Eating With the Locals in Budapest

When we cast out our search engine net for the best local food in Budapest and sifted through the results, the name Kádár Étkezde came up over and over again. 

Further research also told us that an étkezde is a traditional home-style Hungarian type of restaurant, typically open only for lunch and that Kádár Étkezde is without a doubt one of the most well-known in Budapest. Naturally, we had to give it a try, right?

As famous as it is for its great local food, it is located in a unassuming building right across from a peaceful park in the middle of the Budapest’s stately Jewish Quarter, which is an attraction in itself. During the day, this Quarter is a tranquil oasis seemingly miles away from the tourist traffic of Budapest, and at night it comes alive with some of the coolest bars in all of Europe.

Once inside Kádár, you know you have struck gold on your quest to find authentic local food in Budapest. 

Like so many famous places, pictures of celebrity customers adorn the walls, and just for good measure they have the classic chequered tablecloths which is always a good sign in our book. The service was super-friendly and full of smiles as we both ordered the pörkölt, a hearty Hungarian stew. We had tried pörkölt at other places in Budapest, and they were blown out of the water by Kádár‘s version. The stew at Kádár was of a ridiculously rich stock and of a deep brown-reddish colour. What really made it for us though was that the dumplings that accompanied the pörkölt were larger than any other we had spotted in the city and appeared to be freshly made.

To further confirm the Mom & Pop nature of Kádár Étkezde, we didn’t even get a bill! It was explained that we pay up front, just went up to the entry of the restaurant, where a man who looked to be the owner/chef just asked us what we had, and we paid him while making a little small talk. On the way out, he said “see you tomorrow”, and don’t doubt for a second that we didn’t think about it.

If you follow in our foodsteps:

• Kádár Étkezde is located at Klauzál tér 9 in the middle of the Jewish Quarter and directly across from the Klauzál park on your map.
• Do your research if visiting in summer and call ahead if you can because they do close down for a month for staff holidays.