Earlier this week I visited one of the restaurants in Budapest with what should be the best location in town. Rivalda is located next to the Castle of Buda and to the office of the Hungarian president.
I know it is February and a season with very few tourists, so that might give an excuse to the fact that during our stay we were the only people in the restaurant. We visited Rivalda a bit off time (it is quite busy during lunch time and can be during supper time), but since we came in between those periods that kind of explains why we were the only guests.
The waiter received us happily and served us with a big smile. He was very helpful and did his uttermost to give us whatever we wanted. That is why we got to order meals from the menu with slight changes to them. Even though it was way after lunch time I got to order from the lunch menu and lots of things were accepted to make us feel at home and welcome.
- Rivalda has a theater feeling to it
The quality of the food in Rivalda
We ordered an Argentin Sirloin Steak served with spices, served with risotto croquettes, haricots- verts and green-peppercorn sauce and pork fillet served with paprika sauce (almost like Chicken paprika) with dumplings. The restaurant is said to be for luxury dining, so we had great expectations as we waited for the food. As the food were served we were surprised, because the food did not look the way we expected it to. Luxury dining often mean large plates with small snacks in the middle, but our plates reminded us more of those giant Hungarian portions we are used to in traditional restaurants. I like giant portions, so I took that to be a positive surprise. As always I ate from both plates and I enjoyed the steak and even more the pork with the paprika sauce.
For dessert we ate a pancake with apples and some ice cream. A nice ending to a delicious meal.
Rivalda judgment
The restaurant was strange. It is said to be for luxury dining, but that is not the impression you get once you enter the door and it is not the impression we got looking at our plates. For Hungarian luxury dining we would probably visit Budapest Bistro instead of Rivalda. The price of the steak was 5500 HUF, for which you could get a fantastic steak in Prime Steakhouse and the other courses on the menu were all quite overprized. We were still very satisfied with our food and with the service, but still the one word remaining in my mind as I think of Rivalda is: „strange.” I don’t know why, but that is how I feel as I think of the restaurant.
- Sirloin Steak in Rivalda
Rivalda information
We visited the restaurant in February which is a poor month for tourism, and this is a restaurant where almost all visitors are tourists. As it gets warmer in the air they have a beautiful outdoor area where you can sit and enjoy your food which is far more enjoyable than the indoor area.
Address: 1014 Budapest, Színház u. 5-9
Telephone: (36-1) 489-0236
Opening times: 11.30 – 23.30
