6Kőleves Restaurant
Kőleves is a popular restaurant in the heart of Budapest’s old Jewish Quarter, inside an 1851 building once home to a kosher meat processing facility and butcher shop. Leftover objects from the meat plant are used as design pieces, including a well-worn, leather-bound ledger book and a weathered Talmud. Kőleves pays homage to the building’s past by serving a few Jewish-Hungarian dishes, such a matzo ball soup and cholent, the typical Sabbath bean stew.
As other high-turnover tourist-heavy restaurants, Kőleves aims to please all tastes with a hybrid menu. Hungarian bean goulash, avocado salad, ribeye steak, and a New York cheesecake appear side-by-side on the menu. Almost all dishes are reliably good, but far from memorable and made without culinary flourish. Although mainly a tourist destination, locals also appear during lunchtime for the wallet-friendly two-course prix fixe. In the summer, the backyard of Kőleves, Kőleves Kert, transforms into an all-welcoming outdoor bar.
To remain unbiased, I visit all places incognito and pay for my own meals and drinks. I never accept money in exchange for coverage. But this means I must rely on readers to support my work. If you're enjoying this article, please consider making a one-time payment (PayPal, Venmo) or becoming an Offbeat Patron.