8Trattoria Pomo D'Oro
Likely the most well-known Italian restaurant in the city, Pomo D'Oro transplants a red-sauce, old-school trattoria into the heart of Budapest's downtown. The place, which opened in 2002, fills to capacity every day of the week with middle-class Hungarian families, office workers, and tourists. Despite numerous space-making extensions toward the back, the restaurant has retained a cozy atmosphere with a menu that hardly changed over the past two decades.
Highlights include the rich Tuscan tomato soup (pappa al pomodoro), the beef carpaccio, the tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, and the memorably soft osso buco. Do save room for dessert because the profiterole and the tiramisu are really wonderful and generously portioned. Mains are €13-18 and reservations an absolute must.
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