I just spoke with a lawyer friend of mine who loves dining outside and who has visited most of the famous restaurants in Budapest. During our chat I wondered if he could tell me about his favorite restaurants in Budapest, and though hesitating and wondering why I was curious about them, he finally told me his favorite restaurants. Well, maybe not his 100% favorite restaurants, but at least what he said to be his favorite restaurants in the vicinity of the St. Stephens Basilica in Budapest, the beautiful church which is the largest church in Budapest and the third largest in all of Hungary. If you visit any of the restaurants mentioned here, make sure not to miss out on the church, it is a real beauty!
It is worth knowing that this area by the St. Stephens Basilica is a very modern area with lots of rich people walking around, dropping by for a lunch menu in one of the many great restaurants in the area and it has some of the most famous restaurants of Budapest. Maybe that is why my friend Laci enjoys this area and its restaurants so much.
Great restaurants near St. Stephens Basilica
Laci told me that this is not a ranking list, but all five restaurants mentioned are his favorites, though they all have a different profile matching the different daily moods and with different style.
Onyx
1051 Budapest, Vörösmarty tér 7-8.
Of course Onyx is on the list of the best restaurants in Budapest. Onyx would be on the list, even if the list was not only about restaurants near St. Stephens Basilica. This is one of two restaurants in Budapest with a Michelin star and currently considered to be the number one restaurant in Budapest of all, in all categories. The location is also perfect, at the Vörösmarty Square in the end of Vaci Utca (shopping street of Budapest)
Dió
1051 Budapest, Sas u. 4
Dió is a very modern restaurant with Hungarian food at its best, and they have some very interesting dinner menus with 3-4-5 courses prepared for its visitors. You can also order ala carte, but it is worth trying one of the menus. If you come during lunch time they have some tasty lunch menus at a nice price level. The restaurant is only 1 minute on foot from the main entrance of St. Stephens Basilica.
Cafe Kör
1051 Budapest, Sas utca 17
Cafe Kör has for a long time been known as a very popular restaurant in Budapest, and it is mostly hard to find a free table here at any time of the day. They only accept payment in cash (no VISA) and the cuisine is somewhat reformed Hungarian, though the menu keeps on changing all the time. Cafe Kör is in the same street as Dió and also one minute on foot from the St. Stephens Basilica.
Laci! Konyha!
1051 Budapest, Sas u. 11
Brand new restaurant in the center of Budapest. Two master chefs joined together in this project where you can eat delicious menus made up by the chefs themselves, constantly changing. The prices are probably better than on the three earlier mentioned restaurants, and praise keeps coming to the chefs and to everyone working in this new Budapest restaurant. Expect large plates with quite small stuff in the middle.
Tom George / TG Italiano
1054 Budapest, Október 6. utca 8
Tom George has for a long time been known as one of the best Italian restaurants in Budapest and also one of the most expensive. While the earlier mentioned restaurants are in the vicinity of the St. Stephens Basilica, the same is true for Tom George, but from the terrace of this restaurant you can in fact look directly at the church, a big bonus. The restaurant has large indoor and outdoor area, so you will mostly find a free table here whenever you come during opening time.
Now you probably know more about what restaurants to visit when you walk in the area near St. Stephens Basilica. I hope the advices of Laci, my good friend, could help you. There are lots of great hotels located in the same area, some of them ranked among the best four and five star hotels in Budapest, so especially if you live in for example Four Seasons Hotel Gresham, Sofitel or InterContinental all these restaurants are only a few blocks and a few minutes away from the reception at your hotel.
We hope you have liked this article and recommend that you come back to our Budapest blog later, as we will come up with more articles about great restaurants and other Budapest top lists in the future!
