Located a bit outside downtown, near the City Park, Szaletly is a casually elegant restaurant worth trekking out to (reachable in 15 minutes by public transport). At least if you are curious to experience what traditional Hungarian food in 2025 might mean. Overseen by head-chef Dániel Bernát, the whole menu is a celebration of dishes that people in Hungary are used to eating, but hardly what appears on most dining tables at home.

There's of course a bowl of goulash, but also the local fish soup (halászlé), foie gras, fogas (pike-perch), layered potatoes with Mangalica (rakott krumpli), schnitzel, and túrós palacsinta (túró-filled crepes). And Stefánia vagdalt: a “meatloaf” named after Stéphanie, the Habsburg Crown Princess of Austria (1864-1945), whose name is borne by the elegant street along which Szaletly is located. I recommend you not leave without a dessert order of somlói galuska or mákos guba, the latter a traditional poppy seeds bread pudding. Also here: a full wine list of Hungarian options and local craft beers by the bottle. €15-22 mains, reservations recommended.

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