in January. In the following article you can find good advices on great five star hotels with good location, ideal for Budapest in January.

Have you been to Budapest in January? What did you do? Do you have anything to recommend our readers coming to the Hungarian capital in the coldest month of the year?

Report from Christmas markets in Budapest 2012

Posted on by Budablogger

We are in the middle of the Christmas market season in Budapest and it is easy to see that Budapest is filled up with people coming to visit the traditional Christmas markets. This kind of tourism is booming and it for sure brings some light into a rather dark season in lots of cities throughout Europe. As you keep on reading you will see lots of Christmas market pictures and read some information about the different markets! If you only want the pictures and one video, the scroll towards the bottom of the article, because that is where you can find the goodies!

The most famous Christmas market in Budapest is located at Vörösmarty square. This is the nicest one and it really brings Christmas to the people visiting. This year they have two stages, meaning you can see and hear programs at both ends of the square and lots of stands where you can buy handmade objects and of course lots of food. Our favorite is the Chimney cake, so do not miss out on it if you visit the market. Every evening a new “window” is opened on the wall of Gerbeaud and the square has a total feeling of Christmas, especially now that the trees are decorated as well (thank you Vienna for that idea)! This is probably my personal favorite, but why visit only one market when coming to Budapest?

Another market is located in front of St. Stephens Basilica and hit has an ice skating rink and quite a lot of stands for shopping and of course food of different kinds. The objects on sale are quite similar on all markets, but the atmosphere is still different. This market looks super in the evenings covered in the lights from the basilica, from the ice skating rink and from the decorations on the square. Do not miss out on this one either as you come to Budapest.

A third market is located at the Main square (Fő tér) in Budapest. This one is located by the Árpád bridge, so quite far outside the city center, but if you somehow have ended up in Ramada Plaza (hotel) or some other hotel near this area, then you should visit this. If you also feel fed up with the sound of thousands of tourist, then this is a market to visit, as this is almost 100% visited by locals. This market also has an ice skating rink and quite a lot of live shows every day from the stage. Just take a look at this clip featuring maybe the best a cappella band in Hungary (recorded last Sunday).

The wonderful thing with Budapest is that the city has lots of wonderful locations, buildings and square. So if you like the other markets, then why not go visit the City Park and enjoy the new Christmas market by the Vajdahunyad castle. The castle in itself is a majestic fairy tale palace with amazing architecture and you can just imagine the atmosphere when they add a Christmas fair to this area? Check it out yourself!

Another market is at the Franz Liszt square. If you want to combine the Christmas market with some nice food in one of the restaurants at the square and a nice mixture of locals and tourists, then this is the place. I have not personally been at this market in 2012 so far, but this is a traditional market so it has the same stuff as elsewhere, in a very nice environment.

For more information on the different Christmas markets, read our Christmas markets in Budapest article! But, now it is time for quite a lot of pictures from the different markets.

Pictures from Christmas markets in Budapest

Do you have a favorite Christmas market in Budapest? Write a comment and share your thoughts on the Christmas markets in Budapest!

I have been to Comics Shottail Bar

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Thursdag evening my wife’s little sister celebrated her birthday in a brand new place near the Great Synagogue in Dohány utca. The name of the place is Comics Shottail Bar and it is a place full of drinks named after action heroes and with comic strips on the walls everywhere around.

To get into the Comics Shottail Bar we had to walk down quite some steps before we reached the basement where the bar is located. Some people have walked down hoping to find some sort of comics store, but this is not the place to buy comic books. The Shottail bar is the place to go for those wanting to drink interesting cocktails and drinks mixed up with different ingredients and interesting mixes.

On the menu in the shottail bar you can for example find Wolverine. This drink is made of Absolut Vodka, Creme de Menthe liqueur, lime and sugar sirup. If you are a fan of Smallville you can drink another specialty of the house made up of Absolut Vodka, Sour Apple liqueur, lime and sugar sirup. The menu is made up of similar „strange” drinks, so if you want to taste the drink called Joker, you will get a mixture of Bubble gum sirup and Tuborg green in your glass. For carpenters who miss their tools they can order a Screwdriver, and this contains Absolut Vodka and orange juice.

The list of drinks and shots and cocktails in the bar is a long one. What I did miss on the menu was though some small snacks or something to eat. If I am supposed to spend an evening in a place it would be great to be able to get a small snack, either some peanuts, a hot sandwich or something similar.

Comics Shottail Bar looks good, feels good and has a large inner space. If you want to spend one evening in Budapest drinking a lot and tasting lots and lots of different drinks, then this place is for sure a winner. But, if you want to drink in an authentic place or a so called ruin pub, then why not visit Szimpla Budapest instead?

Vinowonka – Chocolate and Wine Bar

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With the Corvin shopping center and the entire Corvin project in the eight district of Budapest this area has been changed totally. Where there were just ruined buildings some years ago we can now find brand new buildings, a shopping mall and some nice restaurants and bars. By a coincidence I dropped by Vinowonka – Chocolate and Wine Bar last Saturday and here are my thoughts!

One should of course do some research before writing an article about a place. Therefore I visited the homepage of Vinowonka to see what they write of themselves. The first sentences I meet are the following: “VinoWonka opened at the end of May 2011.  It is in the 9th district of Budapest, just off the famous Ráday restaurant street. ” I am not so familiar with the history of VinoWonka, but the details dealing with the location of the place are all quite wrong. First of all the place is not in the ninth district of Budapest, but in the eigth. Secondly this is quite far from the famous Ráday street. Not too far, but on foot you should at least prepare to walk for 5-10 minutes to get to VinoWonka. These are of course just small details, but thought I should mention them.

Ps: I just realized that the information mentioned earlier about the location of Vinowonka on the webpage is only wrong in the English version. The Hungarian version is up to date and contains correct information.

I sat down with a good friend of mine to talk about life, blogging, Budapest, politics and whatsoever and we ordered wine, cocoa, a lemonade and some cinnamon rolls. We came “quite early” so as we arrived they were currently writing the information about the wines available to the blackboard (there is no menu as the wines available keep changing). The waitress came over and helped us quickly and we got what we asked for. The service was good and they were helpful and smiling and did their best to give us whatever we requested. We did of course not taste to much, but our impression was that the quality of the wines was very good. The price level is as it normally is on wine bars… meaning that you have to pay between 250-600 HUF per dl of wine. If you like what you taste you can of course buy an entire bottle with you home afterwards!

If you live in a hotel nearby you could also consider have your breakfast in Vinowonka. They have different things to offer and the prices are average. For those living in the central parts of Budapest this is probably not a place to visit, but for those somehow walking by this area or if you are living in Bo18 Superior Hotel, Fraser Residence, Corvin Hotel, Hotel City Inn, Hotel Sissi or similar hotels in this area, then you should for sure consider to drop by Vinowonka to taste some nice Hungarian wine and eat some chocolate.

I should probably mention that the cinnamon rolls, the cocoa and the lemonade all tasted great, so keep up the good work making the eight district of Budapest a great place to be!

PS: the quality of the pictures are really bad. I did not really plan to visit a place I had never been before (and thus write an article about it), so all pictures where made with the rather poor camera on my mobile phone.

BorBar or Vinowonka as seen from the outside