The Best Hot Chocolate & Cheap Elegant Food in Budapest

 

Hungarian food is simple and hearty, offering wholesome soups, stews and goulash but there is one traditional item that is not to be missed: Langos.

It’s available in many markets, malls and family events. Think of a luscious king-size fresh fry bread topped with garlic butter, sour cream and loads of cheese! One Langos is a meal in itself…  

The absolute best hot chocolate ever is at the Napos Oldal Cafe, in a quiet area of central Budapest, on Jokai Utca 7 at the end of Zichy Jeno Utca.

Napos Oldal is an owner-run specialty cafe with many vegan items, healthy desserts, coffees, a cozy atmosphere and friendly staff owners.

 

Napos Oldal has plenty of charm but let me describe the mouth-watering hot chocolate. It’s made with rich, dark, organic chocolate, milk or cream of your choice, and a dash of…. (it’s a secret… hot chili oil).

On a cool day, it warms not just your body, but as it melts on your tongue, and soothes your dry throat, it will also warm your heart…

 

Since it was right at the end of the street where I was staying, I spent many an afternoon sitting at the little table outside (can you see it, under the window?) sipping hot chocolate and people-watching. Napos Oldal Website: http://naposoldal.com/

 

We tried many dinner restaurants in Budapest but kept going back again and again to the Imazs Restaurant on Hajós utca 16 (which is a lovely walking street – no cars), at the corner of O street, just a few blocks from the hot chocolate place, Napos Oldal…

 

Imazs has exquisite food, and surprisingly, although it’s a Japanese restaurant, it has amazing Hungarian, Thai, Sushi, Argentinian and International dishes as well.

You can sit outside or more elegantly, inside. As cancer survivors, the owners pride themselves on offering healthy food.

 

Their Wiener Schnitzel was delectable and scrumptiously perfect, crisp on the outside, tender and melting in your mouth on the inside… 

 

We would highly recommend you spend an extra day in Budapest where you have lunch at Napos Oldal, spend the afternoon walking around to admire the gorgeous architecture in the theatre district, checking out the grand Budapest Opera House (post to follow), a block past Imazs, and just enjoy a walkabout in this beautiful old area of central Budapest, and end with delicious cheap elegant food at Imazs.

Reasonable prices from $10-20C. Menus in Hungarian, German, and English.

IMAZ Website: http://www.imazsetterem.com/

 

Smuggling in a cake to the waiter, we had a surprise birthday party at Imaz for my amazing friend, E. The service was as superb as the food. In fact, the last day in Budapest, we went for a final dinner at Imaz, and shared their fantastic baked and pastry-wrapped ice cream dessert with chocolate sauce and intensely flavoured raspberry coulis……  for about the fifth time. It was still to die for…   [mapsmarker marker=”29″]