So I’m starting of the travel blog adventures with my NYE trip to Budapest. This was my second trip to Budapest and won’t be my last! So each of my travel blogs will talk about something different, from the best things to do, best places to eat, when to visit and how much it all cost! In this blog in particular I will be telling you the best tourist attractions and the best restaurants and bars, and I will try to remember the prices! Hope you enjoy the first blog post of the Marbleous food leaves the kitchen collection!
KIOSK, Bar & Restaurant
Starting with my favorite place I visited when in Budapest. This restaurant is right next to the river, the interior is unreal, and the food is even better! It is a 5-star place, but the prices are not, which is good for a poor student like me. I find it so hard to find a good restaurant abroad, it either entails hours on trip advisor or walk about 40 miles to find an interior and mains all good enough for the gram. But KIOSK was it! I got the beetroot and goats cheese risotto (£8) and the so fluffy cocktail (£5). I was actually in my element with all the smoked goats cheese, and the prosecco in the cocktail. Yummmmmm.
As you can tell from the picture, it looked unreal, it even tasted better than it looked! And all the food is made from local Hungarian produce, which is always a bonus. And I’m not surprised considering the amazing market hall just down the river.
Overall I honestly think KIOSK is the perfect place to dress up for, get an amazing meal and amazing drinks without breaking the bank! Don’t forget some cute pictures for the insta.
Star Rating: 5/5
The Danube
Feel like I have to include the famous Danube in this blog post. If anyone cares, it’s the second longest river in Europe and runs through 10 countries!! Not only that but it is the heart of Budapest and splits Buda and Pest. Perfect for a cute walk, stroll across the bridge to the Buda castle, or for a meal on one of the boat restaurants. I’m recommending this purely from TripAdvisor reviews because I’m stupid and get sea sick, so no boat restaurants for me, no matter how pretty the food looks.
Another reason I added a lil bit about the Danube in this post is because its where we spent midnight 2018! 1. Because we were really unorganized and never booked anywhere 2. We did queue somewhere for about an hour but shock we didn’t get in 3. The Danube was our back up but was worth it for the really cute fireworks display! Deffo recommend for a cute NYE.
Café Vian
Sort of trying to avoid talking about the food as we are on the travel section BUT the food is the best part of a city break so how can I not rave about it?? Café Vian was another trusted TripAdvisor find. Before this trip I normally preferred to walk past somewhere then go in for food, it means more walking around and exploring. But going with friends, they weren’t keen on the walking side of things and were more interested about the food and drink. But it was a very good find! We sat in the outside heated area which I defiantly recommend, the menu is actually huge so something for everyone. Weirdly I got the cheese board to start because it was on the starters page but according to the waiter’s reaction, it’s weird to get it as a starter. But who cares I love cheese. For main I splashed the cash and got duck. It was alright, bit weird because it was literally served with hash browns??? Tia and Joe got the meat sharing platter where you choose 3 meat meals of the menu. Regret not getting this because it looked sooooo good. Giving this one a 4/5 because it was really nice, good service and loads of Hungarian food. But I have to admit I do prefer somewhere a bit prettier and instagramable.
The Ruins
The first time I visited Budapest I never went to any of the ruins (I was 16 and they weren’t having any of it). But this time I did and it was so worth it. It’s also difficult to decide which ones to go to because everyone on trip advisor says something different. But I’m going to tell you why the ones I went to and why they were so good, especially if you’re looking to get wavy on a city break.
Instant- so instant is one of the biggest ruins, 20 rooms! And even better cause it’s a night club! From roof top areas to a pizza bar?? This club actually has everything; we were a bit worried it would be like typical European EDM. But to our surprise it was loads of white girl house music, unfortunately no MK was played but it was surprisingly good. The night didn’t last long because I was wearing my sock boots that were literally killing me and we were basically sober. I do recommend if you fancy a night out, as it was free entry as well! Don’t be put off by the picture that first comes up on google, it’s a weird old sofa so doesn’t exactly sell it.
Simpla Kert- My favorite of the ruins we went to! A cute bar absolutely rammed full of not only people but culture and everything weird and wonderful. From a specific IPA bar, rose was £1.50!! and a cute shisha bar. The pictures do not do it justice but here are loads anyway. It is honestly the weirdest place I’ve ever seen, but is defiantly worth it to be part of the culture. All the ruins are in the Jewish culture left from the war so it’s actually really interesting!! Another brief bit about food… but we also went again a few days later to get a burger for lunch as they look sooooo nice! And they did taste nice but they were a bit cold so not really sure if I recommend. I’ll just stick to the rose next time.
The Baths
So I’ve been to 2 baths in Budapest now, the first time I went to Szechenyi and this time Rudas. I thought this one was perfect for winter as its inside and you have loads to do, whereas Szechenyi is good for summer because its massive and outside so good to soak up the rays. But Rudas was probably my favorite because not only is there a main thermal bath, but smaller thermal baths that reach up to 40 degrees, ice baths, steam rooms and saunas. It’s also good value for money because the baths normally range between £10-£20 so can get expensive. If you fancy something different they also offer a roof top thermal bath and a swimming pool. We went on New Year’s day so it was absolutely packed so we only paid to go on one floor of the thermal baths, but didn’t really feel like we needed to pay for the others as there was already loads to do.
Mazel Tov
Probably should have put this in the Ruins section of the blog, but feel like it needed its own recognition! This was such a gem find and walking past you would never have known this beauty sat just next to the club Instant. The interior of Mazel Tov was soooo cute, the ruins have been completely transformed into a spacious restaurant and bar! As it’s in the Jewish quarter a range of Jewish flavors and cocktails are explored. I got the falafel pitta bread and Jewish punch cocktail. The food was unreal, the pitta was so big I needed a knife and fork by the end because I physically couldn’t fit it in my mouth, the cocktails was really different, nice, but different. Most the time I was literally staring at the celling and taking in the interior because it was honestly unreal! They sell a range of souvenirs and really wish I had got their cook book, but hopefully I can try re make some of their stuff thanks to Instagram. One thing I would say that applies to a few of the restaurants in Budapest is the service isn’t amazing, not sure if it’s because of the language barrier but I have seen a few people say they experienced the same.
Vicky Barcelona
I have to admit the service situation did not apply in Vicky Barcelona! The waitress was really nice and answered all of our stupid questions. But that wasn’t the only good thing. It had really good vibes, really good for a group of friends and has really nice cocktails. Never thought of having tapas in Hungry but glad we did. Got a mixture of meat, seafood and loads of cheese. Always think tapas is a cute thing to share with friends and means you get to try a bit of everything.
Transport
I’m adding this bit in as a HUGE top tip for anyone visiting Budapest soon, just hope no Hungarian police officers or anything read it in case I get finned. BUT, my top tip is, don’t pay for the trams. Just jump on. 5 days in Budapest and we didn’t pay for one tram, they have 2 doors so just jump on the back door and sit at the back! And instead spend the money on cocktails. Can I just confirm if you do, do this, it’s not my fault if you get caught?
Hope you enjoyed the first blog post of the Marbleous food leaves the kitchen series, next stop Austria!
Marbleous Food
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