Opium

Opium is part of a successful Budapest restaurant group in charge of several pan-Asian establishments, such as Sáo, Khan, and Quí (right next door). The owners, originally from Vietnam and some with a background in fashion, have proven themselves brilliant at creating spaces that might be described with adjectives such as: cool, trendy, fashionable, buzzy, and fun. The interiors are always imbued with good taste, enveloped in greenery and warm wood and filled with catchy electronic music.

What Opium and its sisters aren’t known for is the inventiveness of their kitchens. Instead, the menu is a veritable collage of basic pan-Asian dishes: from Chinese dumplings to Japanese tempura to Vietnamese soups to Thai curries to wok noodles. They're consistently average and a bit overpriced at €15-20. Try veering toward the Vietnamese selections (most of the kitchen staff is Vietnamese) – pho soups and the bun cha, for example. All this to say that Opium can make for a happy time if an atmosphere-forward dinner is what you’re mainly after.