Goulash in Hungary is not the kind of typical goulash stew we think of at home. Goulash is actually a hearty, meaty soup, made with (usually) beef, potatoes, Hungarian noodles and vegetables.
Upon recommendation of the man who owned our hostel, we headed to the For Sale pub opposite the Central Market Hall in Budapest to try what he assured us would be some of the best goulash soup in the city. (He also told us that one portion would be big enough for two, and being the budget travellers that we are, we couldn’t pass up on an opportunity like that).
The pub itself is disappointingly located right next door to a busy Burger King, which probably puts a lot of people off (as may the odd “Western” style theme outside), but inside the pub certainly has a lot more character than we originally gave it credit for.
The ceilings and walls are covered in papers, receipts, drawings, photos and tickets from the pub’s customers over the years who have all written a memento of their meal or time in Budapest and attached it to the wall. The floors are covered in peanut shells from the big bowls of peanuts they provide free of charge on each table. Both of these aspects give it a very unique and interesting atmosphere.
We found the goulash (or gulyas as you’ll sometimes see it written) on the menu and disappointed our waiter by only ordering one portion; he obviously had pound signs in his eyes when he heard our foreign accents.
He promptly proceeded to bring us a basket of fresh bread (which we didn’t eat as we were scared they would charge us extra for it, but it later turned out it was free) and a plate containing paprika sauce, dried chillies and chilli flakes. My eyes lit up at the sight of the chillies – we had been in the Balkans for so long where the food is tasty but often has no spice to it whatsoever.
Then the steaming goulash soup arrived in a large terrine in the middle of the table.
One look at the size confirmed what we had been told – there was definitely enough for two people, especially if you were to eat the bread that accompanied it.
I added a big dollop of paprika paste to my bowl (which I have to say actually even tasted nice just on its own spread on a little bread the second time we ate this dish) and a sprinkling of chilli flakes. The warmth of the paprika was a welcome and delicious change to the blandness of the cuisine I had been eating and both the potatoes and meat were soft tender. My only criticism would be that there could have been more meat, but as with all things, I assume this would bump up the price. The noodles, although unusual and the first time I had tried them, were lovely and spongy and almost similar to very small dumplings, which gave it an interesting texture.
Scott made the mistake of ordering goulash soup at another restaurant on a different night and I have to say that it was definitely not as good as this one. The liquid was more oily and didn’t have as much of a tomato or paprika base, so by all accounts I would say that this will probably be one of the better offerings you will find in Budapest, should you end up trying it yourself.
If you follow in our foodsteps:
- The For Sale pub is located on Vámház körút, directly opposite the Central Market Hall on the Pest side of the city.
- The pub often has live music at the weekends, meaning that it can get quite busy and you may need a reservation to eat in the evenings.
- Always check that anything that is brought with your meal but which you didn’t order (i.e. bread) won’t be charged as extra.
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